USM PENANG, 13 June 2022 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Paramit Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. to jointly work on the aspects of the ‘People Agenda’ in the development of talents and enhancing skills through a win-win collaboration.

Through this collaboration, USM and Paramit Malaysia will embark on several activities that will help to bridge and foster closer ties between an industry player and the academic community.

Among the collaborations suggested included the internship programme for USM undergraduates, apprenticeship under JaminKerja Job Guarantee Programme for USM fresh graduates, participation in USM’s Career or Recruitment Fairs, and certificate and upskilling programmes for existing employees of Paramit.

USM Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, Professor Dato’ Ir. Dr. Abdul Rahman Mohamed signed the MoU on behalf of USM, representing the Vice-Chancellor, while Paramit was represented by its Country Manager, Michel Van Crombugge.

The signing was done in the presence of the USM School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Dean, Professor Ir. Ts. Dr. Shahrel Azmin Sundi @ Suandi and Paramit Malaysia HR Manager, Suriati Abdul Samad.

Abdul Rahman said, “The approach used in this collaboration is in line with the USM H.E.B.A.T agenda, that is to create a conducive ecosystem in developing H.E.B.A.T students to increase the graduates’ employability values.

“Besides that, it will also provide an ecosystem that nurtures continuous skills enhancement and promotes lifelong learning for the talents at Paramit,” said Abdul Rahman, while adding that USM is enthusiastic in this collaboration with Paramit Malaysia which is now called ‘the factory in the forest.’

Abdul Rahman hoped that this MoU will pave the way for future collaboration in upskilling training and increasing the graduate employability (GE), which will further boost the university-industry cooperation on both sides.

Meanwhile, according to Michel, through this collaboration, Paramit Malaysia would help to prepare market-ready graduates through mentoring and practicing real-world experience, in terms of upskilling and driving the career enhancement of employees.

“For Paramit Malaysia, we aim to enhance our capability by merging our existing expertise together with the expertise from USM in the exchange of technical know-how.

“Subject matter experts (SMEs) from specific fields in technology for example, may share their technical expertise in identifying and recommending solutions in manufacturing technology,” he said.

Also present at the signing ceremony were the USM Director of Industry Network, BJIM, Dr. Shaizatulaqma Kamalul Ariffin; Director, Operations and Engineering, Paramit Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Nachiappan K Nachiappan and delegates from Paramit Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

Text: Nur Farrah Ezlin Mohd Suhaimi/Photo: Mohd Fairus Md Isa