PENANG, 17 September 2013 - The number of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Doctor of Philosophy graduates or equivalent has increased by approximately 69% over the past five years.

The overall number of postgraduates whose expertise are very much required to achieve developed country status has been rising rapidly with the success of USM producing about 2,100 graduates within the period.

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman addressed this achievement during the Press Conference announcing the USM 48th Convocation Ceremony which will be held from Thursday to Sunday over seven sessions with a total of 5,427 graduates.

Among those who will be receiving their degree is an industry leader, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Fumihiko Konishi who will be bestowed an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree while Emeritus Professor will be awarded to Professor Dato’ Dr. Mohd. Roslani Abdul Majid, the Director of Health Campus and the founding Dean of the School of Medicine who was instrumental in developing USM medical and health sciences studies.

At the press conference, Omar also announced the appointment of USM’s third Pro-Chancellor, Tan Sri Datuk Mustafa Mansur, a USM alumnus, as well as a prominent national corporate and industry leader.

According to Omar, USM’s success in producing a large number of postgraduates is significant in line with the Accelerated Programme for Excellence (APEX) which started in 2008 to provide future leadership talents and expertise in various national priority areas.

“This year alone we managed to produce approximately 371 Ph.D. graduates and it is expected to be increased up to 500 every year over the next five years," said Omar.

He added that the number of postgraduates in Masters and Doctors of Philosophy had increased by approximately 30% over the last five years, 23,000 of them in total. Since the first convocation in 1972, some 115,000 of students have graduated from USM.

Moreover, from 18 to 22 September, USM students will organise the USM Convocation Expo (ConvEx 2013) which will be launched by the D.Y.M.M Tuanku Raja Perempuan Perlis on 18 September 2013. - Translation: Siti Faizah Abd Halim/Photo: Mohd Fairus Md Isa