YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khalid bin Nordin, Minister of Higher Education giving his speech during the launch ceremony.

From left) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wong Kong Yew, Vice President, Strategic Projects, UCSI University, En. Abd. Rahim bin Md. Noor, Secretary General, Ministry of Higher Education, Dato’ Peter Ng, UCSI Group Chairman, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khalid bin Nordin, Minist

UCSI staff and students who worked hard to support the event.

Kuala Lumpur, 11 February, 2011 - As the country looks ahead to the unfolding of the government’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to develop Malaysia into a high-income nation by 2020, UCSI University is taking the lead in an initiative centred on improving the nation’s tourism industry, starting with Sarawak. Minister of Higher Education Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled bin Nordin visited Sarawak’s capital city 11th February for the launch of the cluster, Entry Point Project 10, which falls under the “Education” National Key Economic Area (NKEA) under the ETP. The event was attended by more than 200 industry players and representatives of various government agencies and institutions of higher learning, including Assistant Minister of Tourism and Heritage Datuk Haji Talib Zulpilip, Chairman of UCSI Group Dato’ Peter Ng, Secretary General of Ministry of Higher Education Haji Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor and Deputy Vice Chancellor of UCSI University Associate Professor Dr Lachman Tarachand. UCSI University is leading the project’s Independent Management Team (IMT) made up of representatives from the nation’s hospitality and tourism industry including the Borneo Convention Centre, the Sarawak Tourism Federation, the Malaysian Qualification Agency, SATT College, the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation and YTL International College of Hotel Management, among others. The project aims to improve the nation’s hospitality and tourism industry by increasing both the quality and quantity of workers in the field. To do this, members of the IMT are collaborating to create a Work Based Learning curriculum for students studying hospitality and tourism and establish a network among educational institutions and hospitality and tourism providers to give students practical training. The project also aims to improve the wages and status of hospitality and tourism workers to attract more people to the field. 

With its Faculty of Hospitality and Management plus the support of its umbrella organisation, UCSI Group, UCSI University has created a Centre of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education that is well-poised to take on this initiative. Led by tourism economist Associate Professor Dr Wong Kong-Yew, the Faculty of Hospitality and Management is revamping its current Diploma in Hotel Management to create a higher standard of training for all hospitality and tourism workers in Malaysia. The revised programme incorporates more practical training with the University’s industrial partners and will serve as a pilot programme to eventually spread to the rest of the nation. 

Providing additional training opportunities and industrial knowledge, UCSI Group is embarking on a RM1.13 billion expansion plan, including three five-star hotels to be built in Kuching, Kuala Lumpur and Bandar Springhill, Negeri Sembilan, respectively. The project in Bandar Springhill, in particular, will also include a convention centre as well as a state-of-the-art teaching hospital that plans to become a destination for international medical tourism. Together with the pilot training programme, UCSI Group’s expansion plans will not only provide students additional training and employment opportunities but provide higher-quality infrastructure to support Malaysia’s hospitality and tourism industry.

As a leading institution of higher learning, UCSI University is eager to use its knowledge base to give back to both its local community and the nation at large. With EPP10, Malaysians will have access to high-quality training in the hospitality and tourism industry, a skill set that is applicable both domestically and abroad. With better training, workers will also have access to better wages, thereby lifting both their economic and social statuses. On a larger scale, improving the workforce of Malaysia’s tourism and hospitality industry will improve the nation’s status as an international tourism destination, bringing additional income to the entire country. 

The project is another example of UCSI University’s emphasis on industrial training, in addition to academic study. Already, UCSI University graduates are required to complete a two-month internship for every year of study through its Cooperative Placement Programme. By offering the revised curriculum of its Diploma in Hotel Management as the pilot programme for EPP10, the University will be able to share its philosophy of Work Based Learning with the rest of the nation.