7. the Inspirer Seventh Edition

8/8/2019 7. the Inspirer Seventh Edition

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/7-the-inspirer-seventh-edition 1/12

Published by the Counseling and Development Unit, SSSD Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS

Steps to Become a

Research University



Ed itor’s N ote “Begin with an inspiration and move with a transformation”.

Nawal

1



is transforming. Maybe not

exactly as how the Autobots and Decepticons do it (no,

the star-shaped design of the new academic buildings

will not appear out of thin air), but to the same degree

of importance nonetheless. Improvements can be seen

and is sought after in every area possible by UTP’s

tireless and forward-thinking administration. Hence we,

the students, as recipients of this privilege should

honour and uphold our end of the bargain by

continually seeking to also transform ourselves to

match the high standards not only expected, but

required of us. Among the targets UTP has laid out for

itself are being a research university, self-accreditation

and talent creation.

Rector, only universities that are recognized as able to

manage efficiently their main activities and supporting

activities (such as infrastructure, finance, human

resources, , etc.) will be granted self- accreditation. With

it, UTP would be given the trust and responsibility to

ensure a guarantee of quality of its own academic

programs. In other words, UTP would hold anautonomous power in the design, implementation,

monitoring of its academic programs. For a technical

university specializing in engineering and technology and

with close relation to the petroleum industry,

self-accreditation would without a doubt enhance UTP’s

commitment towards producing quality graduates.

Talent creation is the talk of the town and the

IHL community with fluency in science, technology and

As we all know, UTP is relatively young when

compared to other Institutions of Higher Learning

(IHLs) in Malaysia. With that in mind, it is no wonder

why we have not achieved a research university statusyet, considering our up-to-par infrastructure and

curriculum. However, putting aside age, as it is only an

illusion, another factor as to why UTP has not reached

this Holy Grail is related to their main

clients, the students. The writer, being one himself,

admits to have never truly grasped the concept of a

research university as the concept itself has never been

fully explained to the students. What benefits does a

research university have in contrast to a ‘regular’

university and what are the requirements to be one are

among the queries puzzling students. If UTP really isdetermined to ‘upgrade’ its status, then the role of

students is a crucial one and the troubles stated above

should be addressed first and foremost.

Self-accreditation is also on the list of goals and

relates to the average student. This is down to the

explanation placed upon it by UTP’s administration. It is

a welcomed sight to see the statement released by

Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Hj Kasim, the man himself,

explaining on the upcoming Academic Performance

Audit or Institutional Audit conducted by the MalaysianQualifications Agency that also sheds light on UTP’s

quest for self-accreditation by 2014. According to the

innovation stressed; sounds similar to

‘well-roundedness’, right? Basically that is what it is, only

just put in a more flashy and commercial arrangement of

words. It has always been UTP’s mission to producewell-rounded graduates and the journey still continues

as long as UTP remains standing. Among the recent

initiatives conducted include the creation of new

academic programs, such as the Bachelor of Technology

(Hons.) Petroleum Geoscience. UTP also has the longest

industrial training among IHLs. Though the stricter re-

quirements can be perceived as a trouble to the stu-

dents, especially by the students, its all for the

betterment of all involved.

Transformation is a natural process; a crawlingcaterpillar becomes a butterfly flying gracefully in the air

and small tadpoles become magnificent frogs.

However, if not done correctly with the proper planning

and implementation, the end result can be far worse

than what we begin with. Like how the environment,

habitat and time plays a role in the butterfly and frog

analogy, we all play a role in ensuring the success of our

university’s transformation. With that: UTP-ians,

assemble!

Highlights



What is the transformation of UTP about and why is there a

need for such a change?

We have been in existence for the last 13 years. Initially we

spent most of our time for effort in developing the physical

structure and the academic undergraduate programmes and

that development was in accordance with the Master Plan

meant for the purpose. However, the university needs to be

dynamic. Whilst we are proud to produce quality graduates,

based on our superior academic performance, it is high time

that we now move on towards R&D. hence transforming UTP

from not only as a provider of quality graduates but also

developing breakthrough technology and aiming itself as a

Center of Excellence in R&D and to attain international

recognition by the year 2020. Along the way we have targetedourselves to be recognized as a Research University in the

country by 2012.

What did you expect from this initiative and what is the final

outcome?

When planning out this initiative, we had to take into consideration PETRONAS journey towards

being a global champion, the Malaysian higher education strategic direction, the technology

development for the future and the way sustainable development should be managed. A team was formed to

develop a detailed action plan for UTP’s journey towards world class. In the process, they revisit the current

researches, recommended new ones and develop technology roadmaps for all research areas. They also

determined the required infrastructure such as office facilities, equipment and reviewed other processes foroperational excellence. In the final stage, an effective implementation program was proposed. At the end of

the study, a total of five technology roadmaps were proposed and accepted namely Enhancement of Oil

Recovery, Deepwater, Carbon Dioxide Management, Green Technology and Nanotechnology.

In this edition of the Inspirer, we were

fortunate to have an exclusive interview with our Rector,

Y. Bhg Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin B Hj Kasim. The interviewrevolved around the university’s Transformation Plan

which had recently been implemented. The Transformation

Plan aims to transform UTP into a research university by the

year 2013. A brief academic background of our beloved Rec-

tor; Dr. Zainal Abidin Hj Kasim was a student of Malay College

Kuala Kangsar (MCKK), Malaysia and studied for his ‘A’ Levels

in Cardiff, United Kingdom from 1971 to 1973 under the

MARA

Scholarship programme. He received his B.Sc. in Chemistry

Polymer Science from Loughborough University of Technol-

ogy, UK in 1976 and later in 1980 under the PETRONAS

sponsorship, his M.Sc. in Petrochemical/Hydrocarbon

Chemistry from UMIST, UK. He did his PhD in Aromatisation of

LPG using Zeolite Catalysts at the Institut Francais Petrole (IFP)

in conjunction with the University of Paris VI. Enjoy the

following interview.

Exclusive Interview



Exclusive Interview

When will these plans be implemented and who will be

the key players?

The implementation program is already in place. It is

critical for the TP’s (Transformation Plan) success,

everyone at UTP has to play aide. The commitment also

has to come from the top management. The Rector will

drive the overall plan and he will be assisted by theTP Secretariat headed by En. Solihuddin bin Ahmad

Nasaruddin, UTP’s Registrar. The themes have been

identified and each one will be championed by a member

of the Senior Management and they are;

Each of the champions will be assisted by a Functional

Manager and a few Change Agents. The Research

Enterprise Office is now called Research and Innovation to

reflect its expanded role. The Research Leaders who are

responsible to drive each of the focused areas will report

to this office.

What are the challenges do you expect in implementingthis transformation?

UTP can be considered as a fairly new university having

established about 13 years ago. One of the main

challenges is to recruit and retain experienced academic

staff to lead researches and to mentor the younger ones.

The current staff has carried out the functions well and

we hope to attract more. In the meantime about 70

percent of our staff are pursuing their postgraduate

studies locally and overseas. Another challenge is limited

funds. We cannot be too dependent on our

parent company. Efforts are being taken to collaboratewith external parties in research. To carry out credible

research one needs quality postgraduate students. We

a n t i c i p a t e a b o u t 1 2 0 0 p o s t g r a d u a t e

students in two years time to carry out research in the

area we have focused on. Whilst it is not difficult to

attract overseas students, the challenge remains winning

local students so that the knowledge and experience will

remain in the country. I hope more UTP graduates would

stay on to further their studies.

What are the key successes of this transformation plan?

One of the key success factors of a university is the

quality of the graduates produced whilst UTP and its

management has and will continue to provide their best

in nurturing the students, the latter must also play their

role well. Undergraduate students should continue tostrive for excellence in the academic performance as well

as building the right qualities through co-curricular

activities to ensure they are well demanded upon

graduation. Postgraduate students must have passion to

drive and sustain the research they are carrying out. Their

findings should be published in well known journals that

would help boost our universities standing in R&D.

What is your personal hope for this entire

transformation plan?

This is not an ordinary change but a transformation one.

Five technology roadmaps were accepted for

implementation, with it other potential areas were

identified. Some of these are meant to support

PETRONAS’s journey towards global championship whilst

other are related to sustainable development. Its

implementation requires the commitment at all levels.

I hope all the staff and students will support this initiative

undividedly and to play their respective role effectively.

The success of the university lies on all of us. I would like

to see our aspiration to be recognized as a research

university in the country be a reality by 2013 and as a

world renowned centre of excellence by 2020. This calls

for creating a centre of excellence encompassing a

positive mindset. We must have a sense of urgency to

transform if we are

to achieve our aspirations.

Leadership Champion:

Prof Ir Dr Ahmad Fadzil Mohamad Hani

Competency Champion:

AP Dr. Hilmi Mukhtar

Research Culture Champion:

Tn. Hj. Mohd Noor Rosli BaharomResearch Performance Champion:

AP Dr. A Rashid A Aziz

“ WE MUST HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY TO TRANSFORM

IF WE ARE TO ACHIEVE OUR ASPIRATIONS.”

~ Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin B Hj Kasim



In a few years to come UTP envisions to

become one of the most prominent research

universities in the world. A transformational plan has

been put to work under a very hardworking steering

committee consisting of lecturers and staffs. This com-

mittee has been proposing and monitoring changes

needed in critical areas such as work values, pro-

gramme syllabus and facilities for the past few months.

They have a tight schedule to raise the quality of this

university to international standards.

Some might think that, it is the university that

is changing and is of no concern to the

students. Sadly, they are wrong. The transformation

that UTP is undertaking now is a major signal

indicating that students should be adaptable to the

changes proposed along with it. Those who cannot

cope will be left behind while the rest will push

forward, advancing together with the

university. The change is also showing the

determination of the management to increase the

quantity of quality students on par with the missionand vision of the university.

The most important thing is students too

need to transform as rapid as the university

itself. We would not want multi-million dollar

facilities but a timid human capital. Only parallel

advancement in both areas will bring us to the

vision of becoming a leading university in

engineering and technology. Advancement in human

capital refers to the development of students in

areas such as competency level, soft skills, technical

skills, and strong basic fundamentals. These are things

that define what students should do to transform

themselves too. The success of all the changes brought

forth, will only be determined by looking at the success

of the students. This shows that student is the driving

force in this transition phase to become a well-known

research university.

In order to run parallel with the transformation

plan, there are two omnipotent steps that should be

taken not just for the graduating final year students,

but by all students in general. The first important step

is to embrace a paradigm shift in viewing academic

matters as crucial and top priority. Right now, most of

us are more concern with grades that later can never

reflect how strong the knowledge and skill acquired to

obtain such grades. Some are proud of getting high

scores but behind it there is a huge scam of plagiarism.We need to change this view to a more effort-based

and not result-based perspective.

The Observer



Grades does not really matter. The most

important thing is to view academic session as a

platform to attain knowledge and skills to the

maximum. Meaning to say that, we are willing to

take proactive steps in wanting to know everything

even though exceeding the syllabus set for us. This

desire of information is the thing that will drivea life-long learning attitude among students which is

much needed in future career development.

Thus, those who do not learn will be losing out to

those who do not care about grades but are thirsty

for knowledge.

Nonetheless, some will argue that life in

university is not just about studying. We need to

expose ourselves to things that cannot be learnt

from class such as teamwork, professionalism and

management skills. This is true in a sense but we

also cannot run away from the fact that we will later

work in a highly specialised field be it engineering or

technology. These specialised fields needspecialised knowledge and even more than that

when we include the fact that those fields are also

changing from time to time. In the end, we have to

go back to the basic understanding that we gained

from the lessons in university. At that moment, then

we will start to regret not understanding well our

studies in our university lives. Therefore, in a long

term career investment, investing in skills and

knowledge brings more benefit than those

"non-classroom values".

The second step is to apply the new

paradigm into efforts to achieve it; attitude

change. Personal mission without the embodiment

through actions and will power will fade. Thus, to

survive along with the changing university and the

world, we should start to change our attitudes. We

always have this saying, ‘First world facility, but

third world mentality’. Ultimately, this statement

will remain valid until we change our behaviour

to accompany the structural advantages that we

have. In terms of facility, inarguably UTP iswell equipped at every department but we have

much more to do in terms of human resource.

Students must embody the attitude of

striving for the best. In any work and task, we must

do our best to make it worthy of our reputation and

pride. This is because in whatever that we do, it

reflects our self-image. The greatness that we

achieve in our work will not only bring satisfaction

but most importantly, we are able to learn morethings along the way. This also brings us to the idea

of being professional in our work so that it will be

of a great quality and distinguishable from others.

Leave plagiarism away as it only taints our

efforts and could hinder further exploration

of knowledge if not unethical. We must also seek

every opportunity for us to know more so that

we become really good at what we do.

In reality, both steps need personal

realization and a strong desire to be excellent.Stephen Covey in his book ‘7 Habits of Highly

Effective People’, mentioned that creating and

implementing anew habit is not easy. Thus, we must

be really determined to sweat ourselves and make

use of our lives in this university to the fullest. In the

west, they are already at top notch in facility

advancement as well as human development too.

To surpass them, we must strive even better and it

all begins with the success of UTP students to adapt

with the changing university and the changing world

too.

6

The Observer

Covey, Stephen R.,The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671708635/quickmba





Interview

7

Motivation Articles

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/13-strategies-to-jumpstart-your-productivity.html



8

Quiz answer for

last edition:

Fire

A cold

A nose

A match

Towel

Darkness

Stars

An Onion

A secret

What has fingers but can't type?

What has ears but can't hear?

What has arms but can't hug?

What has a head and a foot but no

body?

When is a car not a car?

What has a mouth but never

smiles?

What has a face but no head?

What has leaves but isn't a tree?

What has eyes but can't see?

What has legs but can't walk?

You want to know the result of your Quiz??

Find out the ANSWER in our next edition.

InterviewMotivation Articles

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/coaching-persistence.html

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/articles/productivity/why-being-a-perfectionist-may-not-be-so-perfect.html



Firstly, I am very grateful to be given this golden opportunity to

share about me and my valuable life experience with my beloved UTP

community. 5 years of experience being an undergraduate in UTP had

enriched me with various life experiences and vast knowledge. It turned

me into a wiser and marketable person in the outside world today. I’m

very proud to proclaim as a UTP student as UTP is a one of the best

engineering university in its class. UTP offers world-class quality education

with sophisticated facilities and best lectures from worldwide. This

conducive learning environment had assisted me to excel in my

academics, as I was able to maintain a first class honor degree results. To

keep a good balance between curricular and co-curricular I also have

participated in many activities and hold many positions in both university

organizations and external organizations. Such as the position of Director

of Promotion & Publication, Secretary, Facilitator of PETRONAS PEMADAM

program, Rotaract Interact Conference Group Discussion Leader, Bhangra

dancer, Indian Orchestra Musician and 21 km marathon athlete

representing Malaysia and PETRONAS in Austria.

One of the most memorable period

throughout my 5 years of undergraduate is my 6

months internship program in BRP-Powertrain

(ROTAX), Gunskirchen, AUSTRIA. My internship hadtaught me lots of lessons about life and

interpersonal skills that highly required to be a

successful figure in future. I was among the first

batch to be selected to undergo industrial training

in this company. Briefly about my intern company,

BRP-Powertrain is an international market leading

company in the development and production of

4-stroke and advanced 2-stroke ROTAX engines.

Throughout my internship period, I was

assigned with two major projects, which were theAbsorber Project and FORTRAN Project. Both these

projects were very challenging since they require

good background knowledge in engine testing and

troubleshooting, which I did not acquire in

university. Absorber Project was a troubleshooting

and designing project and FORTRAN Project was

test bench data analyzing software troubleshooting

project. I belief that nothing is impossible in this

world as long as required effort and interest is

placed in the particular job done. Hence, with this

belief and by being positive, I accepted both theseprojects as a project leader and carried out them

with supervision from my supervisor. At the end of

my internship period, both of these projects were

successfully completed. These projects trained me

well in becoming a good project leader and it also

helped to build my confidence level to not give upeasily to any challenges faced in life.

Adapting to new lifestyle and new working

environment was a very demanding issue during the

initial period of the internship period. Such as

adapting to their language (Deutsch), the 4 seasonal

climates, the food, the rules and regulations of the

country, the living style and office working styles.

These issues had lead me to lots challenges in the

early days, such as in dealing with people or making

new friends and even to purchase groceries fromstores, since Deutsch is the officially spoken

language and English is rarely used. However, with

the assistance from my office colleagues and hostel

mates, I was able to pick up some basic Deutsch,

which was good enough for me to survive in the

community for the first few months till I could adapt

myself fully to the environment.

Quote

Aspiration

SSIVAIVA SSANKARAANKARA AARUDRARUDRA

MMECHANICALECHANICAL EENGINEERINGNGINEERING



Besides that, dealing with the European

working lifestyle was one of my major issue that I find

challenging to deal with in the early days. In this

company, every job is done very systematically,

efficiently and by following fully the rules and

regulations strictly. Even, their expectations on interns

was high as they expect us to perform outstandingly bybeing creative and innovative besides complying strictly

to the time constraints set. This was quite of a

demanding challenge, as I had to apply my fullest in

getting jobs done to meet the management demands.

These hardships have trained me to be a very flexible

and adaptable person and I belief this experience will

help me to survive in any country that I will visit for

courier purposes or personal reasons in future. I would

like to take this opportunity to thank the PETRONAS

team in the host-company and my friends who was very

caring and provided me with great hospitability toundergo this adapting process smoothly.

As a conclusion, I had the most memorable and

life enriching period by being 5 years in UTP. I belief I

had developed well academically and non-academically

with the full assistance from the lectures, UTP

community, my friends and with all the learning

opportunities awarded to me throughout this period. I

would proudly say UTP is the reason that caused me to

be what I am today, as a well-rounded person. For this,

I would like to convey my heartiest gratitude to ourhonorable Datuk Dr. Zainal Abidin Hj Kasim and the UTP

management for their great leadership in producing

well-rounded students and in making UTP as one of the

best engineering university in this region. I would like to

apologize for any of my shortcomings throughout my 5

years of journey in UTP. Best wishes to all my friends in

UTP for the upcoming and challenges waiting ahead.

‘Be positive, think positive and u will see positive

results’.

Reverie

A state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing.

She is lost in reverie.

A daydream.

A fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea.

They are reveries that will never come to

fruition.

An instrumental composition of a vague and

dreamy character.

Eke

To gain or supplement with great effort or

difficulty.

He eked out an income by working two jobs

To increase or make last by being economical.

Equanimity

Evenness of mind; steadiness of mind under

stress; calmness; composure.

For one whose mind has been notoriously

troubled, Brian Lara is at least retaining asense of equanimity .

He accepted their problems with composure

and she with equanimity.

Info from :http://dictionary.reference.com/

Completely dedicated to improve your

English

Aspiration

http://dictionary.reference.com/





Communicate with Your WorkResearch process has to run simultaneously

with the writing of the research paper. This is

the way to communicate with your work where

you have to enjoy on what you are doing. When

you start to sit down and concentrate on thewriting, you will get into deep thinking and you

will discover the lack in the research and think

f o r

improvement. Writing do not only act as a check

and balance to the research but it is also acting

as a driving force to keep the momentum of

whole process is at its correct phase. Have

passion in your writings as it is what you plan to

share with others. Well, even the greatest ideas

A Pen and Notebook as Your Best FriendsHumans easily forget and researchers are not

being excluded. Having a pen and a notebook is

essential in keeping the research-related items for

regular review purpose. You should also consider

having them at all time with you to note down

important points or ideas which might come and

disappear in a blink of eyes.

Have the Right AttitudeEverything starts from you. Eventhough you are

technically skilled, it doesn’t promise you a good

ending of research. Develop a positive attitude

throughout the research. This is vitally important to

keep the focus on the research from being

distracted by any obstacle. Sometimes students

might experience self-doubt which may lead them

to quit on the research. Be proactive, stay focus and

love what you do. Have in mind that great passion

produces great work.

Be Familiar with Research PapersReading is the way to make a research paper

familiar to you. There are vast difference in

reading a text book and reading a research paper.

Text book usually provides readers with impor-

tant points to be given attention and explanation

is provided for better understandings. On the

other side, research paper requires readers to be

skilled enough in extracting the information from

the research paper. Besides, readers should be

thinking critically while reading. They should ask

questions such as “Is this findings applicable?”,

“What improvement could be done to make it

better?”, “Can the research be extended?” and

others. This practice will help readers in working

on their own research paper in the future.

LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS Readings need guidance or else you might end up

having the wrong message to take home. Refer to

experts for explanation and start a discussion

which will help in developing your research

credibility. It is even better if you could have the

explanation from the researcher himself on the

thesis. Going for various research papers or

thesis presentation will be very helpful. For

better learning, actively ask questions or give

feedbacks and take note of the information

resources mentioned for future references.

SSSTARTINGTARTINGTARTING AAA R R R ESEARCHESEARCHESEARCH By: Siti Sara Lyana Binti Badly Sham

3rd Year 1st Semester Student -CVE

The university is undergoing a transformation from a Teaching-University to a Research University. This

transformation demands the surrounding population to be able to adapt and walk along the same phase of the

transformation. The university has done great effort by providing a larger quota for postgraduate studies, open up

research-industry relationship and many more. Students should grab this challenge and contribute to the university.

Consideration on pursuing the postgraduate studies should be made. No longer be the second choice of students

after failing to be employed upon graduation, now Postgraduate Studies need to be treated as a medium for those

who possess real passion for knowledge. In this edition, The Inspirer exposes the readers to few basic steps to start a

research.

Face-to-Face

Hotline

Quickies

7. the Inspirer Seventh Edition

Documents

Transcript of 7. the Inspirer Seventh Edition