KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 1): The Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) and Siemens Malaysia have inked a landmark collaboration that is set to prepare university graduates for the eventual world of systems integration.
MTUN and Siemens signed a letter of intent today as a symbolic significance that is meant to be a precursor to the memorandum of understanding agreement to be inked later in October.
In a statement today, Siemens said following this letter of intent, a new degree program called the Bachelor of Technology (Hons) Degree in Industrial Electronic Automation will be launched, with the first intake of students to be enrolled on Sept 1.
MTUN is an umbrella network of four universities, namely Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), and Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP).
Siemens said ths collaboration is divided into two phases, with the first phase of student enrolment undertaken by UniMAP and UTHM as official pioneers to the start of the course.
It said UniMAP and UTHM will have 30 students each for this September intake, while Phase 2 will follow suit at a later stage for the two other institutions, namely UTeM and UMP.
This industry-education partnership for both MTUN and Siemens marks the first-of-its-kind cooperation that is rare even within the sector, embedding industrial training and software learning into the academic curriculum throughout the student's degree over 3½ years.
It will see Siemens' Total Integrated Automation modules being taught across the different disciplines for the syllabus which has been co-developed between Siemens Malaysia and the respective university.
During this time, industrial training will be provided for 1½ years and the two remaining years will be for classroom learning.
Upon graduation, students will be able to earn not just their Honors degree from a locally accredited university but also a professional certification from Siemens as qualified and versatile system integrators.
Siemens Malaysia senior vice president and head of digital industries Adam Yee said the launch of the Bachelor's degree program is a further extension of the firm's continuous efforts to its existing Siemens Innovation and Resources Training Center (SITRAIN) program that has already produced many skilled graduates for the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) pipeline sustainability, and reaffirms Siemens as the nation's preferred technology and education partner for TVET and industry 4.0.
Meanwhile, UniMAP Faculty of Engineering Technology (Electronic Department) lecturer Ahmad Nasir Che Rosli said this collaboration with Siemens Malaysia will open up opportunities for MTUN students to undergo industrial attachment with Siemens partners and customers.
"The involvement of industries in developing the Bachelor of Technology curriculum has been very encouraging. In fact, MTUN has always engaged with the industries right from the start of the development process. Our practice is to have a series of workshops and meetings organized together, be it at MTUN level or the university level itself," he said.