In the Media (Strategic Alliance)
Here are some of the media coverage that I could find on the web on the alliance activities when I was serving as the first director of UTP's strategic alliance office between October 2014 and September 2018 (two 2-year terms), after which I returned to the faculty as a full-time academic.
Strategic Alliance Office (SAO)
Strategic Alliance Office (SAO) was established in 2014 when I was appointed as its first director, reporting directly to the then Vice Chancellor, Datuk Ir (Dr) Abdul Rahim Hashim. When appointed, I had zero staff and no office. I operated from my academic office for several months until I got my first executive and moved to the office location at the Chancellor Complex. The article above was published to introduce SAO--with 4 staff--and what it does. I served as Director of SAO for 4 years between October 2014 and September 2018.
Below are some of the articles (newspapers--print and online, and online articles) that covered some of the alliances between UTP and external parties.
Establishment of UTP's Centre for Advanced and Professional Education (CAPE) in Kuala Lumpur by SAO
The initial objective of SAO was to establish the Kuala Lumpur Office for UTP, where SAO would operate from. After developing the business model for the KL office (not just for SAO, but for UTP as a whole), we scoured various potential locations in Klang Valley, appointed an architect to design the office, worked with the architect to get the design done according to UTP's vision and got it approved by UTP management. We then worked with property management office in getting the tender process going, appointing the main contractor, monitoring the construction and ensuring the finished construction.
The name CAPE was suggested by the VC after going through many different options that we presented to him. Towards the completion of the construction, the first CAPE director was appointed. With that appointment, SAO officially handed over CAPE to its eventual owner. The rest is now history. Visit CAPE website at http://cape.utp.edu.my/
June 2015
October 2015, signing the MOU renewal between UTP and Mitsubishi for the latter's sponsorship of UTP's Professioral Chair position that focused on renewab energy.
October 2015
CGG GeoSoftware signed the agreement to formalize their donation of geoscience-related software to UTP, worth
May 2016
MOU with Celcom on the establishment of Celcom Wifi on campus to support digitalization of the UTP campus throughout.
September 2016
Signing the MOU with Nobel Laureate Professor Yunus' "Yunus Social Business Center" on the establishment of the Centre of Social Innovation as part of the network of global Yunus Center.
January 2017
Signing the agreement with the Philippine's Department of Science and Technology as part of their support to provide scholarships for Philippinos to study in UTP, among others.
July 2017
MOU with Nrgedge includes the provision on providing access to UTP students to the oil and gas employers and jobs through the Oil & Gas specific platform similar to Jobstreet.
October 2017
August 2018
This took place just before my 4-year term at the Strategic Alliance Office ended. The following MOUs were signed during UTP's biennial Engineering, Science and Technology Congress (ESTCON 2018), which was held at the Kuala Lumpur Coventer Centre.
https://www.utp.edu.my/Pages/Media/Press-Release/2018/MoU-ESTCON.aspx
