Industrial Training (IT), for most, if not all, industrial Training (IT) undergraduate programmes, is an essential compulsory course in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). By implementing industrial training, students are open to the limitless opportunity to learn in the industry setting and experience a real working environment. Most importantly, industrial training serves as a platform for students to adopt prior knowledge gained in the university and adapt it in the actual workplace under the supervision of industry professionals.
The advancing communication technology and networking globalisation call for a broader scope of training – beyond nationality or border. This could be the starting point of cultivating global citizens we aimed to pursue by empowering our students with a set of skills on the national and international levels. This initiative anticipates an added value for students to increase their employability chance with the leading industry key players and become a pool of holistic talents in the future. MJIIT, through the IT in Japan programme, aims to provide a sustainable platform for a global industry-academia linkage, with both entities equally benefiting from this initiative.
The opportunity of attending industrial training in Japan has become one of the uniqueness at the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT). Since 2015, MJIIT has sent over 175 outstanding undergraduate students to undergo the 12-week industrial training at well-established companies and research centers in Japan through a series of collaborations in academics and research. However, this programme has been kept on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 until mid-2022. This year has witnessed the recovery of mobility activities in general, and MJIIT has received 14 placement opportunities for students’ industrial training abroad in Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
On the 23rd of July 2023, students for IT in Japan departed from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) accompanied by the Deputy Dean of Academic & Student Development of MJIIT, Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Nurulakmar Abu Husain and the Japan Industrial Training Coordinator, Dr. Jun Ishimatsu. Ten students in total were sent off that day. They will be followed by one student later in August, who will be stationed at various companies in Japan for one month for intensive training and hopefully improve their Japanese language ability through day-to-day communication with their Japanese colleagues.
The departure of IT in Japan students with family and MJIIT representatives
Seven big companies involved in the IT in Japan programme are Oshikiri Machinery Ltd., Daido Kogyo Co., Ltd., NSK Ltd., Nissin Giken Co., Ltd., Kojundo Chemical Laboratory Co., Ltd., STT Inc. and Azbil Corporation (former Yamatake Corporation). These companies provide placement for the students and assist in the student’s welfare, including accommodation and ground transportation during their training in Japan. Another Japanese company, Sunny Hose Co., Ltd., is receiving one student to undergo industrial training at one of their establishments in Hong Kong with a full board sponsorship. These companies have developed a good relationship with MJIIT in recent years and looking profoundly to continue and expand the existing collaboration.
From left, Jacob Lee and Cheah Wei Ern from the Department of Mechanical Precision Engineering, MJIIT at Oshikiri Machinery Ltd.
From left, Rajvinderjeet Singh and Ooi Xin Yin from the Department of Mechanical Precision Engineering, MJIIT at Daido Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Middle from left, students Nurul Izzat Zaharudin and Izzah Sabrina Baharudin from the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, MJIIT at Kojundo Chemical Laboratory Co., Ltd.
Low Thean Nam from the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, MJIIT at STT Inc.
Through the initiatives of UTM i-League and UTM International for the International Internship Programme, MJIIT has been given the opportunity to send MJIIT’s undergraduate students to prestigious universities in South Korea, namely, Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) and Kumoh National Institute of Technology (KIT). Aligned with the UTM’s tagline “Innovating Solutions”, students are assigned to research centers to work closely with eminent scientists in their respective fields, embarking on new emerging technologies yet to be explored.
From left to right: Mok Wenyi (Department of Electronic System Engineering) in front of Kumoh National Institute of Technology (KIT), Mior Amzar (Department of Mechanical Precision Engineering) in Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) and Fakhrul Nuqman in Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST)
This milestone is achieved from a collective effort from various stakeholders, including UTM, industry partners, agencies, and family, with one mutually agreed objective – to nurture our future generation of leaders for a sustainable ecosystem of technology, socioeconomic and environment. MJIIT, as one of the faculties in UTM, is humbled to have the privilege and responsibility to carry out this initiative and contributes to UTM’s rating in the world ranking.