JOHOR BAHRU, 29 December : A group of 38 UTM staff headed by Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development) Professor Ir. Dr. Wahid Omar visited National University of Singapore (NUS), yesterday.
The official visit was aimed to gain insights and learn from NUS best practices, in relation to aspects of risk management, marketing, communications, branding, alumni engagement and administrative operations.
NUS is a public funded university and is currently one of the most renowned university in the region in world ranking.
It has established strong links with its alumni, with 14 alumni chapters around the globe through the Global Alumni Network Office and International Alumni Centre at NUS Shaw Foundation Alumni House.
The Deputy Director of International Relations Office, Aileen Bong said, the university adopted the philosophy of “The Returning Salmon” and hope the alumni will come back to the university and contribute in their little and impactful ways to their alma mater which has prepared them for the challenges ahead before they step out into the real world and contributing to the intellectual, social and economic vibrancy of the country and society.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Director, Office of Corporate Affairs, Lawrence Chai shared insights on four different units that the office is handling including strategic communication, corporate events, media relations and marketing communications.
He said, the strategic communication unit is responsible for brand strategy and consultancy, corporate strategy and application, advertising policy, corporate advertisements and advertorial, admission publicity, new and social media and communication policies and research.
“As a public funded university we spend money on only advertisements focusing on courses offered and student enrolment,” he said while delivering a briefing at the University Hall.
Meanwhile, the corporate event unit looks into key university events, ad-hoc VIP events, protocol matters, development of VIP gifts, communication liaison with Istana and government ministries and event consultancy.
The media relations unit manages media publicity, media queries, media familiarization, filming requests, media events, management of crisis and negative issues and media consultancy.
“Marketing communications unit is responsible for university publications, corporate website, web guidelines, virtual tour, photo library, and publications consultancy,” he said.
After that, Chief Risk Officer, NUS Office of Risk Management, Dennis Lee took his turn to provide briefing on the issues of Office of Risk Management which promotes environmentally responsible, safe and healthy environment for university staff, faculty, students and visitors.
He has a lot of experience working in the private sector and is hired by NUS to facilitate matters related risk management in support of the university’s mission of teaching and research.
His department is placed under the President’s Office and reports directly to the President.
During the visit, the Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost Professor Tan Eng Chye also met Professor Wahid for a courtesy call.
Among the UTM officers who joined the visits include Director of Works, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abd. Latiff Saleh, Director of Office of Safety and Health Environment (OSHE) Professor Dr Maketab Mohamad, Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs Assoc. Prof. Dr.Masputriah Hamzah, Deputy Director of Web Dr. Norazman Ismail, Head of Transformation Unit Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Rahman Songip, and Security Director En Halim Adam.