JOHOR BAHRU, 17 October 2016 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has recorded its own history when producing a total of 619 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) graduates in the period of 10 months from January this year.
Vice Chancellor Prof. Datuk Ir Dr Wahid Omar said the number is expected to increase to 719 by the end of this year as compared to 616 graduates for the period January to December 2015.
According to Prof. Wahid, this was the highest number ever produced in a year since Dr Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering became the first graduate to receive a PhD from UTM in 1989.
“On the 57th Convocation which will take place from 22 to 25 October 2016, a total of 362 PhD graduates will receive their scrolls that will be presented by UTM Chancellor, HRH Raja Zarith Sofia Bt Sultan Idris Shah, Queen of Johor.
“The 57th convocation saw a total of 5,467 graduates, comprising 362 PhDs, 873 Masters and 2,533 Bachelors and 733 Diploma will receive their scrolls respectively. The total included 966 graduates of Bachelor and Diploma programs in collaboration with the Private Education Institutions, “he said during a press conference announcing the 57th convocation ceremony in his office today.
Prof. Wahid said a total of 25 graduates of the State Administrative Office under the sponsorship of the State Secretary of Johor (SUKJ) who were pursuing Master Degree in Land Development and Administration from Faculty of Geoinformation and Real Estate also will be receiving their Master’s Degree. They started their studies in February 2014 and ended in March 2016.
“The second cohort of 21 State Administrative Officers under the SUKJ sponsorship have signed up to study at the post-graduate level at the International Business School (IBS), UTM Kuala Lumpur.
“The initiatives of State officials pursuing their studies at the post- graduate level was originally idealized by the Menteri Besar Johor, Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin in order to achieve the target of at least 50 percent of the State Administrative Officers holding a Masters to produce qualified civil servants and are able to strengthen the Johor civil service,” he said.
He said several historic events will take place at the convocation ceremony including the appointment of Tan Sri Dato ‘Dr. Lin See-Yan as Pro-Chancellor to replace Dato ‘Dr. Muhammad Ridzuan Hj. Salleh, who has completed his tenure on March 15, 2016. The appointment of Tan Sri Dato ‘Dr. Lin See-Yan came in effect from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2019.
Meanwhile, former Deputy Vice Chancellor of UTM, Prof. Dr. Ismail Kailani will be awarded the title of Emeritus Professor by HRH Raja Zarith Sofia.
In the meantime, for the first time in history, UTM will be awarding posthumous degrees to the heirs of deceased graduates. The graduates have successfully completed more than 80 percent of study before passing away.
Among the posthumous graduates is the late Bashir Yahaya of Nigeria, pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, who died of a heart attack on October 10, 2015.
The rest were a Bachelor of Accounting graduate, late Fatin Farah Wahhida Azahar from Batu Pahat, Johor and Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Development graduate, the late Mohd Shafiq Ellmal Abdul Shukor of Bandar Penawar, Kota Tinggi, Johor from the Faculty of Management, who died on the same day, 26 April 2016.
“Fatin Farah Wahhida died from heart complications during the Industrial Training session in Klang, Selangor while Mohd Shafiq Ellmal died in a road accident while traveling to attend industrial training in Bandar Penawar,” he said.
The 57th Convocation also saw a total of 349 international graduates from 35 countries that attended various courses will receive a diploma. Iran is the country that tops the list with 91 graduates followed by Nigeria and Indonesia.
The number of international graduates which has been produced by UTM up to 57th Convocation ceremony were 192 PhD, 118 Master, 38 Bachelor and one Diploma. The total number of graduates produced since 1972 has amounted to 180,425 persons.