EDITORIAL Bujang B.K. Huat

Hasanah Mohd. Ghazali Arun Prasad

Design, Layout & Photography

Azman Shah Mohd Sahar Ismail Mohd Ali

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES Zone4, Off Jalan Stadium Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang Selangor Darul Ehsan Tel: +603-8946 4200

Faks: +603-8946 4232/4234 E-mail: sgs@putra.upm.edu.my

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Closed on Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays

Social Gathering cum Hi-Tea with Education Attaché of Foreign

Embassies

Serdang, February 7 - A social gathering cum hi-tea was organized for the education attaché and representative of embassies and high com-missioners of foreign embassies. Among those who were present were the attaché and representatives of Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Russia and Yemen. The function was held in conjunction with the oath taking ceremony of the new postgradu-ate students of UPM for the second semester of the session 2010-11.

A total of 1374 new students made their symbolic oath as the new stu-dents of UPM. The ceremony was officiated by Dato’ Ir. Dr. Radin Umar Radin Suhaidi, the Vice Chancellor of UPM, and other principal officers of the university.

Graduate Vol. 6 (Issue 1) http://www.sgs.upm.edu.my ISSN 1675-5197 JUNE 2011

Times School of Graduate Studies

3 - 4 5

6 - 7

8 - 10 11

12 - 13 14

Berita Kampus

Focus On

Putra Sarjana Seminars and Workshops

Promotion of Education

Activities and Events

Point of View

Quotes / A Thought / Congratulation

INSIDE

Prof. Drs. Rusdi M.A (centre) Education attaché of the Republic of Indonesia.

Naib Canselor UPM, Dato’ Ir. Dr. Radin Umar Radin Sohadi beramah mesra dengan pelajar baharu UPM

Continue on page 2

Cover Story 2 | Graduate Times, June 2011

Of the 1384 newly registered postgraduate students, 303 are PhD students and 432 are international students, making the total number of international students to 2803 from 60 different countries. This diversity in student composition is in line with UPM’s aspiration to be a university of international re-pute. There is also a 25% increase in the number of new international student intake compared with the second semester of the previous year.

In the press interview after the ceremony, the Vice Chancellor pointed out by having international stu-dents in UPM, the local students are exposed to the international culture and competition. In the past, this can only be achieved by sending overseas the local students. Promoting Malaysia’s education is beneficial to the country in terms of IP, cultural awareness, Malaysian businesses as well as econ-omy.

In his address to the new students, the Vice Chancellor stressed upon the students to be truthful to knowledge, avoid plagiarism and falsification of data and results.

Dr. Azizollah Memariani (centre) Counsellor of Research of the Islamic Republic of

Prof. Dr. saad A. Al - Taan (centre) Cultural Advisor of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq.

Berita Kampus 3 | Graduate Times, June 2011

Pelajar Pasca Siswazah Antarabangsa UPM Meningkat

Majlis Ikrar Pelajar Baru Semester 2 -2010/2011

SERDANG, 8 Feb - Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) mencatatkan peningkatan pengambilan pelajar pasca siswazah antarabangsa iaitu seramai 432 pelajar pada semester kedua 2011/2012. Jumlah tersebut meningkat 25 peratus kepada 86 pelajar berbanding sesi yang sama pada Disember tahun lalu. Naib Canselor UPM, Dato’ Ir. Dr. Radin Umar Radin Sohadi berkata daripada jumlah pelajar yang mendaftar, 303 merupakan pelajar peringkat PhD dan selebihnya adalah pelajar peringkat sarjana. Menurut beliau, pada masa kini sebanyak 2,803 pelajar antarabangsa sedang menyambung pengajian peringkat ijazah sarjana muda, sarjana dan PhD di UPM.

“Peningkatan ini membuktikan, UPM menjadi pilihan utama pelajar antarabangsa untuk melanjutkan pengajian mereka di sini. “Selain itu, perkembangan positif ini dilihat sejajar dengan hasrat kerajaan untuk menjadikan Malaysia sebagai sebuah hab pendidikan yang tersohor di rantau ini," katanya kepada pemberita selepas majlis melafaz ikrar pelajar baharu di sini. Pada majlis itu seramai 1,374 pelajar baharu pasca siswazah bagi semester kedua 2011/2012 melafaz ikrar sebagai simbolik memulakan pengajian di UPM. Turut hadir pada majlis itu, Timbalan Naib Canselor (Akademik dan Antarabangsa) UPM, Prof. Datin Paduka Dr. Aini Ideris, Timbalan Naib Canselor (Penyelidikan dan Inovasi) UPM, Prof. Ir. Dr. Mohd. Saleh Jaafar, Timbalan Naib Canselor (Hal ehwal Pelajar dan Alumni) UPM, Prof. Dr. Mohd. Fauzi Ramlan dan Timbalan Naib Canselor (Jaringan Industri dan Masyarakat), Prof. Dr. Tai Shzee Yew. Timbalan Dekan Sekolah Pengajian Siswazah UPM, Prof. Dr. Bujang B. K. Huat berkata pelajar luar negara yang melanjutkan pengajian di UPM datang dari 30 negara termasuk Iran, Iraq, Canada, Cameroon, Syria, Nigeria, Yemen, Palestin, Somalia, Rusia, Tanzania, Bangladesh dan Indone-sia. Katanya, daripada jumlah tersebut Iran mencatatkan bilangan pelajar antarabangsa paling ramai diikuti Iraq, Nigeria dan Indonesia.

Sabrina Mahili mengetuai lafaz ikrar pelajar pada Majlis Lafaz Ikrar pelajar di sini

Naib Canselor UPM, Dato’ Ir. Dr. Radin Umar Radin Sohadi beramah mesra dengan pelajar baharu

UPM

Berita Kampus 4 | Graduate Times, June 2011

Sementara itu, pelajar antarabangsa yang ditemui berpendapat, UPM menjadi pilihan mereka kerana jurusan yang ditawarkan menepati kehendak pasaran kerja selain terkenal dengan taraf universiti penyelidikan. Rata-rata berpuas hati dengan kemudahan kolej kediaman yang lengkap dan selesa ditambah dengan fasiliti makmal berteknologi tinggi yang menjadi antara faktor penyumbang kepada peningkatan tersebut.

Bagi pelajar yang berasal dari Nigeria, Shehu Malami, 35, suasana pengajian di kampus yang kondusif serta keistimewaan persekitaran kampus membuatkan dia begitu selesa untuk melanjutkan pengajian peringkat sarjana dalam bidang Sains Komputer di sini. “Selain itu, saya juga berminat untuk melanjutkan pengajian di UPM setelah membaca beberapa artikel mengenai keadaan negara ini yang permai dan dihuni pelbagai kaum,” katanya. Seorang lagi pelajar antarabangsa dari Iran, Azitah Asadi, 32, berkata, dia memilih UPM disebabkan ramai rakan-rakan senegara yang pernah melanjutkankan pengajian di UPM mengesyorkan supaya dia memilih universiti itu. “Lagi pun budaya masyarakat Melayu di Malaysia tidak banyak bezanya dengan budaya kami. Saya selesa berada di sini kerana masyarakat di sini peramah dan baik hati,” katanya yang mengambil PhD dalam bidang Pengurusan Taman dan Rekreasi. Sementara itu, pelajar siswazah tempatan yang mengetuai lafaz ikrar, Sabrina Mahili, 31, berkata beliau bukan sahaja berke-sempatan melanjutkan pengajian Master di Fakulti Pengajian Pendidikan, malah berpeluang untuk berinteraksi bersama pelajar antarabangsa. “Dengan ramainya pelajar antarabangsa di sekeliling saya, pendedahan silang budaya kini boleh diraih di UPM apabila bersosialisasi dengan mereka. Berita ini disediakan oleh Seksyen Media, Bahagian Komunikasi Korporat UPM. (Mohd. Martin Abdul Kahar - 03-89467469).

Sebahagian pelajar Iran yang mendominasi pelajar-pelajar antarabangsa di UPM

Pelajar yang berasal dari Nigeria, Shehu Malami

Focus ON 5 | Graduate Times, June 2011

riting a thesis is a time consuming endeavor. Thesis writing is not only an art but also the product of many years of research and painstaking hard work. Anyone who was ever involved in the

writing of a thesis remembers the experience for the rest of his life. Upon successfully completion of the thesis writing, the students must submit it for evaluation. In UPM, a thesis is examined based on the quality of the study conducted and presented for evaluation, and defense of the thesis during the viva voce, both of which the student must pass. A thesis may be accepted as follows: Accepted with Distinction or Accepted with Corrections (Minor or Major). A student may also be asked for oral re-examination if the examination committee is not satisfied with the oral defense. A thesis deemed to have not met the standards will be required to re-submitted, re-submission as a Master thesis (for PhD only) or outright rejection (failed). In UPM, the thesis examination committee comprises of a chairman and three examiners. Of the three examiners, at least one must be an external examiner from outside the university. Starting January 1, 2010, all the external examiners of UPM’s PhD thesis are appointed from among the academics from outside the country in an effort to elevate the university’s standards at par with that of the international standards. It would of course be a great achievement for any student to obtain a pass with Distinction. In UPM, a thesis can be accepted with distinction when all or most of the research findings have either been published or accepted for publication in citation-indexed journals and requires minimal improvement in spelling, grammar and syntax. Difficult it may sound, but it can be done, and more importantly it has been done.

FOCUS On Obtaining a Pass with Distinction:

Mission Possible

2011 (as of June 2011): 1. Name: Sina Kazemian Nationality: Iranian Programme: PhD Faculty: Engineering

2010 : 1. Name: Sivayogam A/L Paramasivam Nationality: Malaysian Programme: PhD Faculty: Modern Languages & Communication

Following are UPM’s students who have made it to our ‘Hall of Fame’ by obtaining a Pass with Distinction.

2. Name: Majed H. Mohammed Nationality: Iraqi Programme: PhD Faculty: Veterinary Medicine

3. Name: Lam Kok Wai Nationality: Malaysian Programme: PhD Institute: Bioscience

4. Name: Zaridah Yahya Nationality: Malaysian Programme: PhD Faculty: Agriculture

5. Name: Siti Salwa Abd Ghani Nationality: Malaysian Programme: PhD Faculty: Science

6. Name: Najmeh Malek Mohammadi Nationality: Iranian Programme: PhD Institute: Mathematical Research

2009: 1. Name: Lee Chin Mei Nationality: Malaysian Programme: MS Institute: Bioscience

2. Name: Amin Malek Mohammadi Nationality: Iranian Programme: PhD Faculty: Engineering

Graduate Times, June 2011 | 6 Putra Sarjana Seminar & Workshop

putraSARJANA 2011’s Seminar & Workshop

Title : Write Right : Avoiding Plagiarism Seminar Date : 25th January 2011 Speaker : Assoc. Prof. Dr Mardziah Hayati Abdullah Assoc. Prof. Dr Wong Bee Eng

Title : Scientific Writing and Publishing in Journal Seminar Date : 18th February 2011

Speakers : Prof. Dr. Mohd Ali Hassan

Title : Insight in Postgraduate Research Seminar Date : 22nd February 2011

Speakers : Prof. Dr Abdul RahmanOmar, Dr. Syahrilnizam Abdullah,

Dr. Steven Eric Krauss @ Abdul Lateef Abdullah

Title : Introduction to UPM Postgraduate Studies Seminar Date : 12th January 2011 Speaker : Prof. Dr. Seow HengFong Prof. Dato’ Dr. Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman Prof. Dr. Hasanah Mohd Ghazali

Title : Guide to Writing a Scientific Research Proposal Date : 8th March 2011 Speakers : Dr. Christopher Teh Boon Sung

Title : Research Proposal Writing for Social Sciences Date : 11th March 2011 Speaker : Prof. Dr. Jayum A. Jawan

Putra Sarjana Seminar & Workshop 7 | Graduate Times, June 2011

Title : Enhancing Negotiation Skills Seminar

Date : 18th March 2011 Speaker : Prof. Dr. Mohd Ali Hassan

Title : Getting the Job Seminar

Date : 21st April 2011 Speaker : Dr. Kenny Teoh Guan Cheng

Title : Guide to Thesis Writing Seminar Date : 24th March 2011 Speakers : Prof. Dr. Bujang B.K. Huat

Title : LaTeX Software Workshop Date : 28th & 30th March 2011

Speaker : Dr. Mohd Bakribin Adam

Title : LIBRARY USER EDUCATION PROGRAMME FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS Date : 4th April 2011 –13th April 2011

Title : Examination of Thesis Date : 9th May 2011

Speaker : Prof. Dr. Hasanah Mohd Ghazali

Title : Elements of Thesis Writing Date : 25th May 2011 Speaker : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Faizah Abood

Title : Enhancing Presentation Skills Seminar Date : 31st March 2011

Speaker : Dr. Lailawati MohdSalleh Prof. Dr. Raha binti Hj Abdul Rahim

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdul Rashid Mohamed Sharif Mohamed Din

Title : REFWORKS WORKSHOP Date : 21st - 29thMarch 2011

Title : Step-by-Step Approach to Manuscript Writing and Publishing

Date : 6th May 2011 Speaker : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tan Chin Ping

Title : Scientific Writing and Publishing in Journal Date : 20th May 2011 Speaker : Prof. Dr. Mohd Ali Hassan

Title : Malaysian Heritage & International Cuisine Program Date : 23rd April 2011 Speaker : Dr. Shahrim Karim

Graduate Times, June 2011 | 8

Highlights EDUCATION FAIR (PEF) 2011

Postgraduate Education

Fair 2011 (Serdang): The

annual postgraduate educa-

tion fair was held at the

Great Hall(PKKSSAAS)

UPM from 25th to 27th March

2011. The event was organ-

ized with the main aim to

promote UPM’s postgradu-

ate education to the final

year undergraduate and

Master students of UPM as

well as other institutions of

higher learning, local indus-

tries, government agencies

and public at large. The ex-

hibition led by the School of

Graduate Studies (UPM) was participated by all 16 faculties, 9 research institutes, as well as other

two graduate schools – namely the Graduate School of Management and UPM Education and Train-

ing. The event was supported by the International Centre, Research Management Centre and UPM

Marketing Department (MARCOMM).

A total of 2724 visitors (both local and international) visited the 3 days event. A total of 1728 applica-

tions were received on the spot for admission. On site activities included detailed information of all

the programs offered, information on learning support program, and financial assistance for those

who are eligible. The admission processing fee was waived for those who had applied on the spot.

This annual event would be organized at about the same time next year. Stay Tuned.

Graduate Times, June 2011 | 9

Graduate Times, June 2011 | 10 EXhibition

Education Exhibition

List of Education Exhibtion involved by SGS from January to June 2011

Karnival Pendidikan Mara

Merdeka Hall, Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur March 11—13, 2011

14th Post Graduate Education Fair

Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, Kuala lumpur April 15—17, 2011

Graduate Times, December 2010 | 11 Other Activities

Activities & Events

Delegates from Universiti Pertahanan, Malaysia

Led by Prof. Dr. Hjh Fatimah Dato Ahmad,

Dean Centre for Graduate Studies

6th April 2011

Delegates from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Led by Dr. Pornpote Piumsomboon,

Dean Graduate School

15th Mac 2011

List of Visitors to UPM

School of Graduate Studies

Delegates from Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia

Led by Prof. Y. Warella (Left)

19th May 2011

Graduate Times, June 2011 | 12 Point of View

The world class universities (example in the US and the UK) produce graduates who are well trained and hence sought after in the labor market. The graduates from these universities carry out top qual-ity researches that are published in the best available scientific journals. Their researches are also recognized in terms of patents and licenses. They also play a very important role in developing or generating new and specialized knowledge in the interest of the economy of the nation by training the professionals, scientists, and researchers. The status of world class or elite university is conferred by the agencies like, Times Higher Education (THE) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). These agencies have formulated benchmark for comparisons of institutions across national borders. To establish a world-class univer-sity, we need strong leadership and a bold vision of the institution’s mission and goals. To achieve these objectives, we need a well defined plan to translate the objectives into concrete targets. Univer-sities aspiring to better results must assess their strengths and areas that need improvement. They set higher goals, and a renewal plan for improved performance. Building world class universities re-quires high quality research and teaching. Many developing countries are trying hard to assess lead-ing universities or trying to establish new universities to become internationally reputable. This needs the involvement of the politicians, the administrators, students and many more. However, we must realize that each nation is unique and for survival of their universities, they must suit the needs of their own society. We need to understand the spirit of university, its basic nature and functions these universities do before they move to build world class universities. The various approaches being adopted between and within countries will certainly reflect the interaction of several factors like the economic strength and level of development of country, the pro-portion of responsibilities between national and provincial jurisdictions, the quality of their higher edu-cation systems and the rank of their universities. It will also depend upon the political trade-offs that are necessary within national settings.

It is necessary for the universities to invest in major facilities and equipment, and to fund interdis-ciplinary research teams for a longer period, exceeding the usual 2–5 year terms. Certain specializa-tions like nanotechnology, biosciences, geosciences and environmental sciences, require major in-vestments in infrastructure. At the same time, research universities must keep up with the global leading instances in knowledge advancement, and must get involved with their local communities supporting them.

The internationalization of university has become a challenging issue as the university is the hub

of the international knowledge system. The first class universities have been recruiting top rated pro-fessors and try to admit students from all corners of the world. They take up big research projects without any constraint of the geographic borders. The successful graduates from these universities have global understanding and awareness.

The universities seek grants from government agencies, but generally they are not engaged in

closely guarded research as its main goal is to conduct basic research that will be beneficial to the society at a large. The university ensures that the research outcome be published. It must be under-stood that that the purpose of research can be successful only if professors can freely discuss their research outcomes with their colleagues in own or other universities.

Point of VIEW

Aiming for the Top: Universities from Developing Nations

By Arun Prasad

Point of View 13 | Graduate Times, June 2011

Arun Prasad is an Associate Professor in Banaras Hindu University. He obtained his BSc degree in Civil Engineering from Utkal University, MSc (Geotechnical Engg.) from Sambalpur University and PhD from Devi Ahilya University. His international contribution includes working as a Post Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Civil Engineering of Universiti Putra Malaysia from 2009 to 2010. He has to his credit more than 50 publications in international and national journals.

References

Columbian Encyclopedia (2011). ht tp: / /www.encyclopedia.com/

Corbin, C. (2000). Great Leaders See the Future First: Taking Your Organization to the Top in Five Revo-lutionary Steps. Dearborn Publishing, Chicago, IL, US.

Hazelkorn, E. (2008). Learning to live with league ta-bles and ranking: The experience of institutional leaders. Higher Education Policy, 21: 193–215.

Heck, R.H., Johnsrud, L.K. and Rosser, V.J. (2000). Administrative effectiveness in higher education: Improving assessment procedures. Research in Higher Educat ion , 41(6). doi:10.1023/A:1007096803784.

Horta, H. (2009). Global and international prominent universities: Internationalization, competitiveness and the role of the state. Higher Education, 58:387–405.

Liu, N.C., Wang, Q. and Cheng, Y. (Eds.). (2011). Paths to a world-class university: Lessons from practices and experiences. Sense Publishers, Rot-terdam.

Messer, R. (2010). Building a world class university, Business Intelligence Journal, 3(1): 75-81.

Mohrman, K., Ma, W. and Baker, D. (2009). The re-search university in transition: The emerging global model. Higher Education Policy, 21:5–27.

Ramsden, P. (2008). The future of higher education teaching and the student experience. Report pre-pared for The Review of Higher Education in the UK. HEFCE.

Rosser, V.J., Johnsrud, L.K., and Heck, R.H. (2003). Academic deans and directors:Assessing their ef-fectiveness from individual and institutional per-spectives. Journal of Higher Education, 74(1). doi:10.1353/jhe.2003.0007.

Salmi, J. (2009). The challenge of establishing world-class universities. Washington, DC: The World Bank.

Shahmandi, E. and Silong, A.D. (2011). Competen-cies, roles and effective academic leadership in world class university. International Journal of Busi-ness Administration, 2 (1):44-53.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Graduate School of Education (SJTUGSE). (2010). Academic ranking of world universities. http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/ranking.htm.

Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2010). http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/

For becoming a world class university, it is desirable to create an open environment where students and professors, and administrators and faculty members exchange ideas without restric-tions. It can serve the society as a cultural cen-ter if it is open to the society. Openness in every aspect should be the goal of the universities, be it administration, decision making, faculty re-cruitment, or promotion.

Now, we can tell that academic autonomy

and academic freedom are important core val-ues for becoming a top rated university. Only universities enjoy the privilege of academic autonomy. The world class universities enjoy more academic autonomy than other mediocre universities or institutions of higher education. It is understood that the knowledge can be best obtained and transmitted by the research schol-ars. Academic freedom is the right enjoyed by scholars. The scholars must carry out their re-search and publish the findings without restrain from the universities or institutions where they are working.

We should not expect that we can build a

world class university overnight. It may take a decade or even a much longer period to create a university that will be known as a world class university. At the same time, it must be empha-sized that we cannot procure with money only the top class professors, best students and leading scientific innovations. We need an envi-ronment which can give academic freedom and academic autonomy to the stake holders, in ad-dition to high levels of investment. We need to understand the concepts of becoming a world class university through cooperation from other leading universities across the borders. We know our universities must be internationalized, but when we make try to achieve this, we lose more intelligent young people as they leave the country leading to brain-drain.

Being a developing country, many a times

we lack the funds to make our universities more open and more internationalized. However, we have to learn to reconstruct our system and the concept of renovation, and the government and the general public must learn it too.

If you have any comments, letters to be published or contribute articles under the point of view column, send your email to the editor at bujang@eng.upm.edu.my

Congratulation

1. Navideh Anarjan Kouchehbagh

(Faculty of Food Science and Technology)

2011 Edible Applications Technology Student Award, AOCS, Urbana USA.

2. Leong Wai Fun

(Faculty of Food Science and Technology)

Asia Pacific Graduate Winners of Alltech Young Scientist Programme 2011

3. Hossein Moayedi

(Faculty of Engineering) First Runner Up

Most Outstanding Iranian Student in Malaysia Award 2011

from the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO).

4. Alireza Pendashteh

(Faculty of Engineering)

Best Thesis Award on Water Resources and Hydrology 2010 (Silver).

A Thought

Here’s a question that was posed to the Dalai Lama:

“What thing about humanity surprises you the most?”

His answer was “Man”

Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health

And then he is so anxious about the future that he doesn’t enjoy the present, And as a result he doesn’t live in the present or the future

And he lives as if he’s never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.

Quotes

You have to dream before your dreams can come true.

Abdul Kalam

If you can dream it, you can do it.

Walt Disney