National University of Malaysia

National University of Malaysia
Coat of Arms of National University of Malaysia
Motto in English	Knowledge Guides
Established	1970
Type	Public
Chancellor	Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin
Pro-Chancellors	Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Rithauddeen Tunku Naquiyuddin Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid
Undergraduates	17,500 (AY 2006-07)
Postgraduates	5,105 (AY 2006-07)
Location	Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Coordinates: 2°55′11″N 101°46′53″E / 2.91972°N 101.78139°E / 2.91972; 101.78139
Affiliations	ACU, ASAIHL, AUN, AUAP[1]
Website	ukm.my

Main gate

The National University of Malaysia (Abbreviation: NUM; Malay: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia;Abbreviated UKM; Chinese: 马来西亚国民大学; Abbreviated 国大; Tamil: மலேசியா தேசியப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a public university located in Bangi, Selangor which is about 35 km south of Kuala Lumpur. Its teaching hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM) is located in Cheras^{[disambiguation needed ]} and also has a branch campus in Kuala Lumpur. Currently there are 17,500 undergraduate students enrolled, and 5,105 postgraduate students of which 1368 are foreign students from 35 different countries.^[2]

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia is one of the five research universities in the country. It was ranked by The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) at number 185 in its annual ranking of the world's top 200 universities for 2006.^[3]

History

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), the national university of Malaysia, is a "people's" university, born from the aspirations of the nationalists to uphold the Malay Language as a language of knowledge - for the germination of scientific thinking, channelling of ideas, and for transfer of knowledge. The quest for a national university was first suggested in 1923 by the writer Abdul Kadir Adabi as a move against British colonisation. This exhilarating nationalist tide galvanised Malay intellectuals of the time but met British suppression. The nationalists never wavered and thus in 1969, the movement again blossomed. Soon, a Sponsoring Committee chaired by Syed Nasir Ismail, a prominent Malay intellectual, was set up to prepare and publish a report recommending the establishment of UKM. Other prominent members of this committee include Dr. Mahathir Mohamed (Tun), Malaysia's 5th Prime Minister who was then the Education Minister, and Dr. Mohd Rashdan Haji Baba, who later became UKM's first Vice Chancellor. The enduring drive of the Malays to have higher education in the national language passionately moved them to persevere until what began as an idea became reality in the Education Act, on 18th May 1970. The inception of UKM was not only an enormous win for the nationalists but an important stride towards nationhood.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia first opened its doors in May 1970 to 192 undergraduate students in Jalan Pantai Baru, Kuala Lumpur, a temporary campus housing three main faculties, the Faculties of Science, Arts and Islamic Studies. In October 1977, UKM moved to its present premises which form the main campus in Bangi. This campus has a size of 1,096.29 hectares, situated in the strategic metropolis encompassing the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) the main gateway to Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, the main commercial centre, and Putrajaya, the administrative capital. The UKM Bangi Campus is 45 km from KLIA, 30 km from Kuala Lumpur and 20 km from Putrajaya.

UKM has two Health Campuses, the Kuala Lumpur Campus in Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, and the UKM Medical Centre in Cheras. The Kuala Lumpur Campus consists of the Faculties of Allied Health, Pharmacy, Dentistry and the Pre-Clinical Departments of the Medical Faculty. With a size of 20 hectares, The Kuala Lumpur Campus was established in 1974.

The campus in Cheras consists of the Medical Faculty, the UKM Teaching Hospital and the UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI). The Cheras Campus was opened in 1997. Areas 2 and 3 of the Portfolio provide detailed information about these campuses. Besides these campuses, UKM operates 7 Research Stations (RS); The Tasik Chini RS, The Marine Ecosystem RS, The Langkawi Geopark RS, The Marine RS, The Fraser's Hill RS, The Plant Biotechnology RS and in the main campus itself, the UKM Campus Living Laboratory, which comprises the UKM Permanent Forest Reserve, or its Malay name, Hutan Simpan Kekal UKM as well as the Fernarium and the Herbarium.

Based on a solid foundation of 30 years of research, UKM was awarded the status of a Malaysian Research University in October 2006 by the Ministry of Higher Education, a move designed to propel the four public universities into leading research universities in line with the Higher Education Strategic Plan 2007-2020. The year 2006 also saw UKM winning the prestigious Prime Minister's Quality Award. This award vindicates UKM's efforts at quality education and management, as outlined by the objectives of the UKM Strategic Plan 2000-2020 (PS2020). This Strategic Plan has been augmented and enhanced by the newly unveiled UKM Knowledge Ecosystem Transformation Plan, a transformation set to place UKM into the league of leading research universities by 2018.^[4]

Academics

Faculties

• Social Science and Humanities (est. in 1970 as Faculty of Arts)
• Science and Technology (est. in 1970 as Faculty of Sciences)
• Islamic Studies (est. in 1970)

The three above makes up the founding faculties.

• Medicine
• Allied Health Sciences
• Dentistry
• Economics and Management
• Education
• Engineering and Built Environment
• Graduate School of Business
• Information Science and Technology
• Law
• Pharmacy

Centres

• Centre for Academic Advancement
• Centre for Corporate Communications
• Centre for Corporate Planning & Communications
• Centre for General Studies
• Centre for Graduate Management
• Centre for Information Technology
• Centre for Publication and Printing
• Centre for Research and Innovation Management
• Centre for Students Advancement
• PERMATApintar National Gifted Centre
• UKM Islamic Centre
• UKM Medical Centre

Institutes

• Fuel Cell Institute
• Inst. for Environment & Development (LESTARI)
• Inst. for Malaysian & International Studies (IKMAS)
• Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA)
• Inst. of Microengineering & Nanoelectronics (IMEN)
• Inst. of Occidental Studies (IKON)
• Inst. of Space Science (ANGKASA)
• Inst. of Systems Biology (INBIOSIS)
• Inst. of the Malay World & Civilization (ATMA)
• Inst. of West Asian Studies (IKRAB)
• Inst. of Islam Hadhari (HADHARI)
• Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI)
• Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI)
• Southeast Asia Disaster Prevention Research Institute (SEADPRI-UKM)

Postgraduate programmes are managed by the Centre for Graduate Management, which was established in 1983. The Centre offers coursework or research-based programmes on both part time and full time basis. The Centre also collaborates with other national and international institutions of higher learning.

The university adapted a collegiate system which was based on Oxford and Cambridge.It consists of 13 residential colleges, namely Dato Onn, Aminuddin Baki, Ungku Omar, Burhanuddin Helmi, Ibrahim Yaakob, Rahim Kajai, Ibu Zain, Keris Mas, Pendeta Za'ba, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Syed Nasir, Tun Dr. Ismail, and Idris al-Marbawi. Of the 13 residential colleges, Tun Syed Nasir and Tun Dr. Ismail are located in the Kuala Lumpur and Cheras campuses respectively, while Idris al-Marbawi is located outside of the Bangi campus.

Notable alumni include:

• Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, the country's first astronaut
• Syed Hussein Alatas, influential academic
• Liow Tiong Lai, Minister of Health
• Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, Star Publication Chief Editor
• Dato’ Razali bin Hj. Ibrahim, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports
• Dr. Nordin Kardi, Vice Chancellor of UUM
• Dato’ Wan Mohd Nor Hj. Ibrahim, Director General of Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department
• Prof. Dato’ Wira Mohd Shukri Ab Yajid, President of PTPL & MSU colleges
• Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, Chief of the Humanitarian Response Branch, United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) in New York
• Tan Sri Dato' Hj. Alimuddin Hj. Mohd. Dom, former Director General of Education Malaysia
• Dr. Haji Serbini bin Haji Matahir/Md Tahir, Rector of Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA), Brunei
• Datuk Azmi Abdullah , Director of SME Bank
• Prof. Dr. Mohamed Mustafa bin Ishak, Vice Chansellor of UUM
• Dato’ Ahmad Izlan bin Idris, Malaysian Ambassador to Peru
• SAC Dato’ Osman Hj. Salleh, Negeri Sembilan Chief of Police
• Dato’ Hj Yusof Musa, Penang Syariah Court Chief Judge
• Dato’ Sri Edmund Santhara, Group CEO of Masterskill Education Group
• Dato’ Wira Othman Abdul, Chairman of Kurnia Asia Berhad
• Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Sarawak Cabinet Minister
• Dato’ Hj. Salleh Yusup, DBKL Director General

Accessibility

The university is accessible via direct the UKM Komuter station, a commuter train halt situated close to and named after the university. The station strictly serves as a small two-platform train halt for Rawang-to-Seremban KTM Komuter train services. Bus services are provided to carry passengers between the station and the university.

References

1. ^ http://auap.sut.ac.th/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=82
2. ^ UKM, the National University of Malaysia, About Us
3. ^ Global Malaysians Network, UKM now ranked way ahead of UM, Retrieved on 2007-11-04
4. ^ Pelan Transformasi UKM, History, Pelan Transformasi UKM, History, Retrieved on 2011-10-18

External links

• Official University website
• Official News Portal

Coordinates: 2°55′11″N 101°46′53″E / 2.91972°N 101.78139°E / 2.91972; 101.78139