Penang Institute, the public policy think tank of the Penang state government is proud to host a forum entitled “Reforming Higher Education: Scholarship Or Vocationalism?“.
Date : Saturday, 21st May, 2016
Time : 10:00am to 12:30pm (Registration at 9.30am)
Venue : Parkroyal Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia has a vibrant higher education system which is set to grow student numbers from around 1.5 million now to more than 2.4 million by 2025. This massive growth is driven by the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2015-25 (Higher Education) which has at its heart the aim to create, “HOLISTIC, ENTREPRENEURIAL AND BALANCED GRADUATES,” industry-ready and fit for the labour market.
This is a challenging aim which raises a huge number of questions including:
• What does this labour-market focus mean for the future of Malaysian higher education?
• How will student experiences change?
• Are universities sacrificing scholarship for the sake of creating employable graduates?
• Is the scope of subject options changing for the better or worse?
• Are academics able to produce entrepreneurial graduates when many have never been employed outside of universities let alone run their own enterprises?
• Does the focus on a, “vocational programme,” pay-off in investment terms for students paying high fees with fewer funding options?
These important questions will be discussed by leading experts in higher education drawing on the experience of our oldest research driven university and our newest industry-driven university.
The forum also reveal new and challenging research from the Penang Institute’s education team on the value of higher education: Is the investment worthwhile or not?
Keynote Address:
YAB TUAN LIM GUAN ENG, Chief Minister of Penang
Key Research Findings:
Professor Dr Geoffrey Williams, Visiting Fellow, Penang Institute
Dr Paul Lim, Visiting Fellow, Penang Institute
Leading Panellists:
Professor Dr Garry Clayton, Vice Chancellor & CEO DRB-HICOM University of Automotive Malaysia
Professor Dr Terence Gomez, Faculty of Economics & Administration, Universiti Malaya
Admission is FREE and registration is on a first come first serve basis. Kindly register your interest below.
For more information, please contact secretariat@penanginstitute.org.
Online Registration