WEDNESDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER – A total of 295 students of Preparatory Centre for Science and Technology (PPST), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) received their certificates of Foundation Studies at a function held at the Main Lecture Hall 1, recently.

The 6^th Science Foundation Certificate Presentation was officiated by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), Professor Dr. D Kamarudin D Mudin.

In his speech, he hoped that the students could acquire knowledge and at the same time benefit from the knowledge gained throughout their studies at PPST, thus generating creativity and innovation to be applied in their everyday life.

“I urge students to cultivate an interest in the science and technology field, and be committed and enthusiastic being part of a driving-force for the rapid development of the country,” he said, representing the Vice-Chancellor of UMS, Professor Datuk Dr. Mohd Harun Abdullah.

Meanwhile, PPST Director, Dr. Sazmal Effendi Arshad said, having success was wonderful but to achieve that success was not easy.

“Therefore, do not be quick to give up hope and be contented with the little success achieved.

“Students must have a positive attitude towards life, committed to his duties and responsibilities, always have integrity and improve yourselves even when you have achieved a higher echelon,” he said.

Prof. Dr D Kamarudin also presented four special awards to students of PPST at the function.

For the Vice-Chancellor Award, the recipients was Siti Zaleha Abd Tahar, whilst the Director’s Award went to Mohd. Helmie Janong.

The Dedicated Student Award and Leadership Award were each won by Joubert Joisin and Shazlin Ma Abrihim @ Ibrahim.

The winners each received a certificate of appreciation and a trophy. – (fl)

WEDNESDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER – Sabah emerged as a significant international training ground particularly in the field of integrated management of ecosystems and biodiversity, said the Sabah State Secretary (SKN), Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman.

This is due to a series of the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) attended by foreign participants, organised and hosted by UMS.

“This year 50 percent of the participants came from Africa, and we are pleased to see this commitment towards nature conservation in Africa.

“On behalf of the state government, I am proud to say that Sabah has become an important international venue for the Integrated Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, and I am confident that this programme will continue,” he said.

He said this in his speech read by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs and Alumni Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Associate Professor Dr. Ismail Ali at the closing ceremony of the programme held at the Banquet Hall, UMS.

The 21-day programme was organised by the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation (IBTP), UMS in collaboration with the State Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Also present at the function was the Director of IBTP, Professor Dr. Charles S. Vairappan. – (fl)

TUESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER – Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) continues to excel in records management when it received a five-star rating recognition, thus was named as the Best Public University in Records Management for the year 2016.

The rating was the result of an audit conducted by the Malaysia National Archives on the implementation of records management, recently.

The achievement puts UMS on par with two other public universities namely Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and the International Islamic University (IIUM), which also received a five-star rating, ahead of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) which received four-star rating.

This was announced in an appreciation certificate presentation to representatives of public universities in conjunction with the Best Public University Records Management Awards 2016 held at the Malaysia National Archives, presented by the Deputy Secretary General (Management), Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Dr. Junaida Lee Abdullah, today.

The presentation of Best Records Management for government agencies amongst others, is to assess and measure the performance of records management to ensure that records management are exceptional, and encourage healthy competition in implementing a conducive records management programme. –(fl)

TUESDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER – A total of 30 people attended the seminar on CTI Regional Exchange (REX) on Climate Change Adaptation organised by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia (MOSTI), yesterday.

The two-day seminar aimed to discuss the establishment of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) related to climate change adaptation amongst member countries of the Coral Triangle Initiatives (CTI).

According to the Deputy Secretary General (Science) MOSTI, Associate Professor Dr. Ramzah Dambul, the seminar would provide a space for new opportunities discussions on science and technology that would emerge as a result of climate change, thereby contributing to the economic sector of each country, culture of offshore community, and sustainable natural resources.

Dr. Ramzah officiated at the seminar held at the Pacific Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu.

The seminar included working paper presentations from eight countries; Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia and Malaysia.

Photo: Suzeanywati Gasinin