Curtin Sarawak and Centre of Modern Management hold postgraduate programmes preview

Miri – 28 September 2012 – Over 100 heads and senior officers of federal departments and agencies in Sarawak attended a postgraduate programmes preview conducted by Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) and the Centre of Modern Management (CMM) at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar, Kuching today.

The two postgraduate programmes showcased at the preview were Curtin’s Master of Policy Sciences and Master of Project Management.

Present were guest of honour YBhg. Datuk Haji Md Yahaya bin Haji Basimin, Federal Secretary of Sarawak; Professor Dr. Francois Therin, Dean of School of Business, Curtin Sarawak; Tuan Haji Syeed Mohd Hussien, Chief Executive Officer, CMM; and Chan Kwok Mow, Postgraduate Programme Coordinator, Curtin Sarawak.

In his speech, Datuk Haji Md Yahaya stressed the need to equip the civil servants with enhanced knowledge as well as creative and innovative thinking in line with the Prime Minister’s aspiration to transform Malaysia into a developed nation by 2020 through the National Transformation Policy (NTP).

“I encourage our civil servants to pursue these programmes as they will help enhance their career paths and contribute to the success of the transformation plan. I believe these programmes will be the catalyst for transformation and the fulfillment of the government’s vision to have a world-class, effective and efficient public service,” said Datuk Haji Md Yahaya.

The Master of Policy Sciences allows students to acquire a foundation in the core areas of policy analysis and management in the public sector, and develop a framework which emphasises policy formulation, implementation and evaluation within the public sector.

The programme, initially developed at Curtin University’s main campus in Perth, has been custom-designed to suit the local public sector with course content largely localised, yet maintaining an international perspective. It was re-worked by academics at both the Perth and Sarawak campuses with input from key policy-makers in the State Government to incorporate the Sarawakian and Malaysian perspectives.

It is taught by teaching staff with extensive experience in policy sciences and offers considerable flexibility for students with part-time classes conducted on weekends with minimal interruption to work.

The Master of Policy Sciences was officially launched on 9 September 2011 in Kuching by Chief Minister of Sarawak Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud. Presently, 20 officials from the state civil service are pursuing the programme on a part-time basis. Their studies are fully funded by the Sarawak state government.

Meanwhile, the Master of Project Management programme is designed to help students gain the understanding, knowledge and skills necessary to become effective project managers. Identical in all aspects to the project management courses offered at Curtin’s main campus, the courses take a generic approach to project management, ensuring its applicability in a variety of sectors, including construction, engineering, education, health, commerce, information technology and research and development.

The programme is recognised by the Australian Institute of Project Management and the US Project Management Institute. It is further endorsed by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education and the Malaysian Qualifications Agency.