How A RICE Ecosystem Is Needed For A Successful University

JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia, March 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Datuk Dr. Ahmad Fauzi bin Ismail shared his view on key factors for a successful university in a forum in the Philippines, recently.

Speaking at the 2021 Institutes for Research, Innovation, and Scholarship (IRIS) Leadership Legacy Forums through Zoom Platform on March 12, 2021, Datuk Fauzi highlighted that a VC as the university leader is like a goalkeeper of the university.

A university VC must be versatile, set clear and concise goals, and be direct when communicating with staff.

A VC must be good at managing people which is putting the right talent at the right place and adjusting people to fit the organization as well as adjust the organization to fit the people.

In his speech entitled ‘Role of Vice-Chancellor: RICE Ecosystem in Universities’, Datuk Fauzi highlighted that RICE stands for Research, Industry, Community, and Excellence, and it is the ecosystem that blends the major factors for a successful university.

Datuk Fauzi was invited as a keynote speaker along with others such as the Director of Asia Pacific at QS Quacquarelli Symonds, Dr. Jeroen Prinsen, and Regional Director QS for Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia & Philippines, Mr. E Way Chong.

He first shared the challenges in the current Research Ecosystem: Research Development Policies, Processes, and Procedures.

Datuk Fauzi added that in line with the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia aspiration stated in, the National Strategic Plan for Higher Education, the university needs to become the problem solver for our society/social agent that drives social discourse. Moreover, to ensure more collaboration in higher education institutions, a university needs to become the region’s education hub to make Malaysia the premier education destination.

Thus, a VC must promote networking for collaboration with the industry as well as to build the culture of research.

In UTM, research has become a culture, and the university has created UTM Research Building Block which outlined the Policies, Processes, and Procedures to achieve excellence in research and these have been the guidelines for all researchers to follow.

Besides, UTM Prospering Lives is the slogan when research projects are undertaken by university researchers to impact the lives of the community.

As a university, UTM has shown the characteristics of a successful university, which is doing research, teaching, and innovating and it would continue to excel with the strengthening of the RICE Ecosystem.