Jul 14 2014, 03:43 PM
QUOTE(xenotzu @ Sep 28 2013, 09:13 PM)
Let me elaborate my experience with MU or Malaya U. In the early 80s, I studied mechanical engineering in a Polytechnic in London. Later, I went on to study Law in a university in Wales. In the early 1990s, when I was back in Malaysia, I visited MU during an open day there. Out of curiosity, I checked out their engineering stand and talked to the students manning the booth there. I was shocked to discover that they had no training or access to CAD/CAM programs and worse still, no access to computers. They told me that they had to group together to buy a personal computer to be shared amongst the group and buy pirated CAD/CAM programs to learn on their own. 10 years previously, in a polytechnic (not a University mind you) in London, I was already proficient with CAD/CAM programs, with access to dumb terminals connected to a mini computer, where we learned to write programs in machine code and Fortran.
Surprisingly enough, a few months later, still in the 1990s, during a radio interview with the secretary of the Institute of Engineers Malaysia, I managed to get through and asked him why was it that our so called premier university, Malaya U, were so backward that they could not provide or train their engineering students in CAD/CAM programs, when 10 years earlier, I was already being trained to do so in London. That stupid secretary's reply was that MU was training their students for local Malaysian conditions and standard, which were not as advanced or required to be as advanced as Western countries!
When I informed an uncle of mine who was a London graduate from the 1960s and had had his own civil engineering firm in KL since the 1970s, he was shocked and said what absolute rubbish! All the main engineering firms during the 1990s already had computers running CAD programs and were hiring engineers who knew how to use them in order to stay on top! Our Malaysian engineering firms are quite capable and can compete on the international stage, given the opportunity. My uncle was absolutely pissed off and had a word with the secretary. Considering he was one of the senior civil engineers in the country, who had designed some of the iconic landmarks in KL, I think the secretary lived to regret his reply.
In the late 1990s, I applied to do a law PHD at Malaya U on a part time basis. Two things surprised me. Firstly, there were only 2 PHD students. Me and another student, who happened to be a law lecturer at MU. She went on to head the law department after obtaining her PHD at MU. Secondly, during my interview and subsequent time at MU, everybody, from the Deputy Dean of the Law Department who interviewed me, the librarian, my PHD supervisor and a few others, asked me why I didn't do my PHD at an overseas university. They said that overseas universities had better lecturers, research facilities and prestige, compared to MU. That was what they told me.
In other words, they were running down MU even though they were worked there. Shows you the confidence that they had in MU. They were so surprised that I wanted to take my PHD at MU. I told them that I had a legal practice to take care and I couldn't spend 3 years overseas to do a PHD which I only wanted to do for interest.
So, you can see, my bias against MU. Things may have changed a lot at MU since the 1990s. Or it may have not. All I know is that MU during the 1990s were not as up todate as my poly in London, 10 years earlier in the 1980s. Further, their own staff considered their own qualifications, well at least at PHD level, to be inferior to those of overseas universities. Well considering, the consistent drop in ranking of MU in QS world rankings, I am not surprised!
Although this post dated long time ago, I do agree with your statements. It's not because of our student's quality, it's because the facilities provided in the university is backwards and not well maintained. Surprisingly enough, a few months later, still in the 1990s, during a radio interview with the secretary of the Institute of Engineers Malaysia, I managed to get through and asked him why was it that our so called premier university, Malaya U, were so backward that they could not provide or train their engineering students in CAD/CAM programs, when 10 years earlier, I was already being trained to do so in London. That stupid secretary's reply was that MU was training their students for local Malaysian conditions and standard, which were not as advanced or required to be as advanced as Western countries!
When I informed an uncle of mine who was a London graduate from the 1960s and had had his own civil engineering firm in KL since the 1970s, he was shocked and said what absolute rubbish! All the main engineering firms during the 1990s already had computers running CAD programs and were hiring engineers who knew how to use them in order to stay on top! Our Malaysian engineering firms are quite capable and can compete on the international stage, given the opportunity. My uncle was absolutely pissed off and had a word with the secretary. Considering he was one of the senior civil engineers in the country, who had designed some of the iconic landmarks in KL, I think the secretary lived to regret his reply.
In the late 1990s, I applied to do a law PHD at Malaya U on a part time basis. Two things surprised me. Firstly, there were only 2 PHD students. Me and another student, who happened to be a law lecturer at MU. She went on to head the law department after obtaining her PHD at MU. Secondly, during my interview and subsequent time at MU, everybody, from the Deputy Dean of the Law Department who interviewed me, the librarian, my PHD supervisor and a few others, asked me why I didn't do my PHD at an overseas university. They said that overseas universities had better lecturers, research facilities and prestige, compared to MU. That was what they told me.
In other words, they were running down MU even though they were worked there. Shows you the confidence that they had in MU. They were so surprised that I wanted to take my PHD at MU. I told them that I had a legal practice to take care and I couldn't spend 3 years overseas to do a PHD which I only wanted to do for interest.
So, you can see, my bias against MU. Things may have changed a lot at MU since the 1990s. Or it may have not. All I know is that MU during the 1990s were not as up todate as my poly in London, 10 years earlier in the 1980s. Further, their own staff considered their own qualifications, well at least at PHD level, to be inferior to those of overseas universities. Well considering, the consistent drop in ranking of MU in QS world rankings, I am not surprised!
When I studied my engineering degree in one of the local university, to complete a lab experiment is a problem, and for the whole class, we need to use some free softwares and even share those expensive software.
I strongly believe corruption and management are the biggest problems affecting our public universities.
One thing I am proud to be a Malaysian is that, some graduated from these universities still can make a mark in the international level. That's why our neighbour Singapore likes to hire Malaysian so much.
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