SINTOK – Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) has played a proactive role in introducing and implementing various targeted efforts to transform communities and society, said the Sultan of Kedah Al Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah.
His Royal Highness said the community transformation activities carried out by the university are done either through development activities, professional training or consultancy.
“The main concept is to solve local problems that have been identified through the application of changing attitudes, practices or behaviours and aspirations through the input of scholarly knowledge from the creation of new knowledge by academics resulting from their research and who have intellectual rights.
“Indeed, UUM, which stands majestically in Sintok, is expected to continuously actively transform society through knowledge transfer activities based on the principles of ‘Knowledge, Kindness and Service’,” the Ruler said at the 35th UUM Convocation Ceremony here today.
Sultan Sallehuddin, who is also Tunku Chancellor of UUM, said the university which was established in 1984 has been a driver of prosperity for the local population and benefited the people in Kedah and Malaysia as well as at the international level.
Sultan Sallehuddin said that now at almost the age of 40, UUM is recognised as the 95th best university in the world under the 50-year-old universities category by Times Higher Education, Young University Rankings 2023, thus placing UUM as the number one best public university in Malaysia in the ranking.
“Compared to the previous year, UUM’s position has now jumped from 170th to the 95th best in the world. This achievement is based on the citation indicator as well as the achievement of maintaining high marks in the teaching and research categories,” he said.
The 35th UUM Convocation Ceremony that will be held in nine sessions starting today sees a total of 6,694 graduates in 2022 receive their respective scrolls, consisting of 5,743 Bachelor’s graduates and 951 postgraduate studies graduates.
Also gracing today’s ceremony were Raja Muda Kedah Tengku Sarafudin Badlishah Sultan Sallehuddin and Tunku Mahkota Kedah Tunku Shazuddin Ariff Sultan Sallehuddin.
Also present were Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi and UUM Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Fo’ad Sakdan. – Bernama
