NILAI, March 26, 2017 – Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) bagged the Best Golden Award in the Duta Jauhar Congress 3.0 Award Ceremony recently, for its catalytic project aimed at enhancing the socioeconomic status of the disabled community.

USIM’s Duta Jauhar received a cash prize of RM3,000, an accompanying trophy, an individual trophy, and a certificate of appreciation from the Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, at the congress which was held at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) MITEC in Bandar Seri Alam.
The agricultural project to plant Grey Oyster Mushrooms under the program “Enhancing Potential of People With Disabilities” implemented the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) approach as part of the efforts taken to provide assistance to 15 disabled individuals in Batu Pahat.
According to Project Director Muhammad Sollehin Md Satar, research findings show that the disabled often face difficulties in gaining trust from their employers, which results in most of them earning low incomes and lacking confidence.
“Through this project, the disabled participants are given a barn, equipment, as well as theoretical and practical training on how to plant and care for mushroom crops. They are trained to be capable mushroom entrepreneurs by Duta Jauhar and the project’s mentor, Puan Poinem Touman,” he said.
In the said congress, USIM was also announced as the winner of the Best University Commitment Award as well as the Silver Award through its Water Farm project. USIM’s Professor Madya Dr. Fuadah Johari, lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Muamalat, was also named as the winner of two Best Supervisor Awards.
The Duta Jauhar 3.0 Congress Awards Ceremony saw healthy competition taking place among 28 high impact projects carried out by 21 higher learning institutions from all over the country, which saw the involvement of 420 university students, 100 government and private agencies, and more than 2,000 members of the community.
The Duta Jauhar program was set up to provide opportunities for the youth, including university students, to join in the efforts to enhance the socioeconomic standing of society, especially in Johor.