NILAI, June 6, 2018 – A Memorandum of Understanding between Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) was signed with Islamic Relief Malaysia (IRM) to strengthen the existing cooperation in the USIM GAP Year Volunteerism program.
Last year, a total of six USIM students became the first batch of USIM to carry out the program with the Orang Asli community at Muadzam Syah, Pahang. USIM is the first Public University in Malaysia that has successfully implemented GAP Year Volunteerism for a full one (1) year period.
“The GAP Year Volunteerism Program is a program under the Ministry of Higher Education launched in 2017 with the pilot project involving nine (9) Public Universities focusing on national service volunteerism and fulfilling the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS),” said Prof Dato Dr Musa Ahmad, USIM’s Vice-Chancellor.
“In line with the aspirations of the National Higher Education to develop a holistic and balanced graduate, the program can produce graduates who are active in volunteering to contribute their energy, knowledge and skills as well as bringing students closer to the community. Among the community groups approached and assisted by the students involved are poor people, farmers and rubber-tappers, fishermen, muallaf, indigenous communities and the homeless.”
“USIM is fully supportive of the implementation of USIM GAP Year Volunteerism which is a program organized by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia focusing on national service volunteerism and fulfilling the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) within one (1) year as an effort to produce balanced and holistic students. This is the first attempt by USIM-IRM to realize this program with a total of six USIM students who we celebrate today,” he added.
Dato Musa also expressed a sincere gratitude to the IRM for its unwavering cooperation with USIM until the USIM GAP Year Volunteerism program was successfully completed on May 1, 2018. Without the assistance and cooperation of IRM, USIM GAP Year Volunteerism might not be carried out perfectly. Various facilities and guidance have been provided by IRM regardless of time to USIM and USIM GAP year Volunteerism participants. “I am very grateful for the sincerity and enthusiasm given by IRM to USIM. Indeed, the experiences of students participating in the program in every volunteerism travel including Indonesia and Bangladesh as well as in their own country are very significant and able to be shared with other colleagues.”
USIM intends to produce students with entrepreneurial values, leadership and volunteerism and to create a caring and responsible citizen and to be concerned with the continuity of the well-being of the society in the future. The skills that the students have can be utilized back to the community through knowledge transfer, community service, community participation and sustainability of nature.
The program was held at eleven (11) locations within the country, namely in Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak and in two (2) countries that is in Lombok, Indonesia and Rampur, Bangladesh.
Also present at the event was Tuan Haji Zairulshahfuddin, CEO of IRM.
Prepared by:
Noorumaina Mohamed Yunus
Pusat Komunikasi Strategik (StraComm)
Aras 1, Canselori Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)
71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan
Tel : 06-798 8026/78629/78620 Faks : 06-798 8032