Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) has sealed a partnership to enable UniKL Asia Rail Centre offering courses at the Advanced Diploma level and Certificate of Competency (CoC) that are globally recognised.
Through a Memorandum of Understanding (Mou) inked yesterday (March 3rd), UniKL Asia Rail Centre has been appointed as the centre for offering professional development programmes in the field of signal control systems certified by the IRSE.
The IRSE has also agreed to appoint UniKL as an Assessing Agencies for signal control engineers and professionals who will be assessed by the IRSE Malaysian Section, UniKL Asia Rail Center and the UK licensing body to obtain certification.
The MoU signing ceremony was witnessed by the Chairman of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) and the Pro-Chancellor of UniKL, YBhg Dato’ Dr. Asyraf Wajdi Dato’ Dusuki, along with the British High Commissioner to Malaysia, His Excellency Charles Hay.
Signing the document were President/Chief Executive Officer of UniKL, Datuk Dr. Roziah Omar and President of the IRSE, Mr. Andy Knight.
In his speech, Dato’ Dr. Asyraf Wajdi said, the collaboration was initiated during the visit by MARA delegation to IRSE Headquarters in June 2022.
“With the certification from IRSE, the graduates we produce can work and be recognised not only in Malaysia but also at the ASEAN level. Signal control systems for rail transport are of high demand in the job market with vast career opportunities for UniKL graduates,” he told.
In support of the collaboration, MARA has approved education loans for students of Diploma of Engineering Technology in the Railway System.
This 3-year programme is embedded with a competency certificate by the IRSE and this will make UniKL graduates be of higher value in the job market globally, allowing them to earn higher income.
Meanwhile, during the press conference, the Deputy President (International, Industrial & Institutional Partnership) of UniKL, Assoc. Prof. Ir. Dr. Azman Senin, was honoured with the title of Companion of IRSE, entitling him to the privileges set forth in the IRSE’s constitution. His contribution is setting the full fledged TVET rail centre under MARA and UniKL Asia Rail Centre.
The ceremony was also attended by the Director General of Railways, Ministry of Transport, Tuan Mohd Shahriman Shafein; Deputy Director General (Education) of MARA, Encik Razlan Haji Samsuri; Group Chief Executive Officer of MARA Corporation Sdn Bhd, Dato’ Julainie Mohd Salleh; Chief Executive Officer of British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (BMCC), Ms. Jennifer Lopez; and key players of the rail industry in Malaysia namely Malaysia Rail Link, Hartasuma Sdn Bhd, KTK DOM Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Railway Development Corporation and Alstom (M).
Established in 1912, IRSE now has 5,000 members from 53 countries and has 5,759 professional licensees in the field of signal control systems and rail transport telecommunications.
UniKL Asia Rail Centre, meanwhile was established by MARA in 2016 and is recognised as the nation’s first national higher institute focusing on rail technology offering professional courses, licence programmes and customised courses for the professional development of the rail industry workforce in Malaysia.
It was recognised as TVET Collaboration Hub by Malaysia TVET Council for rail specialisation in June 2022.
