A total of 2,388 UMT graduands took part in a resplendent 21^st Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Convocation Ceremony held in six sessions from 22 to 24 October.

Among them were 196 postgraduate graduands comprising 46 PHD degree recipients and 150 master’s degree recipients. The 2,192 undergraduate graduands consisted of 2,081 bachelor’s degree recipients and 111 diploma recipients.

Her Royal Highness Sultanah Nur Zahirah officiated the first session at the Sultan Mizan Hall today. The Sultanah, who is also UMT Chancellor, delivered a speech, in which Her Royal Highness congratulated all the granduands and award recipients.

The Sultanah conferred the Honorary Doctorate Degree of Biodiversity Conservation and Management by the Faculty of Marine Science and Environment (FSSM) to Emeritus Professor Dato’ Dr. Abdul Latiff Mohamad and Honorary Doctorate Degree of Management by the Faculty of Maritime Studies to Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Michael Tio.

At the ceremony UMT also presented several awards to the recipients, including Royal Education Award, Chancellor’s Gold Medal Award, Pro Chancellor Award, Board of Directors’ Chairman Award, and Vice Chancellor Award (for each faculty). Two new awards were introduced for the first time, which were Higher Education National Fund Special Award and Best Diploma Graduate Award.

Emeritus Professor Dato’ Dr. Abdul Latiff Mohamad was awarded the honorary doctorate for his expertise in tall plant taxonomy and conservation biology research. His studies on Malaysia’ flora, plant taxonomy, and biological diversity for the past 40 years have brought progress to the knowledge about the values and benefits of environmental conservation in Malaysia. He has led various projects on plant taxonomy, ethnography, and natural product phytochemistry.

Dato’ Seri (Dr) Michael Tio has expertise in Logistics Management and is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of PKT Logistics Group Sdn. Bhd., one of the country’s leading logistics service providers and a company that has carried out various corporate social responsibility programmes. Among them is the setting up of PKT Foundation that offers scholarships and aids to Malaysian students with excellent academic records. The company allocates RM1 million each year to the foundation and has awarded scholarships amounting to RM2.4 million to more than 400 students studying locally and overseas. Dato’ Seri through PKT Logistics has established collaborations with public and private institutions of higher learning locally and overseas including Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.

UMT Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr. Mazlan Abd Ghaffar said UMT awarded the honorary doctorate degree to Abdul Latiff and Michael to recognizie their contributions in the respective fields.

“UMT is also proud because the first batch of students (60) from its STEM Foundation introduced in 2018 have completed their studies in various programmes at UMT. STEM Foundation is the only foundation in Malaysia that enable students without pure science background to continue their studies in STEM fields,” he said.

Also conferred the degree were 65 graduands who were the first batch of the Bachelor of Maritime Operations Management, Bachelor of Science (Marine Geoscience), and Bachelor of Computer (Mobile Computing).

This year UMT has also introduced several new programmes, such as Bachelor of Finance with honours and Master of Tropical Marine Environment. These programmes are offered to meet the current demands of the industries.

UMT this year has also recorded a graduate employability rate of 88 percent, the highest in five years.

The university continues to make efforts to improve its graduate employability. These include strengthening collaborations with its alumni and establishing partneships with renowned multinational companies.

UMT has built a strong name in its nice area of Marine Science and Aquatic Resources, befitting its slogan of Ocean of Discovery for Global Sustainability.

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Universiti Malaysia Terengganu