Starting out as a training hall in 1956 with a mission to empower the Bumiputera community through education and economic development, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) has grown into one of the country's largest higher education institutions, with about 200,000 students across 34 campuses.
However, its size and long history do not mean that UiTM should remain bound by its traditional mould. Building on its achievements over more than seven decades and taking into account current developments, the university has launched the UiTM Strategic Plan 2030 to ensure it remains relevant in a rapidly changing higher education landscape while continuing to drive Bumiputera and national development.
UiTM Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Shahrin Sahib@Sahibuddin said the strategic plan, introduced on Aug 25, builds on the UiTM Strategic Plan 2025, which achieved about 85 per cent of its targets.
Under the UiTM Strategic Plan 2025, the university achieved its best-ever position in the QS World University Rankings 2026 since its establishment seven decades ago, rising 45 places to 524th out of 1,501 universities worldwide. This placed UiTM among the top 36 per cent of higher education institutions globally.
UiTM also improved its graduate employability rate from 85 per cent to 94.5 per cent.
For Shahrin, however, these achievements are not an end in themselves but a foundation for charting the university's course over the next five years.
"In the past, we emphasised KPIs (key performance indicators). Now, our main focus is impact. This does not mean we disregard processes. They still need to be implemented, measured and evaluated, but we are bringing everything together under the broader goal of impact," he told Bernama recently.
FROM KPIs TO IMPACT
While success was previously measured more easily through figures and the achievement of targets, the new approach seeks to assess how far UiTM's presence makes a tangible difference to its graduates, their families, communities, industries and the country.
Shahrin said this means success is no longer measured solely by the number of graduates produced, but also by their ability to secure jobs, create employment, improve their families' living standards and contribute to society.
In line with this, he said UiTM is targeting a graduate employability rate of more than 95 per cent by 2030, up from the current 94.5 per cent, under its five-year strategic plan.
At the same time, the university aims to increase the proportion of graduates who become entrepreneurs to 10 per cent, from about 5.4 per cent currently.
The goal is clear: UiTM graduates should not be seen merely as job seekers, but also as job creators.
"This approach is also in line with UiTM's original mission as an instrument of social mobility. With more than one million alumni, the impact of a university producing graduates on such a large scale extends beyond individuals to families and communities.
"For instance, a graduate who secures a job not only transforms their own life but may also help support their family, send siblings to pursue an education and ultimately build a new generation with better opportunities," he said.
UNIVERSITIES MUST ADAPT QUICKLY
In a higher education landscape shaped by technological advances, changing labour market demands and global competition, UiTM cannot afford to rely on a static approach. The UiTM Strategic Plan 2030 has therefore been designed as a living document that can be adapted to evolving circumstances.
Shahrin said this flexibility is crucial because fields that are priorities today may not hold the same significance five or 10 years from now.
Semiconductors, aerospace, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing and cryptography are among the rapidly developing fields. At the same time, UiTM must ensure that disciplines such as law, medicine, the arts, design, education and social sciences also adapt to technological changes.
"In the context of AI, for example, UiTM wants AI elements to be integrated into every field of study, rather than simply offering the same AI course to all students.
"Law students need to understand how AI is applied in the legal system, medical students need to understand its use in healthcare, while arts and design students must strengthen their creativity, originality and value proposition in facing competition from AI-generated content.
"This approach reflects an important principle of UiTM 2030: not every field needs to become a priority area at the same time, but all fields must be ready to evolve in line with the country's needs," he said.
A NEW APPROACH
Through the strategic plan, UiTM also aims to expand the concept of an industry-based learning environment on campus, or teaching factory, which allows students to gain experience in real workplace settings while still within the university environment.
Using the semiconductor sector as an example, Shahrin said the focus is no longer limited to producing a skilled workforce, but is shifting towards design and research directly linked to industry needs.
At the same time, educational delivery methods are evolving. Work-based learning, micro-credentials, stackable programmes and pathways under the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) scheme provide students and adult learners with more flexible routes to obtaining qualifications.
"These models are important in a world of work where academic qualifications are no longer the sole measure of skills. Workers need to engage in continuous learning, upskill, reskill and adapt to technological changes.
"However, a major transformation of this nature requires a strong financial foundation," he said.
Given UiTM's vast scale and low tuition fees, which help ensure Bumiputera access to higher education, Shahrin said the university faces the challenge of reducing its reliance on government funding without compromising its social role.
UiTM currently generates more than RM400 million annually and aims to strengthen this revenue through the commercialisation of assets, research, professional programmes, postgraduate studies and industry collaborations.
He explained that the new funding model is intended to ensure that some of the revenue generated by income-generating programmes can help sustain access to education for a larger cohort of undergraduate students.
BACK TO ITS ROOTS
UiTM also views education as more than the transfer of knowledge; it is about developing individuals with knowledge, skills and the right attitude.
Shahrin said the university is therefore placing emphasis on its ‘UiTM DNA’ and the concept of budi — encompassing values such as courtesy, integrity, benevolence and social responsibility — to produce graduates who are not only professionally competent but also trustworthy, ethical and accountable to society.
This approach also brings UiTM back to its founding roots, with education serving as a means of transforming the lives of individuals and the Bumiputera community.
"The difference is that today's challenges are far more complex. The world of work is changing rapidly, technologies such as AI are transforming how people work, competition among educational institutions is intensifying, and industry needs are constantly evolving.
"Therefore, UiTM 2030 cannot merely be a plan for the next five years. It must serve as a framework that enables the university to respond swiftly as the country's needs change," he said.
With targets of more than 95 per cent graduate employability, higher entrepreneurship rates, AI integration into curricula, stronger industry ties, more flexible education models and efforts to boost internally generated revenue, UiTM aims to move beyond simply producing graduates towards developing talent capable of shaping the future.
After seven decades, UiTM's challenge is no longer merely how to survive or remain relevant. The bigger question is how an institution founded on the aspiration of empowering the Bumiputera community can continue to play a meaningful role in an increasingly complex, technology-driven and competitive Malaysia.
These ambitions are reflected in the UiTM Strategic Plan 2030, which outlines a more agile, flexible and impact-oriented approach, with the aim not merely of adapting to change but also of driving transformation and national development.
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