Academia Day 2021 focuses on empowering nation's higher education digitalisation agenda

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Okt  -- “Empowering Academia, Adaptation to Digitalisation” is the theme for this year’s National Academia Day celebration which gives emphasis on efforts to empower the nation’s higher education digitalisation agenda under the new normal environment.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said the long COVID-19 crisis and recovery period required each party to find more creative and innovative solutions to ensure the survival of higher education institutions.

She said the country’s education system was now undergoing a transformation with the teaching and learning (PdP) methods no longer based on physical dimensions or purely place-based approaches, but they were connected rapidly through a network of education services both at the national and global levels.

In fact, she said the concept of virtual learning via platforms like Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs, Open Educational Resources and Flipped Classroom Online have drastically appeared as part of the disruptive innovation.

“I believe both concepts of PdP, conventional and contemporary should be merged to produce an education system that facilitates both the educators and students,” she said when officiating the National Level Academia Day 2021 online today.

As such, Noraini said the Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) had taken various steps to adapt the learning modules and methods to the digital environment.

She said the MOHE was also committed to ensuring the capacity and competency of the teaching staff were enhanced, especially in handling technology to ensure that the national higher education digitilisation goal was achieved.

Meanwhile, Noraini said institutions of higher learning (IPT) should be the benchmark of civilisation and intellectual level of society.

She said, indicators for the best IPT were those that were capable of bringing impacts not only for their students but also to the society.

“IPT should be able to offer immediate solutions to issues and challenges faced by the society for the people’s well-being,” she said.

In her speech, Noraini also expressed her appreciation to lecturers, the teaching staff and academicians nationwide for their contributions and services in developing the country’s higher education sector.

She also called on all those involved to work together as a Malaysian Family to mobilise innovations and be prepared to face the challenges of digitalisation.

-- BERNAMA