Malaysia invests in data analytics on student mobility, employability - Maszlee

Malaysia strives to include the spirit of mobility in education by, among others, investing in predictive data analytics, said Education Minister Maszlee Malik.

This, he said was among the three key strategies Malaysia has undertaken to keep pace with the rapidly changing higher education landscape.

“(Hence), Malaysia too has made many investments in predictive data analytics involving student mobility and employability through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), drawn from various government and industry databases, and application,” he said.

Maszlee said this during his intervention notes at the Ministerial Meeting on Inclusion and Mobility in Higher Education at the 40th Session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in Paris.

The interventions of Education ministers and officials of Higher Education Institutions were part of a plenary session titled ‘Mobility in Higher Education’, aiming to spearhead the global campus through student and faculty mobility, innovative study programmes and delivery modalities.

Unesco International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (ISEALC) director Francesc Pedro moderated the session.

Maszlee, who is on a six-day working visit to the French capital, said as the Chair of the Southeast Asian Ministers for Education Organisations, the second key strategy is to establish stronger partnerships within and among Asean countries, and with other nations such as Japan, Korea, Africa, North and South Americas, and Europe.

"The focus here is on creating platforms for the growth of education capital, talent and research resources," he said.

Lastly, Malaysia aims to be the ‘Paris of Intellectualism' or the ‘Andalusia of Scholarly Life’ for scholars and students to converge in the country.

"To ensure cross-fertilisation of ideas and expertise, there is a conscious effort to remove various obstacles to mobility, one of which involves reviewing rules and regulations for international scholars and students to study and conduct research in Malaysian universities and institutions," said Maszlee.

Malaysia has grown to become an international knowledge centre, in tune with the vicissitudes of globalisation, he said.

Speaking further, he said the Global Convention on Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education by Unesco is an impetus for this and in line with the Malaysian Qualification Framework (MQF), which will further smoothen the process of entry into universities within and outside Malaysia.

"Students and scholars’ mobilities are our primary commitment. Above all, we advocate diversity in opinions and opportunities for all. We believe that mobility will become seamless if human beings acknowledge each other’s differences and appreciate diversity.

According to Maszlee, the Malaysian government is working towards ensuring that education will not only augment mobility across borders but also mobility within a given domain, in our respective countries.

"For us, education is a leveller that can bring about social mobility. For this purpose, the values that form the nucleus of education must be love, happiness and mutual respect.

- Bernama