KOTA SAMARAHAN: Success in academia and beyond requires a deep understanding of the processes involved, said Distinguished Professor Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin.
Sharing his extensive experience and knowledge gained over 50 years in academia, he focused on how universities are run and the challenges faced by students.
Offering advice to young academics and students, the professor stressed the necessity of having a clear plan and adhering to basic principles, which he has held dear throughout his career.
He asserted that both university employees and students need to embrace and understand their tasks, adding that training also determines the quality of support, acceptance, and participation.
“If you don’t know the way or the plan, how will you be a lecturer or a professor?
“For students who want to seek tasks or jobs outside the university, they still have to endure the same. They must understand. They must know how it is done,” he said.
He said this during his lecture on ‘Pioneering the Road to the Top: From Lecturer to Distinguished Professor’ at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) today.
Dr Shamsul noted the intricacies of university management, emphasising the importance of understanding the general atmosphere and operations within a university.
“If you don’t have a real experience that can be checked and heard, then people won’t understand what the general atmosphere is.
“For me, to understand the general atmosphere, I need to share what I do and also some things that my friends have done, including at Unimas.
“After all, we are all in the university system. That’s exactly what I want to share today,” he said.
On the same note, the professor also stressed the importance of basing answers on historical evidence rather than providing popular responses just to please people.
He expressed optimism about teaching students to seek out information and understand it deeply before making interpretations.
Reflecting on his long and distinguished career, Dr Shamsul shared that he has been part of the university system for over 50 years, having started teaching at the University of Malaya in 1973 before moving to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Being one of the five Malaysian scholars awarded the title of Distinguished Professor (a Lecturer Service Scheme introduced by the Ministry of Higher Education), he is committed to the principles that have guided him throughout his career.
He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to impact so many lives, saying that his work has both a broad and deep social and intellectual impact, not just within the scholarly community but also among the public and school students.
