BY DAYANG NUR MILLIANA FITRI AWANG OMAR
THE Faculty of Language and Communication (FLC) at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) held an open day on May 17 and 18 at the faculty building to promote available courses to people wanting to pursue tertiary studies.
The faculty offers three different courses — Strategic Communication, English for Global Communication, and Linguistics.
During the open day, students set up booths to showcase information about their courses as well as various activities, which were carried out to give visitors first-hand experiences.
The university also introduced its Professional Continuous Excellent Learning (ProCEL), an initiative that offers short courses ranging from one to five days of programme at the open day.
“ProCEL and Unimas Business School (UBS) are working together to commercialise the current programme. This partnership, therefore, has commercial values to it,” said Dr Dayang Aizza Maisha Abang Ahmad, Deputy Dean for Industry and Community Engagement and a lecturer in the Strategic Communication programme at FLC.
When asked about ProCEL’s target audience and which groups will benefit the most from this initiative, Dr Dayang Aizza said that ProCEL’s clients include students, industries, and both government and corporate agencies.
ProCEL FLC recently held an English Language Proficiency Workshop. It was a three-day programme with the Sarawak Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development (MYSED).
MYSED has recently realised the need to ensure that everyone has a certain level of English proficiency at various ranks, and that all are required to further develop their English skills in both writing and speaking.
Each faculty in UNIMAS has its own ProCEL with different expertise to offer, such as signature courses, some of which are customised to suit the needs of the clients, ensuring that the materials are linked to the clients’ goals and objectives. There are also existing clients, thus services to them are provided on a yearly basis, where both ProCEL and the current clients are familiar with one another, particularly ProCEL in terms of offering services to their liking.
“For FLC, the range of communicative programmes provided is mostly focused on third languages such as Japanese, Mandarin, French, and others.
“This is due to the demand from organisations that seek ProCEL’s assistance, and what ProCEL puts on the table will depend on the needs of these organisations and who they collaborate with. All of these factors must be considered beforehand to ensure that the clients’ needs are met,” said Dr Dayang Aizza.
These are some of FLC’s signature programmes, and being a faculty of language and communication, courses with a focus on media, journalism, and even public relations are also available. These are some of the skill-based programmes provided by the faculty’s ProCEL.
Dr Dayang Aizza also mentioned that while practitioners may already have insights into the practise of public relations, the demands for learning case studies and relearning theories are just as important, and this is where ProCEL comes into play of reskilling and upskilling.
There are similar courses available, but what distinguishes ProCEL from these generic courses is the way it is handled, conducted, and delivered to clients.
“For example, the module is developed by experts in specific fields of study. As previously stated, all of ProCEL’s communication programmes are customised,” she said.
Each aspect is carried out based on the clients and who they collaborate with. ProCEL takes into account what the organisation requires, what the organisation’s value is all about, as well as their vision and mission.
Another factor that sets apart ProCEL from other courses is the resources provided by academicians and researchers, who supply up-to-date data and integrated findings.
“What distinguishes us is the people behind this programme and how they are developing something that is not generic but rather specialised and tailored to the needs of the clients,” said Dr Dayang Aizza.
After a few years of operation, ProCEL’s partnerships with other parties are becoming stronger, and collaborations are improving.
“Partnerships and conversations have opened many doors for ProCEL, mostly because conversations allow us to see what we have to offer and what is needed. One of our most significant accomplishments has been the number of partnerships we have formed,” she added.
Siti Haslina Hussin, a senior lecturer at FLC, said, “ProCEL is something beyond the classroom.”
She believes that it is the type of initiative by the university that allows knowledge-sharing from people with experience in specific fields to the public.
“UNIMAS has many talents and experts in various fields, thus, ProCEL is regarded as a platform for lecturers and experts to make the most of their knowledge by getting involved.
“It is a win-win situation in this case. UNIMAS receives the recognition that it deserves while also showcasing its expertise to outsiders and how they can benefit from UNIMAS ProCEL,” added Siti Haslina.
It is hoped that ProCEL would continue to improve in every possible way and to remain relevant, accessible, and affordable. UNIMAS also encourages its graduates to enrol in these courses while waiting for employment opportunities.
This article was written by a student from the Strategic Communication Programme at the Faculty of Language and Communication, UNIMAS.
