SIBU: Methodist Pilley Institute (MPI) here launched its new programme- Diploma in Business Information Systems at its premises here last Saturday. Speaking at the event, MPI principal, Hii King Kai said MPI would continue to strive to offer relevant and rigorous academic programmes. “As you enter the gates of MPI, you will notice the entrance is bigger but the exit is smaller. These two gates are in essence, what we stand for.
“MPI in line with the Ministry of Higher Education’s initiative to make tertiary education more accessible to anyone who desires, will take in students who meet the minimum entry requirements including students, for whatever reasons, who did not have at least three credits in SPM, could now attain entry requirements by APEL (the accreditation of prior experiential learning) route.
“However, the exit gate is much smaller, other than for safety reasons, the smaller gate symbolises that, it takes hard work in order to graduate from MPI. “We really hope that when the students are here, we will be able to help them grow into a wholesome person. In addition to academic studies, students are able to develop soft skills that are keys to their success in life later on, including leadership skills, creativity and innovation skills, entrepreneurial and management skills and life-long learning abilities. “And with the help from the Methodist church of Sarawak, the hard work from all the staff, lecturers, our Board members, and kind support from the community, we are able to do all these and operating as a not-for-profit higher learning institution.
“There are very, very few other higher learning institutions in Malaysia which are run like MPI,” he pointed out. He added that the Ministry of Higher Education was redesigning higher education in the nation, making higher education accessible to anyone, anytime and anywhere.
“One of the key elements to such initiative is APEL which allows students, regardless of age to gain entry into or granted credits toward attainment of academic certificates,” he said, adding that for further information those interested may log onto MOHE’s website or ask MPI’s counsellors.
Hii also said in addition to enhancing teaching and learning experience on campus, MPI was going to embark on a few projects this year. “With the help of Sibu Municipal Council, MPI is working on turning a previously vacant swampy area into a playing field for the students within walking distance from the campus. When the work is completed in a few months’ time, MPI should have a very nice green field for students to play frisbees on. “We wi l l also expand the capacity of our campus by renovating one of the old blocks on campus. We have done quite a bit of work to turn it into a nice learning centre.
“We also plan to rebuild it into a 3 1/2 storey building which will increase the campus capacity from 1,200 to 1,700.
“We such expansion, we will be able to convert our existing library into an IT hub where teaching and learning as well as R&D can take place,” Hii said. He also announced that MPI will hold a ‘Pilley Heritage Run 2017’ on 17 June to raise scholarship fund for needy students. “Last year there were more than 400 participants and we managed to raise over RM50,000, with a lot of help from the institute’s alumni, members of the public and generous donors. This year MPI is targeting 1,000 participants and hoping to raise RM100,000 to help more needy students,” Hii said.
MPI Head of Computer Science, Lee Ai Ching who also spoke said information systems were important in all areas of business. “Profitable businesses rely on information systems to obtain, process and output information and need IT professionals who can analyse and identity any issues and propose the best solution system.
“Today’s businesses are driven by information offered via modern information systems using network computers, the web and large scale databases. “Employers are looking for employees who understand both business and technology issues, and have the skills and knowledge to contribute to the shaping of their organisation’s business information system strategies and planning. “Hence, at MPI, we are offering Diploma in Business Information Systems that develops students’ knowledge of both computing and business-related disciplines,” Lee said.
She also pointed out that by developing the skills in databases, network management and web application development students could create technically proficient business information systems as they gained a complementary understanding of business topics including marketing, e-commerce and project management. Among those present were honorary chairman of MPI Board, Hii Ching Chiong and former MPI principal, Judy Wong.
