OUM ushers a new era of online education from Malaysia
One of the by-products of the COVID-19 pandemic was the rise of remote learning across academic institutions. While it initially served as a countermeasure to continue providing education in the wake of the virus, the idea of a fully online tertiary education is gradually gaining momentum as people continue to handle a larger portion of their daily affairs digitally.
Open University Malaysia (OUM), a university that pioneered online learning in 2000, long before the existence of COVID-19, believes that open and distance learning (ODL) plays a key role in living up to its motto “University for All”.
Its President/Vice-Chancellor Assoc Prof Dr Ahmad Izanee Awang says, “At OUM, we believe that by making education more accessible to wider audiences, more people will have the opportunity to achieve their academic goals and take a step forward in improving their career opportunities.”
Backed by 22 years of ODL expertise as a private university formed under the Multimedia Technology Enhancement Operations Sdn Bhd (METEOR), a consortium of Malaysia’s first 11 public universities, OUM is now embarking on a mission to reach international audiences and enrich virtual learning globally.
Providing online learning beyond borders
The flexibility of ODL programmes strikes a chord with the working population who now have the opportunity to enhance their skill sets while juggling work and family commitments.
ODL becomes all the more attractive when established universities such as OUM hold synchronous and recorded e-lessons, e-tutorials, and interactive online forums that are carefully integrated to allow learners the freedom to choose both where and when to study.
Caption: Open and distance learning is becoming an increasingly appealing option to high school students and working professionals.
“Learners have everything they need to study comfortably anytime, anywhere,” Dr Izanee adds.
“Every course comes with video lectures, e-modules, and other e-content. An expansive digital library that hosts over 190,000 e-books, 55,000 journal titles, roughly 1.3 million thesis titles, and a local legal act database that is available anytime to learners is another plus point for quality education.”
Recognised and respected qualifications
“What we are able to offer through our teaching and learning approach thus serves as a solid foundation for OUM to gain global visibility and become an institution of choice even with international learners. This means making sure programmes are accessible on-demand while additionally being industry-focused and globally recognised,” Dr Izanee explains.
OUM boasts an impressive selection of career-relevant programmes accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), a statutory body governed by Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education.
Furthermore, its Bachelor of Accountancy programme is accredited by CPA Australia.
According to Dr Izanee, OUM has had years of experience partnering with international institutions to offer its programmes globally.
“Since 2006, OUM has partnered with more than 10 institutions worldwide, a testament to the quality and recognition of our programmes. Partnering institutions manage the logistics of enrolling learners and running programmes in the respective countries while we take the lead in designing and monitoring curriculum quality as well as providing learning materials and technological support.”
Among the university’s most rewarding collaborations include the likes of the International Institute of Health Sciences (Sri Lanka), Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (Vietnam), Accra Institute of Technology (Ghana), and SIMAD University (Somalia).
OUM has also started offering a select number of postgraduate programmes to international learners outside of partnered institutions, resulting in as many as 14,000 overseas learners cumulatively enrolled across Zimbabwe, Yemen, Syria, France, the United Kingdom, and numerous other countries.
The above achievements, along with new partnerships with several Asian and African institutions will continue to reap benefits for all who choose to study at OUM.
“We will continue working tirelessly to become a reputable ODL provider not just in Malaysia, but everywhere in the world,” Dr Izanee concludes.
For information on OUM programmes, call the speed line at 03-7801 2000, e-mail enquiries@oum.edu.my or visit www.oum.edu.my