Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin

History

The university was first established as an Islamic educational college known as Kolej Ugama Sultan Zainal Abidin (abbreviation KUSZA; Jawi: كوليج أڬام سلطان زين العابدين; English: Sultan Zainal Abidin Islamic College) on 27 January 1980, under the administration of the Terengganu Religious Affairs Department. KUSZA was made a statutory body with the passing of the Enactment 31/1981 by the Terengganu State Legislative Assembly. A permanent campus was built on a 350-acre (1.4 km²) site in Gong Badak, Kuala Terengganu and KUSZA began operating in the campus from January 1983. The first program to be offered was a Diploma in Islamic Studies (Syariah). This has expanded to 23 Diploma programs and three Advanced Diploma programs.

Establishment of the university

On 26 March 2005, KUSZA was upgraded into a full-fledged university known as Universiti Darul Iman Malaysia (abbreviation UDM; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي دارالايمان مليسيا‎; English: Darul Iman University Malaysia) and the number of programs and disciplines were extended. It began when Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi announced the formation of a new university to be established in the state of Terengganu, Malaysia. This was followed by the appointment of the first Vice-Chancellor, Dato’ Professor Dr Alias bin Daud, on 1 January 2006.

Present form

With the approval from Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin on 13 April 2010, the Universiti Darul Iman Malaysia is now known as Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin effective on 14 May 2010 after the government gazette of Universiti Darul Iman Malaysia (Incorporation) (Amendment) Order 2010 came into force on 13 May 2010. The Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said in the press statement that the change of name was made after taking into account the historical background of the institution.

Campuses

The university operates with two campuses in the city of Kuala Terengganu which are the Medical Campus and the Gong Badak Campus, another two campus in Besut (Tembila Campus) and Kuala Lumpur (UniSZA International Campus) respectively. The Gong Badak Campus focuses on the teaching and research of Islamic knowledge and its harmonisation with other professional courses such as Accountancy, Law, Language, Design and Technology, Social Sciences, and Health Sciences. While the Medical Campus offers Medical and Nursing programs. The Tembila Campus was developed with a niche in Biotechnology, Bioresources, Food Industry, IT and Computering. These three campuses will have their own specialised field of studies, each with a separate and identifiable niche.

Admission policies

As a public university, the students’ intakes are usually handled by the government centralised system called Unit Pengambilan Universiti (UPU) (English: University Intake Unit) under the administration of Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education. Thus, the intakes for bachelor's degree are opened for students who hold Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (English: Malaysian Higher School Certificate), Matriculation programmes and Diploma/Certificates from recognised polytechnic schools.

Whereas, the intakes for Diploma’s programmes are opened for students who hold Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (English: Malaysian Certificate of Education) or Sijil Pelajaran Vokasional Malaysia (English: Malaysian Vocational Certificate of Education) or certificates from technical/vocational schools.

Education

The university has a semester-based modular system for conducting courses. It adopts features of the British system, such as small group teaching (tutorials) and the American system (course credits). One academic year is divided into two normal/long semesters which are Semester I and Semester II. In addition to these two semesters, there is also a short/special semester called Semester III which is conducted during semester break.

Research

The Centre for Research Management and Innovation is responsible to oversee all research made by the members of the university.

Faculties and programmes

Presently, there are 18 bachelor’s degree programs and 23 diploma programs. Programmes offered at the university are in diverse fields of study: law, international relations, languages and communication, informatics, business management, accountancy, medicine, health sciences, agriculture, biotechnology, food technology, innovative design and technology, social sciences and Islamic studies.

The university offers multiple undergraduate and postgraduate programs in 10 faculties located at the Gong Badak Campus (formerly known as KUSZA Campus), Medical Campus (formerly known as Kota Campus) and Tembila Campus:

Gong Badak Campus

The following faculties operate from the campus in Gong Badak, Kuala Terengganu

Medical Campus

The following faculty operates from the Medical Campus:

Tembila Campus

The following faculties operate from the campus in Tembila, Besut:

Finances

As a full public university, its financial resources originate mostly from the federal government. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (Malay: Rancangan Malaysia ke-9), the university has been granted RM 417 million (USD 137 million) to be spent from 2006 to 2010. While under the Tenth Malaysia Plan (Malay: Rancangan Malaysia ke-10), the university has received RM 420 million (USD 138 million) to be spent between 2011 and 2015.

An additional RM 2.2 million (USD 721 000) in form of research grant was granted by Terengganu state government to the university in April 2009 to be used for researching the Asiatic bitter yam or Intoxicating yam (Botanical name: Dioscorea hispida Dennst). This toxic plant is an important source of secondary food for the local people, especially in times of food scarcity. It is also used in local pharmaceutical industry and medicine.

International co-operation

In January 2012, the university has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Prince of Songkla University (Thailand) to promote academics co-operation in the fields of humanities and social sciences.

In 2011, the university has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the McGill University, Canada and agreed on the planning and development of an advanced modern teaching hospital and telemedicine facilities in Malaysia.

In April 2011, the Faculty of Business Management and Accountancy, UniSZA in collaboration with the Centre for Research Management and Innovation, UniSZA has organised International Conference on Business Management 2011. The participants for this conference were drawn from various countries. Among the main topics that have been discussed in the conference were 'Business Management, Human Resource and Marketing', 'Accounting', 'Economics, Finance and Banking' as well as 'Risk Management and Corporate Governance'.

In July 2010, the university has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance. This co-operation has enabled the university to offer the programmes of Chartered Islamic Finance Professional (CIFP) at the Faculty of Business Management and Accountancy, UniSZA.

In October 2010, the university conducted discussions with the delegation from Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (Brunei Darussalam) at the Gong Badak campus regarding future academics co-operation with the Faculty of Contemporary Islamic Studies, UniSZA. This was then followed by another visit by Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali's representatives to the university in December 2011 and a memorandum of understanding between both universities has been signed.

The university had been offering the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Business Information Systems, Business Administration, Finance dan Accounting in partnership with the University of East London since 2001.

Recognition and achievement

In May 2012, a postgraduate student from Faculty of Health Sciences, UniSZA won Silver Medal in the International Invention, Innovation And Technology Exhibition (ITEX 2012) held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The research innovation entitled 'Mobile Epilepsy Educational System (MEES) For People With Epilepsy In Malaysia' was chosen to receive the award under the Education category.

In March 2012, the team of two students from Faculty of Law and International Relations, UniSZA emerged as champion in the Harun M Hashim National Client Consultation Competition 2012 held at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia. The team won against other teams from University of Malaya, International Islamic University Malaysia, National University of Malaysia, Universiti Utara Malaysia, and the host team Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia. The team then went on to represent Malaysia in the prestigious Louis M Brown and Forrest S Morten International Client Consultation Competition held in Dublin, Ireland on April 2012.

In 2011, the team of two students from Faculty of Innovative Design and Technology, UniSZA won the main prize in the NST-Peugeot Car Design Competition 2011. This winning has earned them an all expenses paid five-day-four-night trip to Paris and visit to Peugeot's research and design centre in Velinzy, France.

In April 2011, the team of four students from Faculty of Bioresources and Food Industry, UniSZA emerged as champion in the National Environmental Quiz held at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris. The team has beaten Universiti Teknologi MARA in the final round and brought home RM 1000 (USD 327) and a trophy.

In August 2011, the team of three students from Faculty of Law and International Relations, UniSZA won the 'Outstanding Achievement Memorial Award' in the Asia Cup International Law Moot Court Competition 2011 held in Tokyo, Japan. UniSZA was the first university in Malaysia to have received the prestigious award since 1999, the year when the competition was founded. The UniSZA team who also received sponsorship by the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has to compete with 10 other Asian universities for the award such as Kyoto University, Waseda University, University of Hong Kong, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Ateneo de Manila University, Thammasat University, Singapore Management University, Atma Jaya Catholic University and Universitas Pelita Harapan

In November 2011, the Law Students' Society from Faculty of Law and International Relations, UniSZA has successfully organised the Asian Law Students' Association (ALSA) National Forum 2011 at UniSZA's Gong Badak Campus, after winning the bid against Universiti Teknologi MARA for the right to organise the event which was held in Kuala Lumpur. With the theme entitled 'Criminal Law: The Beat Within', it has drawn participation from various law schools in Malaysia, namely Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, International Islamic University Malaysia, University of Malaya, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Multimedia University and Help University College. Among the prominent persons who attended the program include the former Chief Justice of Malaysia, Tun Zaki Tun Azmi and the Head of International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) for Asia region, Mr. Richard Desgagné.