UMK aims to nurture graduates who are not only responsible for themselves and the organisations they work with but also understand and are responsible for the consequences of their actions to the people (society) and planet (environment). Therefore, we expose our faculty members and students to social business ideas and projects. There are two stories worth sharing.

In January 2020, the Ministry of Finance awarded UMK a special grant worth RM2.6 million based on our proposal for a Social Enterprise project to alleviate the poverty of underprivileged people in the rural areas of Kelantan. The project was divided into 13 smaller projects led by 13 professors, and involved more than 100 students, micro and small businesses, and government agencies. The whole project took 18 months to complete. Upon completion, more than 300 underprivileged people from 15 communities had benefited from the projects through the creation of new small business ventures, and those who were already in business had at least doubled their income. The project has also created 8 student companies.

Second, during the pandemic and movement control order (MCO), UMK invented and produced six health products: Hand Sanitiser, 3D Face Shield Visors, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) Suits, Intubation Box, V-Buster Sanitise Box and V-Surface Disinfectant. Teaching labs were converted into production lines. We also worked with the prison department to produce PPE. Products were distributed to the front liners. All thanks to our wonderful staff, faculty members, and students, who worked voluntarily and tirelessly for the noble cause.

I learned many lessons during UMK’s transformational journey. Going back to basics, asking simple “WHAT”, “WHY” and “HOW” questions, is probably the most important of all, which led us to focus on two things: (1) fundamentals and (2) big dreams.

First, we fixed the FUNDAMENTALS – the small details that matter. We strengthened governance and integrity, by establishing a clear line of reporting, responsibility, and accountability. We set clear policies, guidelines, and etiquettes, and the monitoring system for follow-up and follow-through. Then we revisited our mandate - institutional, departmental, and individual. Next, we created battle cries, taglines, and hashtags (#WeAreUMKFamily; OneUMKOneDream). Last but not least, we get everyone on board, a refreshed team who share the same dream and destination. Those little things have significant impacts that deliver quick wins needed to gain the trust and confidence of the stakeholders.

Second, we focused on BIG DREAMS, the transformation agenda. UMK is a young, unknown university with a special mandate to become Malaysia’s top entrepreneurship university. Therefore, we pushed for the university’s branding and visibility. We sell our dreams. The key is collaboration. We organised talk-series programmes for ministers, ambassadors, and top CEOs. We initiated collaborations with world-renowned incubators, top universities, professional bodies, and world-class tech companies. We worked on ISO certifications and international accreditations. We established new research labs, incubators, and an on-campus factory. Finally, we invested in our people by creating the rising stars programme to groom young talents, who will put UMK onto the world map.

UMK has been successful in nurturing student entrepreneurs. Our next step is to push for innovation-driven entrepreneurship. The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation targets to create 5,000 start-up companies, including five with unicorn status, by 2025. UMK wants to be part of the mission, hence the setup of Ignite Venture Innovation Lab (IVL) in 2021. IVL aims to incubate several high-growth tech enterprises. Over the next five years, we expect more than 1,000 students will have participated in the innovation capacity-building activities of the lab. These skills will enable them to understand the big picture, with the ability to turn problems into opportunities, and to manage their own profitable businesses or engage in value-added, high-paying jobs that characterise the innovation economy.

The lab has coached over 200 students on New Technology Venture Creation. A total of 27 teams (120 students) competed in the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre University Start-up Challenge (2021). They also participated in the Swiss-ASEAN Innovation Challenge (2022) and the LaunchX University Start-up Accelerator (2023). Demonstrating their belief and confidence in the lab’s vision, several local and international agencies have agreed to collaborate with and support the Lab, such as the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, and InnoThink Advisory. Our colleagues from abroad, The Garage at Northwestern University, the Christensen Institute (Boston, US), EnCube Labs (MIT), and Ventures Platform (Nigeria), have participated in Entrepreneurship Week organised by the Lab. The future looks promising.