OUM kini 10 tahun

Petikan dari Portal OUM:

In conjunction with the University’s 10th anniversary celebrations, OUM Today speaks to the top management and people at the grassroots to trace its rapid rise over the years. Here is OUM’s story.

It all began with an idea mooted by Royal Prof Ungku Aziz, which was later articulated in a working paper The Way Forward presented to the Malaysian Business Council by the then Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1991.

OUM operates from Technology Park Malaysia during its earlier days

But the establishment of the country’s first open and distance learning university only materialised in 2000, following the formation of Multimedia Technology Enhancement Operations (METEOR) in the late 1990s. The establishment of METEOR saw the beginning of a strategic relationship among the 11 public universities which were instrumental in contributing funds and resources to set up METEOR.

Staff sorting out students' applications at the University's office in Akademi Pengajian Islam

In the early days, METEOR operated from the Chancellory in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur. The staff was skeletal, the physical infrastructure basic. Later, it moved to Technology Park Malaysia in Bukit Jalil, KL. Following the approval of the University’s constitution in August 2000, the first batch of students was accepted in August the following year.

Soft launch of OUM in 2001

Between 2000 and 2001, the University operated from its new location at Akademi Pengajian Islam, Universiti Malaya, and in 2002, moved to its permanent campus in Jalan Tun Ismail.

From then on, things looked up for the University as it started on its journey of expansion, growing from a small entity into a respectable institution. Today, it is the premier ODL institution in the country. Within a short span of 10 years, the cumulative student enrolment swelled from 753 in 2001 to 94,000 in 2010. From a skeletal staff of 26, the number is now more than 600.

The toil and sweat of its pioneers have not been for nothing. Over the past 10 years, the University has chalked up many successes and left its mark in several parts of the world as it strives to be a global education provider.

The first assembly at the main campus

OUM now has students all over the country, gathering in 48 learning centres nationwide, usually during weekends. The University also offers programmes for international learners through its learning centres in Yemen, Bahrain, Maldives, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Hungary.

Clearly, OUM has come a long way since those early, struggling years. The University has achieved much during its decade of existence, all of which would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of its management and staff.

What of the next decade? The future beckons. The University hopes to continue harnessing its strengths and leveraging on technology to give it the competitive edge as it moves boldly into the future.