UiTM collaborates with SAS to build the next generation of business leaders

Incorporated on Aug. 26, 1999, the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) of Malaysia encompasses three satellite campuses, 12 branch campuses, nine city campuses and 19 affiliated colleges. Plans are also underway for a smart campus for the future. As one of the premier institutions of higher learning in Malaysia, one of the primary visions of the university is to equip its students with the knowledge and tools to help businesses analyze and solve critical issues.

To that end, UiTM has turned to SAS to help meet the growing demand for a highly educated work force with the analytical skills needed to help businesses compete effectively in the marketplace. 

The UiTM and SAS collaboration began in 1983 when the university licensed SAS^® Academic Analysis for teaching and research in its undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Several years ago, UiTM's Faculty of Information Technology and Quantitative Sciences (FTMSK) incorporated SAS Enterprise Miner™, a data mining solution, as part of the curriculum in its data analysis courses such as Data Mining, Applied Multivariate Methods and Regression Analysis.

"With SAS Enterprise Miner, we are building the next generation of business leaders with the valuable skill of knowing how to make decisions based on information," says Professor Zainab Abu Bakar, PhD, Dean of FTMSK. "We recognize the demand in the marketplace for people with analytical skills, and we at UiTM hopes to play our part in filling the void."

Learning SAS, she adds, gives the students a competitive advantage. There is an increasing trend, both locally and globally, of companies that recognize the power of analytics, and many corporations are seeking to employ graduates with advanced skills in analytics.

UiTM graduates with SAS skills are in high demand and many UiTM graduates trained on SAS gain employment almost immediately after graduation.

Learning SAS may even give UiTM's graduates the opportunity to obtain high-profile positions since they are able to analyze information that affect decision making in the boardroom. "Our graduates will have a very strong advantage," Zainab says. "Knowledge of SAS will open doors for them."

For SAS, the collaboration with UiTM for this academic initiative is yet another demonstration of the company's dedication to providing institutions of higher learning and their students the latest SAS technology and exposure to its software.

University lecturers within this faculty are also using SAS Enterprise Miner for their own extensive research programs in data mining. Certain academicians within UiTM, such as Rasimah Aripin, PhD, Associate Professor with the FTMSK, and Yap Bee Wah, PhD, Coordinator of MSc (Quantitative Science), are accredited SAS trainers, and they are sought after for their expertise on both the local and global fronts.

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