The Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Centre for Quality Assurance (CQA), which was newly established 2 years ago, has chosen UUM Institute of Quality Management (IPQ) as its centre of reference regarding academic and service quality management matters.

The visit aims to learn from the expertise and experience of UUM, particularly IPQ, in managing the Quality Management System, Self-Accreditation Management, and the development of academic excellence, which is managed by the Academic Excellence Development Unit (AEDU).

The UMS delegation led by the Director of UMSCQA, Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Zainal Zakaria comprised 11 UMS staff members was welcomed by the Director of IPQ, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Haniff Jedin.

In his opening speech, Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Zainal Zakaria, expressed his admiration for the atmosphere and environment of the work area at the IPQ office, remarking that it was very conducive and resembled that of a corporate office.

He went on to say that the bilateral relationship that existed between him and the Director of IPQ at UUM had been solidly established ever since the Quality Management Council (MPQ) of the Public University was established.

Information pertaining to UUM's Quality Management, particularly in the management of UUM's Self-Accreditation and ISO Management Programme, became the main topic of discussion, which resulted in the UMS delegation asking a great number of questions, which were subsequently answered by Mdm. Faizah Hashim, the Deputy Director of IPQ.

IPQ also invited the Director of AEDU, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Zailani Mohd. Yusoff, to speak about the roles that UUM AEDU plays and the responsibilities that its members of staff have.

During the session, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Zailani Mohd. Yusoff provided an explanation regarding academic programme management. He stated that the primary responsibility of academic programme management in the context of UUM is to develop guidelines for all academic programmes, in addition to monitoring and evaluating each programme.

Group discussions were also held in order to elaborate on the quality's overall scope. UMS also shared its experience in EKSA Re-Certification Management with UUM, which has plans to replace Quality Environmental Practices (5S) with EKSA Certification in the coming year.