Ten years into the future, INTI International University’s Pro Vice Chancellor (Student Services) Song Kuok Thong looks forward to retiring and resting at home doing the things he loves most – gardening and painting. “Who knows, I might even look into directing my own short movie,” he said with a laugh. For now, he said his priority is on the students and driving publicity for the University, another task under his purview.
While his current role focuses on student experience and wellbeing as well as promoting the institution’s research and academic activities to stakeholders via social media platforms, Song has taken part in various pilot projects ever since he joined INTI in 2004. One such project was the introduction of distant learning during a time when it was not widely implemented by other higher education institutions.
“I assisted the team with the document submissions while ensuring all the paperwork adhered to guidelines set by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) so that we could offer distance learning during a time when not many private institutions were offeringonline courses accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).
“I attended roadshows including talks with our industry partners. I must say our efforts paid off because our first intake of the Master of Business Administration Learning Simplified (MBA LS) programme welcomed 92 students, which was a feat for such an online programme in 2015,“ shared Song who also promoted the programme to multiple stakeholders.
He said that distance education was common at the beginning of the late 1800s and it grew rapidly in the late 1990s with the advance of the online technical revolution. It is far from a new phenomenon, and it continues to reach new heights as technology advances.
According to Song, INTI was invited by MOHE to embark on a pilot project that focused on issuing the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) C to students pursuing their MBA.
“We graciously accepted the offer and worked closely with MOHE to begin awarding APEL C to one of our students. At that time, there were only four institutions given the green light to run the APEL C qualification and INTI was one of them, while the other three were public universities,” Song proudly shared.
In supporting the national agenda, the MQA introduced the provision of APEL to provideaccess to higher education programmes and offer academic recognition to individuals who have acquired non-formal and informal learning through their work and life experiences. Following the successful implementation of APEL for Access (A) into the certificate, diploma, bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes, MQA has taken subsequent steps to embark on APEL for Credit Award, known as APEL C. The notion behind APEL C is to provide an avenue to assess relevant experiential learning of the individual against the course learning outcomes, which ultimately leads to the award of credits for courses within a programme of study.
Another achievement for INTI made possible by Song was obtaining accreditation and recognition from the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) for the Bachelor of Accountancy programme.
“It took four years to obtain accreditation from MIA as they needed the first batch of students to graduate. We were the first private institution in Malaysia to receive such an accreditation and recognition from MIA back in 2012. With an accredited programmefrom MIA, a statutory body established under the Accountants Act 1967, students and parents were assured of quality education and recognition by employers of the course credits and degrees earned. Accreditation is an affirmation that a college provides quality in education,” said Song who has been in the education industry from the beginning of his career in 2001.
The Melaka-born Song is not only a natural multitasker but also has discovered a flair for organizing events.
“The first ASEAN Social Business Conference 2021 is an experience I will always cherish. I organised and chaired the conference which was conducted virtually. Themed ‘Thinking Outside the Box: Social Enterprise Survival in the COVID 19 Period’, the conference featured Professor Muhammad Yunus as the keynote speaker, the late Tun Arshad Ayub for a welcome address, and Emerita Professor Dato’ Rahmah Muhammad the conference’s patron,” he said, adding that the conference gathered researchers and practitioners to discuss concepts and themes in Social Business.
Song is currently working on another pilot project that introduces an Online Training Programme for industrial partners and university partners.
Delighted about the programme which kickstarted on 10 October 2022, he said, “We have over 400 participants signed up. I look forward to seeing the result and how it will further enhance INTI’s progress and development.”
Ending the interview, Song said how impressed he was with the adaptability of today’sstudents and graduates, adding that it is a skill that would serve them well in the future.
“The disruptive transition to online learning placed a burden on students to catch up with the changes in education around the world. They quickly had to quickly step up their focus and develop new ways to address new challenges. While they had support from their lecturers, they knew that they had to be more resourceful and independent through self-guided study and sought information from various sources and platforms. This adaptability positions our students and graduates well for the challenges that they will face in their professional journey,” said Song.