My Industry to Academia Research Journey And Energizing Innovations Among Malaysian Engineers

In this talk, the author would like to share her research journey from industry to academia, first in Malaysia and then in United States. She was fortunate to receive a strong science & mathematical education in Malaysia, trained as an engineer at University of Malaya, worked with a team of talented R&D engineers at Motorola Communication Sectors Sdn Bhd in Penang before she went to United States for graduate studies. In United States, again she was fortunate to have several mentors who helped to inspire her to conduct great research first in industry and then in academia. She will first share her research journal from Malaysia to United States. Next, based on her experience, she will share some main ingredients one needs to cultivate to conduct great research, e.g., curiosity, diligence, and perseverance. Subsequently, she will also share her thoughts on how industry leaders, academic leaders and Malaysian government can collaborate to energize innovations among Malaysian engineers as well as young generations aspiring to be our next generation engineers. Cultivating curiosity in STEM fields at young age, providing opportunities for high school students to appreciate science through solving real life problems with college students, and creating opportunities for faculty members in STEM fields to spend sabbatical semesters at top universities or industry R&D laboratories to horn their skills are necessary steps to energize innovations among Malaysian engineers.

Towards more inclusive metrics and open science to measure research assessment in Earth and natural sciences

Science's success and effect measures are built on a system that prioritizes citations and impact factors. These measurements are inaccurate and biased against already under-represented groups, and they fail to convey the range of individuals' significant scientific contributions, especially open science. We argue for a transition in this out-of-date value system that promotes science by promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. To achieve systemic change, it will necessitate a concerted effort led by academic leaders and administrators.

Effective Planning and Achieving the Comprehensive Development: Al Ain University as a Model

This study aimed to identify the role of effective planning in achieving sustainable development in Al Ain University, through illustrating the relation that links the integrative theoretical framework of each of the effective planning and sustainable development. The researchers applied the descriptive survey method to investigate the non-quantitative variables and analyze them through the questionnaire into measurable quantitative variables. The study population and sample comprised all the academic leaders in Al Ain University, to whom the researchers delivered (150) copies of the questionnaire. The study relied on secondary resources such as related books, studies, magazines, and periodicals. The primary resource was constructing a questionnaire related to the study subject, and based on the theoretical framework of the study as well as the previous studies. Two statistical software were used to process the obtained data namely, SPSS and AMOS, by applying the field study on the sample to analyze the correlational and causal relationships among the study variables. The results showed that there is a medium level of strategic planning in Al Ain University as seen by its Academics and that the university achieves a medium level of sustainable development as seen by the academic leaders. The results further showed statistically significant effects at (α≥0.05) level for the dimensions of effective planning in achieving sustainable development as a whole. The correlation coefficient (R) was (0.70), which is a statistically significant value that indicated a statistically significant correlation between the independent and dependent variables. Received: 11 May 2021 / Accepted: 24 November 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Redefining Higher Education and Work

This chapter and book provide the foundation for executives, academic leaders, faculty, and students to analyze the realities of higher education today, strategies that would ensure success of academic institutions, and factors that would lend to student success. In particular, the book addresses essentials of online learning, strategies to ensure success of online degrees and courses, effective course development practices, key support mechanisms for students, and ensuring student success in online degree programs. Furthermore, the book addresses the future of work, preferences of employees, and how work can be redesigned to create further employee satisfaction, engagement, and increase productivity. In particular, the book covers insights that would lend to ensuring remote employees feel valued, included, and are being provided relevant support to thrive in their roles.

Higher Education Leadership in a Changing World

The coronavirus pandemic remains one of the most significant and unpredictable global public health crises. The disease (COVID-19) caused by the virus represents a complex and ambiguous adaptive crisis that prompted the rise of the allostatic higher education leader. These leaders were able to learn from the pandemic and inspire faculty to exhibit similar leadership behaviors such as connecting with people, distributing leadership, and communicating clearly. COVID-19 provided higher education leadership with the opportunity for mission-driven changes related to course delivery models, pedagogy, student choices, affordability, access, and opportunity, and the post-COVID-19 institute of higher education will be a better place to work, and more student-centric. Those academic leaders with the adaptive capacity to see the crisis as an opportunity will envision a continued role for new and disruptive technologies. The pandemic has also provided faculty leaders with an opportunity for self-reflection that in many cases was long overdue.

The Necessary Competencies for Selecting Academic Leaders in the Sultanate of Oman in Light of the Vision of the Education Strategy 2040

This study aims to search for the necessary competencies to choose academic leaders in the Sultanate of Oman in light of the vision of the 2040 education strategy. To achieve this aim, a qualitative approach is used, by preparing an interview card that includes five main questions. The sample of the interview consists of nine individuals who occupy leadership positions at the university and whose work is related to the educational field. The sample consists of (the dean of the faculty and his assistants, a sample of department heads, the dean of admission and registration, directors of centres, and the head of the Quality and Accreditation Unit). The data collection period took about one month. The qualitative method is used to analyse the responses of the corresponding sample using the coding system NVivo according to the study fields. The results of the study show that one of the most important competencies mentioned in the responses is the following competencies: personal competencies, professional competencies, communicational competencies, planning competencies, adequacy of practices, and technological competencies, in addition to the importance of academic leaders possessing the cognitive ability in two main dimensions (academic specialization and professional specialization). Furthermore, there is the importance of having a cultural horizon that helps them deal with various groups of society. As for the factors that influence the academic leader's success and make him distinguished, these are his ability to work with others, to take responsibility, to have the drive for accomplishments, to have the ability to negotiate and conclude deals, and to have the ability to deal with crises or risks. Based on the results of the study, several recommendations and proposals are developed.

The Expulsion of Academic Teaching Staff from German Universities, 1933–45

In spring 1933, a political purge began in German universities, affecting around one fifth of their academic staff. This study examines the various stages of this process, uses new data to create a collective portrait of those dismissed and asks why they received so little support from their unscathed colleagues. An analysis of the reasons for their dismissal shows that approximately 80% were driven out on antisemitic grounds, even though less than a third belonged to the Jewish community. Their lives after their dismissal varied greatly. Whereas some managed to pursue highly successful careers while in emigration, others were murdered by the Nazis or committed suicide. At the same time the purge policy improved the career chances of younger academics and it is no coincidence that it was from their ranks that the largest number of supporters of the Nazi regime were recruited. Not until the second half of the war did leading German politicians and academic leaders recognise a further effect of this policy, namely that the emigration of numerous influential scholars had provided the Allies with a ‘considerable gain in potential’, including in highly significant military research.

The role of leadership in promoting and supporting the Basic English curriculum design and delivery at two Vietnamese universities

<p>The purpose of this research study was to explore the role of leadership in supporting the Basic English curriculum design and delivery at two selected Vietnamese non-language major universities specialising in Finance and Accounting. Studies on academic leadership and distributed leadership in higher education are well documented in Western literature (Bolden, Gosling, O’Brien, Peters and Haslam, 2012; Bryman, 2007; Cardno, 2012); however leadership in higher education is largely under-researched in developing countries like Vietnam. Moreover, curriculum design impacts on the wellbeing and effectiveness of higher education (Barnett & Coate, 2005). Leadership is necessary to effect change (Oliver & Huyn, 2010) and therefore potentially to impact on curriculum design and delivery. The role of leadership in making the Basic English curriculum more relevant for graduate students and ensuring that they are better prepared for the workplace is of particular interest in the Vietnamese university context. This qualitatively-focused case study design, with a small quantitative component, guided by an interpretivist/ constructivist theoretical framework aimed to explore how academic leaders promote the Basic English curriculum design and delivery in the Vietnamese university context. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews with senior academic leaders and company directors, focus group interviews with English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers, observations of a curriculum meeting, and an online survey by graduates from the two selected universities. The study employed thematic data analysis techniques. Research shows that the curriculum framework in Vietnamese universities promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) results in heavy workloads for academic staff (Gropello, Thomas, Yemenez, Chchibber, & Adams, 2008; Van, 2011). This negatively affects their wellbeing and may reduce their effectiveness as teachers and researchers. The findings from the study provided evidence that leadership practices in Vietnam were influenced by Confucian values. It also showed that the personal barriers academic leaders and EFL lecturers face vary according to gender. However, academic leadership in Vietnamese higher education contexts in this study reveals a mixture of distributed and collaborative leadership in curriculum design and delivery which can provide insights for other Vietnamese universities. It also revealed that senior leaders and EFL lecturers appear to work collaboratively to solve the issue of curriculum design and delivery. The findings have implications for policy development and practice. Suggestions made by employers and graduates to institutional leaders, curriculum developers and lecturers are to consider redesigning the curriculum to have a more communicative focus and more oral practice to ensure graduates are better prepared for work. The study has brought insights for senior leaders on how to create successful collaboration with their colleagues and partners in curriculum design and renewal and provided guidance on the enhancement of educational leadership practices in the two chosen universities. The results of this study have contributed to closing the current gaps in understanding how leadership at all levels in higher education impact on curriculum design and delivery. This study will be useful not only in the Vietnamese context but also in other countries where English is taught as a second or foreign language.</p>