RISING INTEREST FOR TRANSDISCIPLINARY EDUCATION AT UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA'S MALAYSIAN CAMPUS

KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 (Bernama) -- There is growing interest for transdisciplinary programmes being offered by University of Tsukuba, Malaysia (UTMy) for its potential ability to churn out graduates who focus on practical problem-solving across different fields unlike traditional disciplines of education.

UTMy is the Malaysian branch of the renowned University of Tsukuba in Japan.

Professor Maki Tsujimura, the Dean of UTMy, said the branch campus which just started operations in September last year aims to develop students who can contribute to solving global-scale problems faced by Malaysia and neighbouring countries.

Unlike students who specialise in specific disciples such as arts and science or civil engineering, UTMy’s School of Transdisciplinary Science and Design will produce wholesome graduates with the aptitude to look at issues and problems in a holistic and comprehensive manner.

Potential students have to undergo aptitude tests before being admitted, he said in a statement, adding that the aim was to enrol some 40 students and gradually doubling them to 80.

Now in its second year in Malaysia, UTMy is accepting applications for its September intake. Following the end of April deadline, applicants will undergo an aptitude-based selection process involving group interviews, research, and a final presentation on a given topic.

Prof Tsujimura highlighted that the process is designed to assess students’ abilities beyond academics, emphasising problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking.

Reflecting on UTMy’s first aptitude-based selection process last year, Prof Tsujimura highlighted that the students were grouped and given a discussion topic a week in advance - last year’s being waste management.

“Initially, the faculty involved feared dominant voices might overshadow quieter applicants, but the process exceeded expectations. Students naturally facilitated discussions, encouraged participation, and collaborated on presentations, fostering teamwork and peer support. Though time-intensive, this method has proven highly effective in identifying real talent,” he said.

Transdisciplinary education is completely issue driven, using data science to discuss issues and solving them.

As such, students are encouraged to get enough knowledge skills for natural sciences and humanities, literature and social sciences to contribute to solving the global issues, he said.

Prof Tsujimura said that independent disciplines alone cannot work in resolving global issues.

He cited civil engineers involved in engineering projects, whereby it’s very hard for them to consider the culture and religions in the regions they are working in.

“To overcome that, we need to get knowledge and skills on social sciences and humanity,” tantamount to collecting the necessary disciplines to deal with the topics there (as) without any deep understanding of the issues, we cannot undertake any of the proposed solutions,” he said.

UTMy is the first overseas branch campus among Japanese universities and offers degree programmes enabling undergraduates to acquire an overall literacy of global issues through problem-based learning.

UTMy also collaborates with industry sectors such as the Japanese Chambers of Trade & Industry, Malaysia (JACTIM) as well as academic institutions like University Malaya and Universiti Teknologi MARA.

While Japanese language proficiency is not required before enrolment in the aptitude scheme, it is compulsory upon enrolment at the branch campus.  Nonetheless, it would be an advantage particularly for these graduates keen to seek employment opportunities in Japan.

Feedback from students as to why they preferred the programme included wanting to give back to the society they came from, the programme being connected to their daily life, wanting to be a really good researcher and also that it excites the mind on a personal level.

An undergraduate student at UTMy, Japanese Ryusei Yoshida, who has lived both in Singapore and Japan and keen on urban planning, says urban planning is undergoing a rapid transformation in Malaysia.

He is able to put UTMy’s transdisciplinary knowledge to good use by inculcating environmental concerns into construction processes, said Ryusei, adding that besides this, he said multicultural Malaysia with a diverse student background gives him a sense of being a global citizen.

Another student, Mohamad Ku Khalid bin Mazlan, a Malaysian, said he was keen to work in Japan given their efficient work ethics by getting a degree from a Japanese university.

Ku Khalid said he was also taken in by the punctuality of his Japanese course mates and their industriousness in tackling issues as contained in transdisciplinary education rather than memorising facts and forgetting them after an exam.

Prof Tsujimura reiterated that UTMy is determined to contribute to society by developing human resources who can contribute to solving global issues facing Malaysia and neighbouring countries through practical education based on transdisciplinary education in the bachelor's programme by a comprehensive university. 

-- BERNAMA