UMK USING ENDURANCE HORSE SPORT AS BENCHMARK TO EVALUATE ENTREPRENUERSHIP CAPABILITIES OF STUDENTS

BACHOK, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) is strengthening its initiative to produce competitive and entrepreneurial-minded students through the organisation of the Endurance Horse Championship (UMK Cup) 2025, which has now become one of the university's benchmark events.

UMK Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni), Prof Dr Mohammad Ismail, said the current event received an extraordinary response with the participation of 112 contestants from across the country, including Terengganu and Kedah, compared to only 80 entries during the 2023 Sprint event.

"Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), the response is very encouraging, and the programme also received support from various parties, including the Kelantan Police Chief (Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat), who also attended and participated in the championship.

"One of the main objectives of the programme is to train students to manage and organise large-scale events professionally with guidance from lecturers and the university," he told reporters after the championship at Pantai Kandis, here, today.

He added that students are also trained as actual project directors, assisted by experienced instructors, in line with the vision of UMK Vice-Chancellor, Datuk Prof Dr Arham Abdullah, in UMK30, which contains 14 steps that emphasise extreme sports activities as part of character development and the well-being of the campus community.

According to him, the organisation of the endurance horse sport also creates entrepreneurial opportunities for students in the form of stall sales, sponsorships, and income prospects.

"Before the programme was run, I asked them to ensure that this event could break even or provide a return to the students. If it doesn't offer entrepreneurial value, we won't continue it. Thus, students are taught to calculate costs, find sponsors, and ensure a return commensurate with the effort," he said.

He noted that, as a result of this year's event, students successfully generated some income through cash and in-kind sponsorship support.

Mohammad said based on the encouraging response this year, the university plans to make the UMK Cup an annual event and a benchmark programme for the university.

"We see the potential of this sport as very significant; it not only promotes a healthy lifestyle but can also become a tourism product and a new attraction to Kelantan. Insya-Allah (God Willing), we will continue next year with a larger scale," he said.

-- BERNAMA