Vision
To contribute towards and lead in the sustainability of the social and economic development, advancement, and transformation of the nation
Mission
To engage closely with the industry and the community, especially of the north and north-eastern regions of Peninsular Malaysia, in as many areas as possible so as to achieve the vision
Function
To match the knowledge/expertise, facilities, and resources of the University to the needs, aspirations, and expectations of the industry and the community to result in a win-win situation
As a Research University and more recently as the first university in Malaysia to be awarded the APEX status in 2008, USM has focused its agenda on the realization that the social responsibility of a university needs to go beyond its core mission of human resource development. In order to serve and protect the public good, universities must play a strong leadership role in their country’s development policy and a proactive role in catalyzing the participation of all stakeholders in the development process, hence the need for engagement with society at large. Engagement implies working together with shared understanding, evolving shared solutions, shared governance, shared assets and shared advantages in mind. The setting up, in 2007, of the Division of Industry and Community network or better known by Malay acronym of BJIM (Bahagian Jaringan Industri dan Masyarakat), has reinforced USM’s commitment to engage with both industries and communities and to create an environment that is conducive for this engagement to take place and to flourish. In tandem with the APEX agenda, USM’s focus has extended beyond active collaboration and engagement with industry to community-engaged and sustainable projects.
To cultivate closer and more meaningful relations with the world outside and to be in line with the goals and objectives of USM’s transformation plans under the APEX agenda, BJIM has encouraged the various Schools and Centres in USM to conduct community projects at different levels i.e. from service to outreach to engagement types. Since 2007, programmes and activities undertaken by BJIM have greatly expanded the network of university-community partnerships and collaborations. From 2008 to 2009, approximately 60 community projects were funded by BJIM. These projects cover issues such as drug and tobacco abuse, family health, culture & heritage, environmental conservation, efficient utilisation of resources, and community empowerment.
School of Health Sciences has conducted a tremendous and beneficial amount of community projects for people with special needs under Disasble Transformation Unit (Pusat Transformasi OKU) (DTU) and school students via Science for School programme and Crime Prevention Programmes. The programmes involve collaboration from the industries, NGOs, community and other local government agencies.