As a graduate of the Bachelor of Accounting and Finance (Hons) programme and former Vice President of the Accounting and Finance Students’ Association at UCSI University Kuala Lumpur, I have always regarded my journey at UCSI as one of the most important decisions of my life.
At UCSI, I did not merely earn a degree. I built lifelong friendships, learned leadership, sharpened my interpersonal skills and gained a deeper understanding of the real working world within a highly competitive educational environment.
Today, many people recognise UCSI as a world-class private university. However, not many truly know how extraordinary its journey has been. UCSI did not emerge overnight as a prestigious university with towering buildings and thousands of students.
Its beginnings were remarkably humble.
Its founder, Datuk Peter Ng, once shared that UCSI started as a small computer training institute operating with only two computers on the second floor of a shop lot in SS2.
Even more inspiring was the role played by his father, Ng Choong Look, whose sacrifices and support helped lay the foundations of the institution from the ground up. From those early struggles emerged the values that continue to define UCSI today — the courage to dream big, resilience in overcoming challenges, integrity in every undertaking and an unwavering commitment to excellence. These very values became the foundation of UCSI’s transformation from a modest training institute into a globally respected university.
Established in 1986, UCSI has since evolved into a higher education institution with an extensive network of campuses. Its main campus is located in Kuala Lumpur, while other campuses operate in Kuching, Sarawak; Springhill, Negeri Sembilan; as well as an international campus in Bangladesh. This expansion reflects how UCSI has moved beyond being merely a local institution and has steadily grown into a globally engaged university with increasing international influence.
The university’s growth is also evident through the physical development of its campuses. In conjunction with its 40th anniversary celebration, UCSI announced the construction of two new 38-storey blocks that will add nearly one million square feet of operational space to its Kuala Lumpur campus. This expansion is expected to accommodate more than 3,000 additional students in the future.
More importantly, the development goes far beyond ordinary infrastructure. The new complex will house a modern performing arts centre featuring a 2,500-seat grand hall, a 600-seat recital hall, a 400-seat Black Box theatre, as well as more than 400 rehearsal studios and music rooms. This major investment aligns with UCSI’s internationally recognised strength in music and performing arts, which ranks among the best in the world.
From a leadership perspective, UCSI is guided by distinguished figures with extensive experience in academia, public policy, and national development.
The Chancellor of UCSI is currently His Royal Highness Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz, a renowned public intellectual and founder of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS). He has been actively involved in policy reform, community development, culture, and education. His vast experience across local and international organisations makes his appointment as Chancellor a strong symbol of UCSI’s commitment to intellectual excellence and national leadership.
Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor and President of UCSI is Professor Emeritus Datuk Ts Ir Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir, one of Malaysia’s most respected higher education figures, with more than three decades of experience in government service. Before joining UCSI, she served as Director-General of Higher Education Malaysia, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, as well as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change.
Her contributions to Malaysia’s higher education development have been immense. Among the major initiatives associated with her leadership are the implementation of the iCGPA system, the CEO@Faculty programme, the 2u2i programme, and numerous national higher education transformation initiatives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she also played a significant role in the successful implementation of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme. Under her leadership, UCSI has continued to rise steadily in global university rankings.
Today, UCSI stands among the top one percent of universities in the world, ranked approximately between 265 and 269 globally in the QS World University Rankings. This places UCSI among the leading private universities in Asia.
Even more impressively, UCSI has achieved extraordinary recognition as the Malaysian university with the highest number of subjects ranked within the world’s top 50.
Its Music and Performing Arts programme is currently ranked 24th in the world, Art and Design ranks 29th globally, while Hospitality and Leisure Management stands at 47th worldwide. These achievements clearly demonstrate that UCSI’s strengths are not confined to a single discipline, but span across a wide spectrum of academic fields.
UCSI also possesses a highly comprehensive academic structure through its numerous faculties and specialised institutes. These include the Faculty of Business and Management, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Technology and Built Environment, Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, Institute of Computer Science and Digital Innovation, Institute of Music, Institute of Languages, Institute of Actuarial Science and Data Analytics, Institute of Diplomacy and International Sustainability as well as De Institute of Creative Arts and Design.
Altogether, UCSI offers more than 150 academic programmes spanning diploma, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels across diverse fields of study.
During my years at UCSI as an Accounting and Finance student, one of the most striking experiences for me was the university’s uniquely competitive environment.
UCSI is far from an ordinary university. It brings together more than 15,000 students from over 120 countries around the world, with approximately 30 percent of its student population consisting of international students.
As a Malay student, I found myself in an environment largely dominated by non-Malay and international students. Initially, adapting to such a multicultural atmosphere was challenging. I had to learn how to navigate different cultures, languages and ways of thinking.
But eventually, I realised that this was precisely the kind of exposure that prepares someone for the realities of the global world.
The truth is, once we enter the workforce, we do not work exclusively within one community or one social group. We must be capable of interacting and competing alongside people from diverse ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds. UCSI gave me that experience long before I entered professional life.
It is therefore unsurprising that more than 4,800 UCSI graduates have achieved strong employability outcomes, while nearly 98 percent of UCSI’s industry partners have expressed their willingness to recruit the university’s internship students as permanent employees.
The pinnacle of recognition for UCSI came when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made history as the first Prime Minister ever to visit the UCSI campus. The visit took place during UCSI’s 40th anniversary celebration on 28 April.
During the historic visit, the Prime Minister openly praised UCSI and expressed his confidence in the institution by describing it as one of the nation’s leading educational institutions. He stated that he placed great hopes on UCSI because it had emerged as one of Malaysia’s finest universities.
As an alumnus, those words carried immense meaning for me. When the Prime Minister himself visits the campus and recognises UCSI as one of the country’s premier educational institutions, it signifies that UCSI is no longer merely an ordinary private university. UCSI has become a Malaysian educational brand that has successfully elevated the nation’s name on the international stage.
For that reason, if any student asks me which university they should choose, I would never hesitate to recommend UCSI. If you are searching for a university with a global reputation, an international learning environment, strong industry connections, broad career opportunities and a competitive atmosphere that shapes character and resilience, then UCSI is the answer.
Because I have lived through the experience myself and I will always be proud to say that I am a son of UCSI.
The writer, Muhammad Akmal Ilham Kamarul Zaman, is a UCSI University alumnus currently serving as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
-MalaysiaGazette
