The Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII) and Heriot-Watt University Malaysia (HWUM) have successfully signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to strengthen and support the academic and professional development of active MII members and the insurance industry in a virtual signing ceremony on 3 December 2021.
The MoA signatories were MII Chief Executive Officer, Shalini Pavithran, and HWUM Provost and Chief Executive Officer, Professor Mushtak Al-Atabi. Also present to witness the signing ceremony were MII Chief Academic Officer, Wahida Shariff, HWUM Deputy Provost, Dennis Wong, and HWUM Chief Operating Officer and Registrar, Janice Yew.

Attendees to the MoA ceremony include both MII and HWUM representatives. At the virtual signing ceremony were the MII Academic Council representative, Professor Dr. Hajah Zuriah Abdul Rahman, and the MII Senior Management team. while HWUM was represented by HWUM School of Engineering & Physical Sciences (EPS) Associate Head, Professor Denny Ng; HWUM Head of Marketing and Student Recruitment, Jessica Lam; and HWUM School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences Associate Head, Dr. Ian Tan.

This MoA marks another milestone for both MII and HWUM as it demonstrates their continued commitment to supporting academic development and enhancing the future capabilities and skills of professionals in the industry.

Through this partnership, MII aims to provide its members with opportunities to accelerate their professional development and provide them with an added edge of qualification for career growth. HWUM is offering a 10% exclusive bursary on published tuition fees to all active MII members including their spouses and children to pursue their Postgraduate Taught (PGT), Undergraduate, or Foundation studies with the UK University.

MII Chief Executive Officer, Shalini Pavithran, said: “The world is changing rapidly and insurance professionals of the future need to think ahead. This means they’ll need to have the right combination of skills to meet the future’s changing needs, which is what the MII and HWUM partnership is all about.” She added “Beyond the change to an individual’s mindset and behavior, addressing the significant volume, velocity, and variability of reskilling needed for the new world of work will require a collaborative approach across companies, governments, and the educational sector.”
On a similar note, HWUM Provost and Chief Executive Officer, Professor Mushtak Al-Atabi, highlighted the value of university collaborations with professional institutes such as MII to enhance academic standards and for students to receive real-life exposure to the best practices in the insurance and financial services industry at large, “We have signed an MoA with MII to make education accessible to professionals by professionals who want to shape the future.

“Positive education is a strategic choice for the University. We are nurturing competent professionals into becoming purpose-driven leaders who are self-aware and who are efficient in tackling the complexities and uncertainties that we see increasing in our world,” he added.