NUR MAISARAH BINTI AZMAN

280249

Good Afternoon everyone!

I would like to recognize our distinguished guests who honor us by their presence today
YBhg. Tan Sri Datuk Wira Dr. Hj. Mohd Shukor Hj. Mahfar, the Chairman of Universiti
Utara Malaysia. Ybhg. Datuk Seri Dr. Mazlan Yusoff, Secretary General Ministry of Higher
Education, Ybhg. Prof. Dato ‘Dr. Ahmad Bashawir Abdul Ghani, Member Vice-Chancellor
Universiti Utara Malaysia and other respected special guests, lectures and my fellow friends.

I am at a loss for words to express my gratitude to each of you here today. I can only think to
say “thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.” It is amazing being able to stand
before all of you and share this special moment in the history of Universiti Utara Malaysia. I
am beyond humbled and honored to be part of this amazing community. All of you here are
sharing the most special gift you can possibly give. That is the gift of your time, your
presence, and your support.

Thank you being part of this special day at this very special University.

There are many people here who play a crucial role in my life. Time does not allow me to
mention everyone by name, but each of you knows I will always be grateful for your support.
I do want to recognize my loving and lovely family, lectures, friends and anyone who were a
constant source of encouragement and support to me.

I approach today’s installation as a vice president of Universiti Utara Malaysia from

Accounting Tissa with a sense of both honor and humility. I want to thank the Regents for the
confidence they have shown in me and the members of the University community for their
welcoming embrace. I offer a special thanks to all for previous remarkable stewardship of
this University.

In the days ahead, we will focus on our future together. But for now, let us pause for a few
minutes, be present to each other and to this occasion and time in our history as a university.
Let us be grateful and celebrate the path that was traveled to get us here and thank all who
were part of the journey. It is, after all, why can be here today.
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A love of learning, a longing for discovery, a commitment to pursuing truth and making the
world a better place are the underpinnings of a great university. I find these in abundance
here at Universiti Utara Malaysia.. During the past 5 ½ months as vice president, I have spent
much of my time learning about this exceptional place. I had the pleasure of meeting and
speaking with hundreds of people. Warm, passionate, dedicated, hopeful, proud, pragmatic,
imaginative, attentive, supportive, enthusiastic and mission-focused people. I am walking in
new directions, and asking a lot of questions, learning about aspirations, what people are
proudest of and what they are anxious about as we move forward together. More than
anything, I am listening. There has been no shortage of opinions or ideas, and they are always
voiced with a desire to make UUM better.

Through this process, I have learned that, for a relatively young university, we are immensely
proud of our roots and humble beginnings. We are resilient – enduring and growing through
times of turmoil, threat and challenge. And, we have an extraordinary capacity for renewal,
reinventing ourselves and leaning in to hurricane-like forces that reshape our landscape.

I also learned that we are driven by a deep commitment to reach new heights. We are in the
process of refreshing our strategic plan leading to a sustainable future for UUM. Faculty,
staff, students, alumni and community partners are part of this important process.

Standing before you today, I am confident that, unified together, we will find ways to not
only meet the high expectations we have for ourselves, but exceed those our community and
our world have for us. Because if not us, then who? Renewal is not just the act of rebuilding.
It is the process of reimagining, reinventing, and reinterpreting. With resilience and renewal,
we can weather the winds of change buffeting higher education and the world at large and
emerge smarter and stronger.

In future, there are those who will hold high positions in any government or private sector or
choose to be entrepreneurs, venture into business, choose to get married and so on. My advice
is that whatever the career options you choose, do not forget that this success you achieved
today is the result of a concerted effort of many parties. I am still remember that the Vice-
Chancellor said he was pleased that UUM graduates had a good reputation and were always
the employee of choice, in fact the marketability of UUM graduates stood at encouraging
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level of 81 percent. He said the University did not only excel in the aspect of ranking, in fact
its academic staff had also won quite a few top national education awards, managed to
publish scholarly articles in high impact journals and also the alumni career achievements in
various fields and industry sectors as well as students achievements in academic and co-
curriculum.

The UUM community is passionate, hopeful, proud, pragmatic and intensely focused on our
university mission and vision. We are, at the core, a collection of individuals sharing a
common bond and journey. Through our coming together as one, we create that “something
special” that is powerful and truly symbolizes of Universiti Utara Malaysia.

Thank you and God Bless!