KUCHING: Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd (QSR Brands) to launch the poultry industry’s first-ever 2u2i academic programme in Bachelor of Animal Health and Production.
QSR Brands sealed the deal through its upstream business arm, Ayamas Integrated Poultry Sdn Bhd (Aipi).
The agreement is in support of the flexible education as envisioned by the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education) in producing holistic, entrepreneurial and balanced graduates.
QSR Brands was represented by its group managing director Datuk Seri Mohamed Azahari Mohamed Kamil while UniSZA was represented by its vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Hassan Basri Awang Mat Dahan.
As a subset to Work-Based Learning, 2u2i study mode supports the blending of academic study and industrial training.
The strategic partnership provides opportunity for students in the Bachelor of Animal Health and Production programme to gain experiential learning through industrial training with Aipi at Ayamas Mantin Broiler Farm for one year, following three years of academic study.
“The partnership is in line with our vision and mission towards having quality graduates, and in this case, in the poultry industry – in turn, this will also help to boost graduates’ employability,” said Hassan.
QSR Brands is Malaysia’s only vertically integrated restaurant operator, operating from Farm to Fork. Its leading restaurant business is supported by its upstream operations involving integrated poultry and ancillary operating segments by providing a secure, reliable and stable source of quality chicken and other food products to its restaurant business where its upstream business, Aipi operates feedmill, hatchery, breeder and broiler farms.
Mohamed said QSR Brands was committed to producing industry-ready graduates by designing an industrial curriculum.
This curriculum will provide the students with experiential learning in integrated poultry operations, equipped with holistic training at breeder farms, hatchery, broiler farms as well as exposure in the halal slaughtering and production from poultry processing plant.
“As the largest quick service restaurant operator in the region, we need to play our part in driving the transformation to unlock the full potential of our future talents and young drivers of tomorrow, by providing the undergraduates with experiential learning.
“This strategic partnership is an added value to the poultry industry as a whole – by the time the students graduated, all the attributes expected by the industry would have been met,” said Mohamed.
