News and photos Saharah Saad
KUALA LUMPUR, 8 December 2025: The OYAGSB Doctoral Symposium 3/2025, organized by the Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business (OYAGSB), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), concluded successfully, marking a new milestone in doctoral research engagement with a record-breaking number of presentations and strong multidisciplinary participation.
Held virtually via the Webex platform, the event brought together doctoral candidates and academic staff from four UUM schools: OYAGSB, the School of Business Management (SBM), the School of Economics, Finance and Banking (SEFB), and the Islamic Business School (IBS). This diverse participation reflected the university’s commitment to cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaborative research.
The symposium provided an invaluable platform for doctoral candidates to present their research, findings, receive constructive and expert feedback from experienced academic reviewers, and engage in meaningful scholarly dialogue. A total of 19 doctoral students presented their work in a single day, setting a new record as the highest number of presentations in the symposium’s history.
In her opening remarks, Professor Ts. Dr. Norazah Mohd Suki, Deputy Dean of Research, Innovation and Corporate Relations at OYAGSB, underscored the importance of doctoral research that is globally relevant, methodologically sound, and responsive to real-world business and policy challenges. Her address underscored the symposium’s role in shaping research that bridges academic rigor with practical impact.
Aligned with OYAGSB’s vision of becoming a premier graduate school of business and its mission to nurture strategic leaders for business and society, the symposium reaffirmed the school’s continued commitment to advancing impactful research and high-quality postgraduate education. The event also highlighted the strategic importance of academic development in equipping scholars to address complex, real-world problems through research-driven solutions.
Research presented during the symposium spanned critical themes such as sustainability, digital transformation, leadership, governance, and workforce development, demonstrating the candidates’ strong engagement with pressing global and regional issues.
Beyond research dissemination, the symposium played a crucial role in reinforcing OYAGSB’s core values of academic integrity, effective communication, and continuous improvement. It offered doctoral candidates structured opportunities to refine their scholarly skills and strengthen their readiness for proposal defenses and viva examinations.
Reflecting on the experience, Mr. Mohd Zaki Bin Mamat, a doctoral candidate at OYAGSB, shared, “Presenting at the symposium gave me greater confidence in articulating and defending my research. The feedback from the reviewers was invaluable in preparing me for my proposal defense and viva examination.”
The success of the symposium further affirms OYAGSB’s role in developing high-quality doctoral graduates and strengthening its position as a leader in postgraduate research and innovation—both nationally and on the global stage.
For more information and updates on future events, please visit the OYAGSB Doctoral Symposium Portal: http://www.oyagsb.uum.edu.my/current-students/doctoral-colloquium-symposium
