Pictures Shamsaimi Ezil
SINTOK, 13 January 2026: Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) received a courtesy visit from the DHL Asia Pacific Shared Services Centre (DHL APSSC) delegation at the Vice-Chancellor’s Meeting Room, in a move to further strengthen strategic ties between the university and industry.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr Ahmad Martadha Mohamed, welcomed the delegation led by the Head of Human Resources at DHL APSSC, Mr. Tharaka De Silva, accompanied by Mr. Andrew Fabian, Mr. Saiful Nahar and Ms. Waynnie Goh. He expressed his appreciation for DHLAPSSC’s willingness to engage directly with the university’s top management.
Prof. Dr. Ahmad Martadha emphasised that UUM highly values its collaboration with industry partners, particularly DHL APSSC, which has consistently engaged with the university through the Centre for University–Industry Collaboration (CUIC), as well as relevant centres of authority and Schools.
According to him, the partnership has evolved from initial engagement to constructive discussions, and has since translated into high-impact, student-centred initiatives. These efforts reflect a shared commitment to talent development and the strengthening of industry–academia collaboration.
“UUM extends its sincere appreciation to DHL APSSC for the various initiatives implemented in collaboration with the university, including professional development support such as curriculum vitae (CV) enhancement sessions, as well as industry-based platforms like case study presentations and interview sessions.
“These initiatives play a vital role in strengthening employability skills and workplace readiness among UUM students, and I am truly grateful for DHL APSSC’s contributions and commitment,” he said.
Prof. Dr Ahmad Martadha also noted that UUM’s interest in further exploring the School of Hard Knocks initiative with DHL APSSC as a platform to enhance students’ career readiness, professional discipline and leadership development, particularly for those preparing to enter the workforce.
He further expressed appreciation for DHL APSSC’s support and openness in offering industrial training opportunities for UUM students, describing such training as one of the most effective avenues for students to gain real-world exposure, build self-confidence and develop the professional mindset required by industry.
“UUM hopes to continue strengthening this collaboration, not only in terms of placement opportunities, but also the overall quality of experiential learning. We also see potential opportunities for UUM staff to undertake industrial attachments at DHL APSSC.
“I believe there remain many avenues that can be explored together, such as industry engagement in the classroom, mentoring and coaching programmes, joint projects based on real industry challenges, and other initiatives that can create mutual value for both DHL APSSC and UUM,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tharaka De Silva said DHL APSSC was equally honoured by the opportunity to establish and further enhance collaboration with UUM.
According to him, DHL aims to strengthen existing cooperation by focusing on student–industry engagement in addressing business challenges, offering internship opportunities, and developing digital leadership.
He said, such collaboration would ensure that university graduates gain practical experience and industry-relevant skills aligned with DHL APSSC’s needs in the logistics and global financial services sectors.
“DHL also provides an allowance of RM1,750 to seven students who will be undergoing industrial training with DHL. These students were selected through the DHL APSSC Finance Challenge,” he said.
During the event, an award presentation ceremony was also held to recognise the seven winners of the DHL APSSC–UUM Finance Challenge 2025. The champion title was awarded to Ms. Yalini a/p Ramesh from the School of Business Management, who received a cash prize of RM750.
Also present at the session were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Prof. Dr. Ram Al Jaffri Saad; the Director of CUIC, Prof. Dr. Chandrakantan Subramaniam; and UUM senior officials.
