Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Wira Dr Mohd Shukri Ab. Yajid

Professor Tan Sri Dato Wira Dr Mohd Shukri Ab Yajid, the President and Founder of the Management & Science University (MSU) and MSU College group is a passionate proponent for excellence in education. He sets new benchmarks on excellence and quality in the Malaysian and regional private education scenarios through his innovative leadership and involvements in 21st century learning.

His efforts and dedication has also seen the fruition of MSU as an award- winning university, receiving accolades as the Best Entrepreneurial Private University and the Tier 5 Excellent University status awards accorded by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. In an international rating exercise undertaken by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), MSU received a Five Star ratings for Teaching, Employability, Facilities, Social Responsibility and Inclusiveness. Professor Shukri’s strong belief in excellence has paved the way for MSU College (formerly PTPL) to be the first private institution to receive the National Accreditation Board (LAN, now MQA) accreditation.

Professor Shukri’s devotion for the academia has seen him play very significant roles in teaching, research, curricular development, quality compliance, leadership, social entrepreneurship, management and its strategic development.  His commitment to teaching and learning is manifested through his involvement in workshops and supervisory consultancies to PhD and Masters candidates doing research in Management, Entrepreneurship and Marketing related areas. He has written and co-wrote numerous papers published in the international as well as local journals and articles.

The wealth of experience and expertise that he possesses in the area of education, entrepreneurship and management has led to his appointments by the Malaysian government to the several committees relating to development of education. Many of these consultative committees were geared towards uplifting the standards of the local and national education to be at par with global acceptance.  Among these were the National Implementation Task Force (NITF) and the Human Resource Cluster Working Group (CWG) which were committees established under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s department,  as well as the National Higher Education Sponsorship Committee under the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia.

His desire to engage and synergize the efforts of the industries, authorities and the community with that of the university speaks volume. Under his stewardship, consistent efforts were undertaken by MSU in the schools and community engagement activities in Malaysia and abroad. Notably among these were efforts at cultivating  excellence among pupils; development of  leadership among school principals  and the in-service teachers training programme, which is a project jointly undertaken with the Ministry of Education of Malaysia.

Professor Shukri is also equally passionate about community engagement initiatives; these have been successfully embedded into the MSU culture.  Notably among these are the community works involving the indigenous people of Malaysia, orphans, environment, wellness and the urban poor. Besides setting a positive cause on the areas of social responsibility, the community engagements efforts are some of the elements that aid the soft-skills development of MSU’s future graduates.

At the international front, Professor Shukri’s efforts have received many commendations from various quarters.  His dedication at ensuring  that MSU as a university that meets the global standards is seen  when the University became the first non-Japanese university to receive accreditation from the Alliance of Business Education & Scholarship of Tomorrow (ABEST 21) of Japan.  Since 2010, MSU has served as a board member for this Japanese based accreditation agency. In recognition of his distinguished career and outstanding achievements in the development of MSU, he was conferred the Doctor Honoris Causa by the Josai International University, Japan.

For his contribution on students mobility in education particularly creating access for medical education in Eastern Europe for Malaysian students, Professor Shukri was awarded the Dr Tytus Chalubinski Medal, from the Medical University Warsaw, Poland.  Recognising his effort on students mobility further and the appreciation of the western culture, he was appointed as a Life-Time Senator by Hof University Germany.  Likewise, for his initiative at bridging the gap of higher education between Korea and Malaysia, Professor Shukri was conferred an Honorary Doctorate from the Korea Maritime University.

Professor Shukri’s active leadership in education and its development received another international recognition when he was conferred the Distinguished Fellowship Award by the Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT), Ireland. This rare and prestigious award is AIT’s highest honour given to individuals in recognition of their leadership and significant contribution to society. He is also conferred the Middle East & North Africa and Asia Best Business Leaders Award 2015. This is an award for exceptional achievement and successful business transformation.

His vision towards the internationalization of the MSU perspective of education has led to MSU being associated with various international organizations.  Among these are the Association of Commonwealth University, ACU (UK),  Association of Asia-Pacific Business School, AAPBS (NZ), Federation of the University of the Islamic World, FUIW (Morocco),  Association for the Study of Medical Education, ASME (UK),  Association for Medical Education in Europe, AMEE (UK), Counsel for the Advancement & Support of Education, CASE (USA), the Accreditation Services for International Colleges, ASIC (UK), the European Association for International Education, EAIE,  the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Education, CHRIE, European Foundation for Management Development, EFMD and the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, AACBS.

As a philanthropist and a keen social entrepreneur, Professor Shukri’s commitment towards ensuring the equal access to education is exemplary. The establishment of the MSU Foundation (Yayasan MSU) is the pinnacle of Professor Shukri’s initiative in the promotion of excellence in education. The Foundation is a platform that promotes international exposures through students’ mobility activities and various community engagement projects with needy folks in Malaysia and overseas.  More than RM60 million have been spent through various scholarship schemes with more than two million spent yearly on continuing education. Over the past thirty-four years many have benefited through these initiatives.

The establishment of the Leadership & Entrepreneurship Advancement Institute (LEAD) by Professor Shukri is another of his philanthropic efforts. Through the allocation of seed grant, LEAD provides support to budding young entrepreneurs besides being a platform for the development of a holistic framework and integrated infrastructure on entrepreneurship and leadership. This effort complements the MSU’s aspiration to be the leading institution of higher learning in entrepreneurship development in the region.  The institute nurtures entrepreneurial and leadership culture within MSU as well as the external communities in the development of holistic entrepreneurs.

Professor Shukri is equally passionate about the development of quality human capital. Many of his efforts at providing the relevant  exposure and entrepreneurship understanding to the students as well as effectively engaging the industry have elevated MSU’s position as one  the best university in Malaysia in relation to graduates employability.

He was conferred the Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang (DIMP) 2002 by His Royal Highness the Sultan of Pahang, the Darjah Setia Diraja Kedah (DSDK) 2006 and the Darjah Gemilang Seri Mahkota Kedah Yang Dihormati (DGMK) 2009 by His Royal Highness The Sultan of Kedah respectively . These awards are state awards conferred by rulers to individuals in recognition of their tireless effort at bringing about social transformation in a community.  In 2014, for his continuous contribution in the improvement of education and his philanthropist efforts, Professor Shukri was conferred the Darjah Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM) by His Majesty the King of Malaysia.