Prof. Ts. Dr. Massila Kamalrudin has bagged Innovative Academician Award

Prof. Ts. Dr. Massila Kamalrudin has bagged Innovative Academician Award

• May 30, 2022

PROF. TS DR. MASSILA KAMALRUDIN VICE CHANCELLOR Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), MALAYSIA. WINNER OF THE WOMEN ICON (A POWER OF POTENTIAL) NO. 1 WOMEN LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE ACADEMIC AWARD UNDER WOMEN’S TEACHING/ RESEARCH SCIENTISTS/ PROFESSOR/ ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Greetings from Melaka, Malaysia.

I am Massila Kamalrudin the recipient of the 2022 Women Icon (A Power Of Potential) No. 1 Women Leadership Excellence Award for Innovative Academic Award under the Women’s Teaching/ Research Scientists/ Professor/ Academic Leadership Awards that is powered by Times Women and the World Women Council or WWC. I am a Professor of Software Engineering from the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology and the Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM).

UTeM is a public university under the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education and was officially established in 2000. This university is also the first technical university established in Malaysia. There are currently 20 public universities and   more than 460 private institutions of higher learning in Malaysia with 10 of them being foreign university branch campuses.

There are eight faculties at UTeM. They comprise of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Electronics and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Technology Management and Technopreneurship, Faculty of Engineering Technology and Institute of Technology Management and Entrepreneurship.

Currently, UTeM has two campuses with 11,164 undergraduate students, 1,217 Postgraduate students, 855 academic staff and 31,858 alumni. With the Covid-19 pandemic moving towards the endemic stage, the numbers of international students are expected to rise again.

Malaysia has always put strong emphasis on education as a mechanism for social and economic mobility with equal opportunities for women and those with disability. Women make up half the nation’s population and account for over 55 per cent of enrolment in local universities. Malaysian women labour force participation rate is over 54 per cent.

After Malaysia’s independence in 1957, women have been given the right to education, to vote and hold jobs including high management positions like Vice Chancellors of universities. Although Malaysian women like other women in other countries have to work harder and face more challenges than men, many have succeeded in various demanding careers.

Even as a Vice Chancellor, I have to be a wife to my husband, a mother to my daughter, a daughter to my mother and late father, a sister to my siblings, a friend to all my friends, a teacher to all my students and a principal researcher to all my co-researchers. Each role carries many responsibilities that require time and effort to fulfill.

So, I have to be strong and steadfast to manage my time efficiently and be a multidisciplinary and multitasking person to succeed in my various roles. But I am ready to face the challenges because I hail from the land of legendary women warriors or Seri Kandi like Tun Fatimah.

I was born on 14 August 1981 in the town called Banda Hilir in the historical state of Melaka. Malaysia comprises of 13 states and 3 federal territories. Melaka has a long history for being the center of international trade and commerce, maritime super power, education, economic and political hub since the 14^th century.

I grew up and went to school in Melaka. My late father, Cikgu Kamalrudin Bin Jantan and mother, Cikgu Lily binti Baba were both teachers. My late father was the Headmaster of the Secondary School at Tebong, Melaka and before that was the Deputy Director of Education for Middle Melaka District. He passed away on 18 August 2017. My mother was a teacher at the Sacred Heart Convent Banda Hilir before she retired in 2016.

I started my academic career as a young lecturer or Tutor at UTeM in the year 2004 after graduating from a public research university called Universiti Putra Malaysia with a Bachelor degree in Computer Science (Software Engineering).

Later I was sent by UTeM to do a Master of Science in Computing and Software Technology at the University of Wales, Swansea, United Kingdom and I graduated in the year 2006.

After coming back to UTeM and taught various subjects for some years, I embarked to pursue my PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. I graduated in 2011. Not wanting to rest on my laurels, I pursued a post-doctoral degree at the Faculty of ICT, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia and graduated in 2012.

From there on, I started to climb the academic ladder by involving myself in various academic activities at the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology. Such activities include teaching, supervising students, conducting research and innovation as well as publication. I even led a productive multi-disciplinary research group called Innovative Software System and Services or IS3 and a university center of excellence called C-ACT.

My research specialization is in the field of Requirements Engineering, focusing on consistency management of requirements. As an active researcher, I have also been actively promoting the concept and value chain model of Research, Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship or RICE. I believe this model is a practical one since it covers all the processes from the initial research for a product or service to finally taking it up to market through a spin off company. I was the Editor-in-Chief of the university magazine that focuses on the various RICE activities for many years, naturally called RICE.

I have an extensive industry exposure that is relevant to the Digital Economy and the Industrial Revolution 4.0.  My research too has many applications for the local community. Many of my research outputs have won various awards and gold medal nationally and internationally.

I am a Certified Requirements Engineer recognized by the International Requirements Engineering Body (IREB) in 2013. I was also recognized as a professional technologist by the Malaysian Board of Technology (MBOT) in 2020.

After going through various positions and performing as an outstanding academic, I was eventually promoted to a full professor with specialization in Software Engineering in the year 2020.

I have served the university and the industry at various levels and contributed many achievements locally and internationally. I was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Vitez, Bosnia from 2020 and University Malaysia of Computer Science & Engineering, (UNIMY) from 2021. I was also awarded the Malaysian Women Scientist by MINDS in the year 2020.

This year 2022, I have been promoted to the position of Vice Chancellor of UTeM. This year too, I am honored to receive the 2022 Women Icon No. 1 Women Leadership Excellence Award for Innovative Academic Award under the Women’s Teaching/ Research Scientists/ Professor/ Academic Leadership Awards category that is powered by Times Women and the World Women Council.

I believe my successes in life are not due to luck and hard work alone but have been contributed greatly by so many parties. They are so many of them for me to name individually but I sincerely would like to express my gratitude to all of them.  Without their help, support and love I would not have reached this stage and be able to receive this Women Icon award.

I would like to dedicate this award to my dear family, especially my husband, my daughter, my late father, my mother, my siblings and my relatives for their undying love and strong support. My biggest gratitude is to Allah, God Almighty for His endless blessing throughout my life.

Thank you again or Terima Kasih to Times Women and the World Women Council for choosing me as this year’s Women Icon winner for Innovative Academic Award. The award will spur me to achieve more successes and make my university as well as Malaysia proud of its daughter.