Shah Alam – In support of the Malaysian government’s efforts to create a skilled and creative workforce as part of its plans to achieve a high-income nation status, leading solid carbide-cutting tools manufacturer HPMT Industries Sdn Bhd will be collaborating with Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to train graduates and jointly conduct research and development projects.

To this end, in November 2015 HPMT and UiTM’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreeing to a long-term, mutually beneficial collaboration.

HPMT has committed to creating specific internship programmes for UiTM students, which will allow them to receive hands-on experience and learn from over 200 skilled specialists employed by the manufacturing company.

“The internships will provide students with practical experiences to complement their theoretical education. In particular, the programme will be tailored to achieve learning objectives that we will be jointly defined with UiTM,” HPTM Chief Operating Officer Khoo Seng Giap said during his presentation at the MoU signing event.

The collaboration will also involve research projects to tackle technical issues in precision machining. Such initiatives will be designed to create innovative product and process solutions, with the ultimate goal of strengthening HPMT’s position as an emerging global player.

HPMT’s specialists will also be invited to share their practical experience by giving lectures to UiTM students, in accordance with the university’s learning needs.

The students will also have the opportunity to speak to HPTM’s experts during dialogue sessions which will be organised as a part of the collaboration. “The dialogue sessions will be held to support UiTM’s curriculum development in line with local business needs. This is to ensure that the students are equipped with the skills required by the market, thus increasing their employability levels” Khoo said.

HPMT chairman Khoo Yee Her, during the MoU signing, said that the collaboration will provide a platform for the establishment of stronger links between higher education institutes and businesses in the field of precision machining.

“HPMT is interested in learning UiTM’s latest research developments and leveraging on its facilities to further push the technology frontier in precision machining,” he said.

HPMT manufactures solid carbide cutting tools for milling and drilling industries, with distribution to more than 35 countries in Europe, Asia, South America and Australia. The company also manufactures specialised tools for other applications.