Tag: Academia

Strategic Negotiation Skills

Organised by Bahagian Pembangunan Bakat, UMPSA

Delivered a full-day workshop titled “Strategic Negotiation for Effective Results Leadership”, today at UMPSA. Organised by the Bahagian Pembangunan Bakat, Human Resources UMPSA, as part of their mission to cultivate strong, future-ready leaders within the university ecosystem.

The session brought together 20 UMPSA staff, including lecturers, unit heads, and directors, each bringing their own leadership experiences, challenges, and negotiation stories. This results in a session filled with insightful discussions, deep reflections, lively role-plays, and surprisingly creative solutions.

Negotiation is not just as a skill, but a core leadership competency for academia, where alignment, collaboration, and resource optimisation are daily realities.

We explored and practiced:

1. Foundations of Strategic Negotiation

      • Negotiation vs. persuasion vs. conflict resolution

      • Understanding BATNA, ZOPA, and Interests vs. Positions

      • Cultivating win–win value through goal setting, questioning, trust-building, and solution-finding

      • Discussions on real UMPSA scenarios involving scheduling, student issues, and inter-faculty coordination

Participants reflected on their own negotiation experiences—many eye-opening moments were shared, including challenges in securing resources, addressing workload distribution, and managing expectations across units.

2. Negotiation Styles, Tactics & Cultural Dimensions

Participants assessed their own negotiation styles (Competing, Collaborating, Compromising, Avoiding, Accommodating) and were surprised at how accurately the profiles reflected their everyday behaviour.

We explored four core tactics:

      • Anchoring – how first offers shape outcomes

      • Framing – how perspective determines acceptance

      • Concessions – strategic give-and-take

      • Reciprocity – the principle of “I give, you give”

Discussions became especially lively when participants applied these concepts to current topics such as Malaysia–US academic agreements, SKU allocations, staffing, and faculty collaborations.

3. Practical Negotiation Scenarios

The highlight of the day was the group simulations.
Participants negotiated across three case studies involving:

      • Faculty resource allocation

      • Budget approval between departments

      • International research collaboration (MoU)

The negotiating tables became energetic zones of persuasion, power dynamics, alliance building, and clever concessions. Observers used structured evaluation templates to assess tactics and highlight real-time negotiation behaviour.

4. Advanced Strategies & Personal Action Plans

In the final segment, we explored:

      • Multi-party negotiation challenges

      • Power & Influence Mapping

      • Emotional intelligence for negotiation success

      • Drafting a personal negotiation strategy to use immediately in UMPSA contexts

Participants concluded with three personalised strategies they will apply in upcoming meetings, discussions, and collaborations.

The energy throughout the day was exceptional. Thank you =)
Participants openly exchanged experiences, challenged ideas, and engaged in intellectual debates around:

        • Faculty KPIs

        • Cross-border collaborations

        • Research funding

        • Academic politics

        • Institutional alignment

Everyone contributed—and everyone learned from one another.

This was not just a training, but a shared learning journey.

Negotiation lies at the heart of academic leadership.
Whether it’s securing resources, aligning stakeholders, or building collaborations, UMPSA’s leaders now carry a stronger toolkit to navigate these challenges.

A heartfelt thank you to Bahagian Pembangunan Bakat UMPSA for organizing this impactful program—and to all 20 participants for their commitment, openness, and enthusiasm.

Together, we’re shaping a more collaborative, strategic, and empowered UMPSA.

Board of Studies – Engineering Tech Program

Today I had the privilege to serve as a Board of Studies member for a program review at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UNIKL), focusing on the Engineering Technology in Electronics Manufacturing field. The session brought together academics and industry experts to discuss and deliberate  how future technologists can thrive in Malaysia’s fast-evolving manufacturing landscape.

Engineeting tech is a forward-thinking approach to curriculum formulation — one that balances practical skills and theoretical foundations in a 50:50 model. The discussion centered on ensuring that graduates are not only technically competent, but also digitally fluent, able to work with modern manufacturing systems that increasingly rely on automation, data analytics, and smart technologies.

In today’s factories, the shift from Excel-based monitoring to Power BI dashboards and AI-driven process insights is transforming how production decisions are made. Embedding data analytics and smart manufacturing concepts into the academic structure will empower future graduates to serve effectively in backend operations, process optimization, and industrial transformation initiatives — areas crucial to Malaysia’s ambition under Industry 4.0.

I found the review process deeply inspiring — a reflection of how universities like UNIKL are proactively aligning their programs with national and global needs, preparing graduates to be creative, adaptable, and industry-ready. This is indeed the way forward: designing curriculum not just for today’s jobs, but for tomorrow’s challenges.

All the best 🙂

InECCE 2025 – An Undergraduate Research Dissemination in UMPSA STEM Lab

Yesterday, I attended InECCE 2025, a conference organized by the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at UMPSA. The session was a meaningful platform to showcase the innovative works of our undergraduate students, particularly their final year projects (FYPs).

In total, five papers were presented, each highlighting a unique research direction that combines embedded systems, sensor integration, microcontrollers, microcomputers, and data analytics. The projects not only reflect strong technical execution but also the students’ growing ability to communicate their findings in a professional setting.

1. Design and Implementation of Circularly Polarized Antenna for CubeSat Applications

This project focused on developing a circularly polarized antenna tailored for CubeSat communications. Antennas of this type are essential to ensure reliable signal transmission regardless of satellite orientation. The work demonstrated solid grounding in antenna theory, simulation, and hardware prototyping, bridging theory with practical space communication requirements. IEEExplore

2. Image Recognition System for Pico-Satellite Earth Surface Analysis (50–75 m) – Amin

A pico-satellite imaging system was designed to perform image recognition at resolutions of 50–75 meters. The project involved integrating cameras with processing units, and developing algorithms for Earth surface feature detection and analysis. Such a system has strong potential for applications in environmental monitoring, agriculture, and disaster assessment. IEEExplore

3. Human-Robot Interactive Miniature Robot – Gan

Using the UMP STEMbot, a two-wheel miniature robot, this project explored human-robot interaction. By programming the robot to respond to commands and adapt to environmental feedback, the students highlighted applications in education, assistive robotics, and interactive learning platforms. The work required programming microcontrollers to interface with sensors, actuators, and wireless communication modules. IEEExplore

4. Navigational System for Miniature Robots – Kiren

This project also utilized the STEMbot, focusing on building a navigation system for autonomous mobility. By integrating infrared, ultrasonic, and IMU sensors, students enabled the robot to avoid obstacles, follow paths, and optimize its movement. The project served as a practical example of applying control systems, embedded programming, and robotics algorithms in real-world scenarios. IEEExplore

5. Integrated Data Acquisition and Environmental Analytics in Pico-Satellite Systems – Zharif

In this work, a data acquisition and analytics system was designed for a pico-satellite, the STEM Cube. The system collected environmental parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity, radiation levels), stored them in a database, and processed the data for visualization and decision-making. This project required students to master both hardware sensor integration and software development for analytics and visualization. IEEExplore

Beyond Hardware – Communication Skills Matter

It has always been a practice in UMPSA STEM Lab’s project supervision to develop a tangible projects (involves hardware – circuit design and development), simulation and analysis, as well as the presentation and paper-writing skills. Producing technical hardware (embedded systems, robots, satellites) is one challenge; communicating the work through IEEE-style papers and oral presentations is another. Both are equally critical in preparing students for industry and academic research.

That is why I emphasize to my students:

  • Build the system – design, test, and validate the hardware/software.
  • Code, simulate and analysis – code and program micro controllers / microcomputers / FPGAs
  • Communicate the system – write a paper, prepare figures, and present findings confidently.

Conferences like InECCE 2025 in Kuantan provide exactly this type of exposure, bridging classroom learning with professional dissemination.

I look forward to bringing my current and future FYP / SDP / URP / PG students to similar conferences, providing them opportunities not only to engage in project-based learning but also to present and publish their work. Such experiences shape them into well-rounded engineers who can both design systems and communicate ideas effectively to wider communities.