UTP MBA-EM RECEIVES SECOND COHORT

Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) received its second cohort of off-campus Master of Business
Administration in Energy Management (MBA-EM) programme recently.

The second cohort saw 13 scholars registered for the January 2014 semester intake. The registration
and induction (R&I) session for the new cohort took place at PETRONAS Petroleum Resource Centre
(PRC), Level 4, PETRONAS Twin Towers.

PRC is the Programme Delivery Partner for the MBA-EM programme in which the off-campus studies will
be conducted.

Present at the R&I session were Associate Professor Dr Shahrina Md Nordin (UTP Head of Management
and Humanities Department), Dr Lai Fong Woon (MBA-EM Programme Manager), Associate Professor Dr
Azrai Abdullah (UTP former Head of Management and Humanities Department), En Tajul Ariffin
Shamsuddin (UTP Registry), Pn Nelly Francis Shariah (Head of EdL), En Azahar M Noor (Senior Manager,
PRC), En Ismail Isa (Manager, PRC), En Ibrahim Mohamed (Manager, PRC), lecturers and staff from both
UTP and PRC.

Of the 13 new scholars, eight are PETRONAS staff while the rest are employees of MISC Bhd, Technip
Malaysia, Senergy International, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd and one, from a private consulting firm. The
average professional working experience for this cohort is 9.4 years.

The enrolment number for the second intake saw a 63% increase compared to the first intake in
September 2013, which consists of 8 students whose affiliations include companies from within and
outside of PETRONAS group. We are happy and encouraged by the increase in enrolment number for
the second cohort. We do not expect a large number of enrolment in each intake. After all the MBA-EM
programme is a very niche programme catering for a specific industry of the economy. We emphasise in
quality recruitment than quantity, said Dr Lai.

The MBA-EM is highly relevant to business executives as well as to those professionals in the technical
line who need to sharpen their business acumen and managerial capability for the industry. As such, the
MBA-EM programme aims at attracting top talent candidates from the energy sector along with other
professionals serving the sector such as bankers, lawyers and regulators alike, he added.



The 50-credit hours, 20-month MBA-EM programme features a dynamic yet comprehensive curriculum
design which includes nine business core and five energy management specialisation modules, namely
Energy Value Chain, Energy Management, Energy Technology and Innovation, Low Carbon Economy and
Sustainability, Energy Regulations and Policies. In addition, the programme structure also incorporates
business research methodology and consultancy management modules together with a project report.

To enrich the learning experience as well as provide a global perspective to scholars, the MBA-EM
programme forges a collaboration with the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI) of
University of Colorado at Boulder, USA. The collaboration will see the five energy management
specialisation modules to be delivered by RASEIs visiting professors. The RASEIs professors will be led
by Professor Dr Paul Komor, who in 2007 shared in the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Al Gore and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

PETRONAS Human Resources Management Division in September 2013 had made the MBA-EM
programme available for the Groups Career Enhancement Programme (full scholarship) and Educational
Enhancement Programme (which provides a financial assistance of RM5,000).

All of the MBA-EM off-campus classes will be conducted over the weekends with the exception of five
energy management modules in which some weekday classes will be involved. This arrangement will
facilitate working professionals attending the classes without affecting much of their daily work. All the
off-campus classes will be held at PRC, PETRONAS Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur City Center.

For further enquiries about the MBA-EM programme, please contact Dr Lai Fong Woon at phone: 05-
3687743; email: laifongwoon@petronas.com.my, or visit the programmes website
http://www.utp.edu.my/MBA.