RCEE & RHEd2010 Kuching,Sarawak 7 – 9 June 2010
A Swot Analysis of Challenges Facing Research Universities
Rohaty Mohd Majzub Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia rohatymajzub@yahoo.com Abstract Four universities in Malaysia were accorded the status of research universities. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia is one such university. The Malaysian government and the Ministry of Higher Education have strong convictions that through research the universities can achieve world class status. The challenge for research universities necessitates change and adaptation to the new demand. In order to move forward effectively to respond to such demand the universities need to reflect upon their present status and evaluate themselves both intrinsically and extrinsically. One mechanism that is popularly used in the psychology of change is the SWOT analysis. This precedes the development of a more strategic model to pave the way forward. The SWOT analysis focuses upon four environmental factors namely (a) Strengths (b) Weaknesses (c) Opportunities and (d) Threats. Using the SWOT analysis model the status of the research universities can be analyzed evaluated and comprehended. A SWOT profile was developed that help depicts the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities facing the research universities. The SWOT Profile was determined following data collected from the academia. Strength factors derived included the research funds pumped into the research universities and the qualifications of seasoned researchers; the opportunities for networking and professional development. Threat factors include competition from other research universities, distractions and workloads and work priorities. Weaknesses that exist include governance of research activities, financial management, group formation and multidisciplinarity and time management. The opportunity factor can be seen in the number of research innovation and rewards for the researcher and contribution to...