MASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY SCIENCE MALAYSIA (USM) PENANG, MALAYSIA 2009-2010 SPONSORED BY: THE COLOMBO PLAN & MALAYSIAN TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME (MTCP) 1
BACKGROUND Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific is a unique inter-governmental organization providing development assistance under the Planning for Prosperity motto and the concept of selfhelp and mutual help where member countries provide assistance to one another in socio-economic development. The Colombo Plan was conceived at the Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in January 1950 and was established on 1 July 1951 as a cooperative venture for economic and social advancement of the people of South and Southeast Asia. It has grown from the founding group of seven Commonwealth nations - Australia, Britain, Canada, Ceylon, India, New Zealand and Pakistan, to 26, including non-commonwealth and countries belonging to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Current Colombo Plan member countries are Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States of America and Vietnam. In December 1977, the Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic Development in South and South-east Asia was changed to The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific, to reflect the expanded geographical composition of its enhanced membership and the scope of its activities. Through the 57 years of its operation, the primary focus of all Colombo Plan activities remains human resource development of its member countries. Over the years, the programme content of the Colombo Plan has been adjusted to respond to the needs of member countries in a fast changing economic environment. In the early years, the training programmes were more of a longterm nature whilst the current programmes are established to provide advance skills and experience sharing, aimed at best practices in different fields of economic and social activities for effective policy making and governance. 2
Funding A significant characteristic of the Colombo Plan is that the administrative costs of the Council and the Secretariat are borne equally by all member countries and all member countries have an equal status in Colombo Plan s functions and activities. However, programme activities are funded by voluntary contributions by member countries based on the philosophy of self-help and mutual help. In addition, non-member countries, other international and regional organisations and other donor agencies are also sourced for funding. Current Programmes In 1995, Colombo Plan restructured its programmes to emphasize on three permanent short-term training courses in priority areas and promoting South- South cooperation. The current programmes of the Colombo Plan are in the areas of Public Administration and Environment including post-graduate longterm scholarships, Private Sector Development and Drug Demand Prevention in member countries. In this regard, Colombo Plan has established three programmes for capacity building, namely, Drug Advisory Programme, Programme for Public Administration & Environment and Programme for Private Sector Development. Programme for Public Administration & Environment (PPA & Env.) The main objective of the Programme for Public Administration is to develop human capital in the public sector of the developing member countries (DMCs) through provision of training programmes in prioritized areas such as poverty reduction, leadership development, economic management, strategic management, food security and environmental issues including climate change. The PPA has established good partnerships with centres of excellence in the member countries as well as with inter-governmental organisations to deliver training programmes in critical issues of development to middle and senior level public officials from DMCs, many of whom hold key positions in their respective countries. In 2008, PPA doubled its training programmes to 15, with total participants of 133, an increase of more than two fold compared with 2007. PPA had also introduced new areas of training such as food security, environmental planning, air pollution, good governance and special training for science and mathematics educators. 3
For 2009, PPA has scheduled 17 short-term training programmes for government officials of the CPS member countries. A total of 234 participants are expected to be trained this year. PPA will introduce several new programmes like advance railway course and international banking course, in Pakistan, IT Management in India, project planning in Malaysia, climate change, in Singapore and industrial ecology course in Thailand. LONG-TERM SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME (LTSP) The Long term Scholarship Programme (LTSP), which was the hallmark of the Colombo Plan during its early years of establishment, has been reintroduced in 2005 in response to the stated needs of member countries. Prior to that, the programme was put to a halt in 1989. The LTSP programme provides opportunities for qualified candidates from CPS member countries to pursue their study at Masters degree level at prestigious universities in Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. In 2008, the LTSP recorded several new achievements. Firstly, the Government of Singapore offered two new postgraduate scholarships tenable at three prestigious universities in Singapore namely, National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU). Currently, the CPS is sponsoring one post graduate scholar from Nepal at the Singapore Management University. Secondly, the CPS had signed a MOU with University Science Malaysia (USM) and University Putra Malaysia (UPM). With funding from Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP), 20 scholarships, 10 for each university are available for nominated government officers from the CPS member countries. The USM offers post graduate programmes, at Master level in Social Science while the UPM, known for its expertise in agricultural studies offers Master degree in agriculture and agriculture-related fields such as biotechnology. Thirdly, the CPS has established an understanding with the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), in which, the university will offer 10 students the opportunity to pursue their Master degree in science and arts streams. The CPS expects its first batch of scholars to begin their post graduate programme at the university in mid 2009. In addition, the Government of Pakistan through its Technical Assistance Programme (PTAP) offered 6 scholarships at undergraduate level, 3 each for Pharmacy and Engineering faculties for the academic year 2008/2009. 4
The CPS will endeavour to expand this programme so that many more tertiary education opportunities will be available for its developing and least developed member countries. Programme for Private Sector Development (PPSD) The Programme for Private Sector Development (PPSD), established in 1995, provides short-term training programmes and workshops for the development of the private sector. The focus of PPSD is on capacity building of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which in many economies drive economic growth and create employment opportunities for a large segment of the labour force. The Programme's scope covers technology transfer, SME development, business management and sharing of best practices, World Trade Organization, productivity and trade issues and industrialization policy. PPSD also plays an important role in promoting a business friendly environment through building up of capacity of those relevant government officers who are responsible to put in place supporting institutions, laws and policies as well as regulations which affect the private sector. To obtain the best outcomes for these programmes, PPSD collaborates with member governments and their centres of excellence to implement the programmes. Our current partner agencies are Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Malaysia Productivity Centre (MPC), CMC Ltd under the Indian Millennium Fund, Asia Productivity Organization (APO) and Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP). Since inception in 1995, Korea has been contributing to the PPSD programmes. More than 1,000 participants have benefited from this training. In 2008, PPSD doubled its training programmes to 9, and trained total participants of 125. For year 2009 PPSD has scheduled 9 training programmes for 130 total number of participants are expected to be trained by those programmes. 5
Drug Advisory Programme (DAP) The Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme, established in 1973, was the first in the Asia Pacific regional programme to address the drug problem. From its inception, DAP has been contributing to the development of human resources in member countries by enhancing the capabilities of officials in government and non-governmental organizations involved in drug demand and supply reduction. DAP has played an instrumental role in the establishment of national drug focal agency in member countries. Responding to the changing needs of member countries, which are facing multifaceted problems due to illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse, the DAP has embarked on several innovative strategies including faith-based approach to drug demand reduction, establishment of outreach and drop in centres and introduction of life skills to youths. DAP also mobilizes community in its drug demand reduction activities, as well as provide advisory services and capacity building to member countries. In front-line countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan, four (4) outreach and drop in centres were established in 2005 which continue to be supported by CPDAP. In the special programme for Afghanistan, five (5) treatment centres and transit shelter for women were set up in June 2007. DAP is operating the only Treatment Centre for women in Kabul, Afghanistan. UNIVERSITY SCIENCE MALAYSIA Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) was established in 1969, in response to the need for a conducive academic environment, appropriate to the future needs of Malaysia. Today, it has become a leading research university with a high reputation for providing excellent postgraduate programmes. Since inception, USM has implemented a school system. The uniqueness of the school system is that each school could fulfil the needs of a focused degree in the chosen area of study. USM has three campuses. The Main Campus is located in the island of Penang while the Engineering Campus is located in the mainland side of the state of Penang. The third campus, which houses three-health related programmes (Medicine, Health and Dentistry) is in the State of Kelantan--on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Presently, the university has a graduate student population of 6,687 students, which constitutes more than 20% of its total student population. Foreign student population is 1,424. These students are enrolled in the areas of Medicine, Science and Technology, Engineering and Arts and are working towards their Masters or Doctorate degrees. 6
COLOMBO PLAN UNIVERSITY SCIENCE MALAYSIA (USM) LONG TERM SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME General The Colombo Plan began its collaboration with the USM in 2008. The programme is hosted by the School of Social Sciences of the University. Currently, the CPS is sponsoring the first batch of 3 post-graduate scholars from Sri Lanka, Iran and Bhutan. The scholarship offered for this programme is for one year study. Interested candidates are requested to choose mix mode courses only, which combine course work and dissertation. The list of courses are as follow: Degree: Master of Social Science Areas of Specialization i. Anthropology & Sociology ii. Economic Management iii. Development Planning & Management iv. Political Science/ Public Administration v. Social Work vi. Peace Studies vii. Islamic Development & Management viii. AIDS Action Research Groups Entry Requirements Candidates for the Master of Social Science must possess a Bachelor Degree and should provide evidence of sufficient knowledge of their respective fields of specialization. Candidates with academic backgrounds other than in the area for which they are applying for may be required to successfully complete their undergraduate level courses, after being admitted to the programme. 7
Requirements Candidates should: i. be nominated by their respective Governments ii. have a Bachelor degree in the area of specialization (2 nd Class Upper Division or CGPA of above 2.75 is preferred) iii. have a minimum of 5 years experience in the public sector iv. meet English Language requirement v. have a clear idea about the area of research English Language Requirements Candidates must demonstrate a capacity to pursue a graduate level course in English by submitting TOEFL or IELTS scores. Candidates who pursued their first degrees in English medium are exempted from these requirements. Period of Study Master of Social Studies programme will be conducted on a full-time basis, starting in June 2009. It requires one year of course work in residence. Duration of the programmes will be 18 months or three academic semesters. The final semester is for students to complete their dissertations. Graduate Seminar (Research Proposal Presentation) Students are required to prepare a research proposal in consultation with the supervisor and present it at a seminar to get the approval of the faculty to proceed with their research. MA Dissertation All students for the MA degree are required to submit a MA thesis, which would provide the students an opportunity to apply and demonstrate writing, research and analytical skills. Thesis should be a document of original academic work consisting of an ordered and reasonably critical exposition of existing knowledge in the field of specialization and will be evaluated by both Internal and External Examiners. 8
All students would be required to defend their thesis before the Thesis Examination Committee of the University during viva. The presentation would constitute a major portion of the Oral Examination. Language Requirements The Master of Social Science programmes will be taught in English. However, as a matter of policy, all foreign students are required to pass LKM 100 to satisfy Bahasa Malaysia (national language of Malaysia) language requirement. Student Evaluation Students will be assessed on the following general criteria, which are applied in all the academic courses: a. Attendance b. Class participation, submission of term papers, assignments etc.. c. Sit-in examinations and oral examinations d. Thesis. Grades Grades in the programme range from A (4.0), A- (3.67), B+ (3.33), B (3.0), B- (2.67), C (2.0), C- (1.67), D+ (1.33), D (1.0), D (0.67) and F (0). Numerical equivalents for the grades are given in brackets. Degree Requirements Students will be conferred the Master of Social Science degree after they have successfully accumulated 44 units from the core and elective courses at the School of Social Sciences. To graduate, students must obtain a minimum CGPA of 2.50. Research Project will also be graded according to this system. Invited Countries All developing member countries of the Colombo Plan are invited to send nominations. Number of Scholarships Ten (10) scholarships will be awarded under the Colombo Plan - USM Scholarship Programme. 9
Scholarship Award The scholarship will cover the following: a. Economy class air ticket from the closest international airport to Penang, Malaysia, at the beginning of the programme and after completion of the degree programme. b. Local training costs c. Accommodation at the USM hostel d. Living allowance of RM 1,000 per month (US$ 1 = RM 3.4) e. *Book allowance of US$ 135 f. *Thesis allowance of US$ 205 * To be paid in local currency, based on current rate Accommodation Accommodation for the students is on a single occupancy basis at the Graduate Hostel of the University. Limited number of married housing facilities are available within the campus. Please be informed that the students are allowed to be accompanied by their families to Penang, Malaysia, after obtaining the necessary approval from the authorities. However, all expenses with regard to the cost of living of the family, will not be borne by the Colombo Plan or the University. Visa Requirements Applicants need to obtain visas from the Malaysian Embassy or Malaysian High Commission in their countries or other countries nearby before their arrival in Malaysia. Participating governments are kindly requested to bear the cost of visa application for their participants. Visa expenses will not be borne by the Colombo Plan Secretariat. Medical Treatment Expenses for medical and dental treatment in Government hospitals or clinics will be borne by the government of Malaysia. Dental treatment is restricted to extraction and filling only. 10
Member Country s Nomination Each member country is invited to nominate through the national focal point two candidates, one primary and a reserve. The duly accomplished nomination forms (two sets) should be forwarded not later than 25 March 2009 to the Colombo Plan Secretariat at the following addresses: Secretary General The Colombo Plan Secretariat 13 th Floor, Merchant Tower 28, St. Michael s Road Colombo 3 Sri Lanka Attention To Mr. Khairul Daud, Director for Public Administration & Environment Tel: 94 11-2381831 Fax: 94 11-2564531 E-mail: khairuldd@colombo-plan.org or savinis@colombo-plan.org (Programme Officer) Please be informed that the Colombo Plan Secretariat requires the original applications of candidates for the final selection. Therefore, member countries are requested to send the original applications to the Colombo Plan Secretariat by registered post or through their diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka. Selection Selections for the MA programme will be jointly conducted by the CPS and USM. Successful candidates will be notified through their national focal points. The CPS will also inform students directly through e-mail. Therefore, candidates are highly advised to fill up their form clearly to ensure the smooth process of their application. 11