PEKAN, Feb 21 — The Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was today installed as the first Chancellor of DRB-Hicom University of Automotive, Malaysia here.

The installation ceremony was officiated by group managing director of DRB-Hicom Bhd, Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil, after Tengku Abdullah officially opened DHU as the first university dedicated to automotive education in the Asean region.

In the ceremony, Mohd Khamil passed the yellow chancellor robes made of songket with the finishing woven with gold thread and three stripes on the sleeves, the academic cap and the chancellor’s chain to Tengku Abdullah.

The historical ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh.

Mohd Khamil in his speech said DHU, the sole university in the region, offers the bachelor, master and doctoral degree programmes in the automotive field in addition to business and management programmes such as finance and accounting.

Mohd Khamil said DHU practising the principle of ‘By the Industry, For the Industry’ also offers a range of programmes with a curriculum that emphasises the basic skills of critical thinking, communication skills, and cultivates leadership skills as well as entrepreneurship among students.

DHU previously known as the International College of Automotive was established on April 2, 2010, before being conferred university status by the Ministry of Higher Education in October 2015.

“DHU has produced a total of 718 graduates, most serving with DRB-HICOM and at the same time, 10 diploma graduates are pursuing their studies in John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom, under the sponsorship of a subsidiary of DRB-Hicom,” he said.

DHU has also collaborated with Universiti Malaysia Pahang and Multimedia University in offering the degree in Technology Administration and degree in Entrepreneurship respectively, he added.

DHU today, celebrated its third convocation ceremony involving 230 diploma graduates in Engineering and Technology as well as in Business and Management, officiated by Tengku Abdullah.

In conjunction with the convocation ceremony various events and open interviews by DRB subsidiaries like Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom), Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CTRM), KL Airport Services Sdn Bhd (KLAS) and DRB-HICOM Auto Solutions Sdn Bhd will be conducted. — Bernama