PEKAN, Feb 21 — DRB-Hicom Group Bhd has pumped another RM150 million in investment for the second and third phases of its Pahang-based University of Automotive Malaysia.

Group Managing Director and Chairman of University College Sdn Bhd Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil said the second phase which is about 20 per cent complete, comprises the research and development building, a second block for the engineering faculty and housing for the university’s employees.

“Under the third phase, there will be showroom facilities, as well as practical training blocks for students.

“The entire complex development is expected to be completed between two and five years’ time to accommodate about 7,000 students,” he told reporters after the official launch of the DRB-Hicom University of Automotive Malaysia here today.

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He said the first phase which cost an investment of RM350 million comprised the administration building, the first engineering block, a block for the business and management faculty, chancellery hall and a campus village to accommodate 2,400 students.

“Currently, there are about 1,000 local and foreign students enrolled at the university, with 718 students having graduated.

“We are open to taking on more foreign students and at the moment have only one from Indonesia on campus. We have received a number of enquiries and requests from China, Indonesia, Singapore, India, the Middle East as well as Africa.

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“The students are keen to come, but we need to have all the facilities in place first,” Mohd Khamil said.

He said the Group wants to ensure that the quality as well as standard of education is well sustained.

“Sixty per cent of graduate students are working with the DRB-Hicom Group while the rest are attached to other industry players,” he added.

According to Mohd Khamil, within the next five years, the Group is looking at having between 3,000 and 5,000 students to further their studies here at the university.

The University of Automotive Malaysia was established in 2010 and previously known as the International College of Automotive (ICAM). It was accorded University status by the Ministry of Higher Education in October last year.

With the upgrade, the DRB-Hicom University of Automotive Malaysia is now among the first in Asean to offer a home-grown bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programmes relating to the automotive ecosystem, which includes mechanical, business and management studies.

Operated from a 42-acre campus, the advantage the University of Automotive Malaysia offers is being strategically located alongside DRB-Hicom’s regional automotive hub, which houses the nation’s largest integrated automotive assembly complex. — Bernama