VC: “No new campus on the way, trimester system being evaluated.”

Tronoh, 8^th February – Amidst growing talk of a new campus in the works at Putrajaya, Heart of Tronoh felt it would be best to correct any misinformation by seeking clarification on the matter from the Vice Chancellor himself. Speaking to us in his office at Chancellor Complex, the Datuk Ir (Dr) Abdul Rahim Hashim was quick to shoot down the rumour. Shaking his head, Datuk replied: “It was under consideration at one point, but we’ve set it aside for the moment. There is no new campus under construction.”  

According to recent whispers flourishing online, particularly through social media, a new campus is being built in Putrajaya to house the Petroleum Engineering and Petroleum Geoscience departments, and upon completion both faculties would migrate there, taking a sizeable amount of students along with them. Speculation somewhat reached a climax when it was posted to a popular Facebook page frequented by UTP students, further exciting the grapevine.  

Datuk Dr Abdul Rahim also expressed his personal opinion on the matter, saying that it wouldn’t be a good idea to split the undergraduate programs into separate campuses. “We don’t want two different cultures to form; Putrajaya is very different from Tronoh,” said the VC, who then added that if at all they were to set up a new facility elsewhere it would likely be for postgraduate research.

We sought a statement from Datuk Dr Abdul Rahim on  the trimester system, which was also subject to recent gossip, with some sources claiming that the system would be repealed in the near future in favour of its predecessor. “The trimester system is still under review. One of our professors is evaluating its pros and cons after 3 years of implementation. We will wait for his evaluation before proceeding with any changes. For now, nothing is confirmed.”

UTP currently has three semesters a year, each with its own intake of new students. A semester starts in January, May or September, with 14 weeks of studies per semester.

By Marc Raphael, PE