Taylor’s University announced the launch of their new undergraduate course, Bachelor of Social Sciences, offering prospective students an option to choose from two sets of degrees – International Relations, and Social Innovations and Change. The private university is also the first in Malaysia and Asia to offer the pioneering degree in Social Innovation and Change, as well as the first in Southeast Asia to introduce social sciences curriculum that incorporates a work-based learning approach.
Minister of National Unity, YB Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique, who officiated the launch said “ The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that it is a disease that does not discriminate, which further highlights the importance of strengthening national unity, solidarity and collective efforts to address and overcome these challenges. To achieve so, it is crucial that our future leaders – all the young Malaysians – can take the centre stage with a deep understanding of how political institutions, public management, and policy implementation works to impact real change to the nation. It is therefore great to see that Taylor’s University has put together an industry-led programme for the young minds of today that will allow them to build impactful solutions in addressing social issues, not just within the nation but also at a global level.”
The arts, humanities and social sciences programmes are known to be as employable as their STEM counterparts. However, employability in Malaysia for graduates in the art major remains low as reported by the Ministry of Higher Education. The hypothesis is that the current Malaysian social sciences programmes mainly focus on theories and concepts and put little emphasis on honing students’ industrial skills and experience.
Recognising the importance of the right curriculum and experience for young leaders, the two-degree programmes are the first social sciences degree programmes of their kind within Malaysia and Southeast Asia, that combines classroom and work-based learning. Both the International Relations and Social Innovation and Change programmes are uniquely curated to adopt an innovative learning approach that combines the finest university learning with a stamp of industrial experience.
The three-year bachelor’s degree programme merges two years of on-campus learning and one year of on-site work-based learning and is uniquely designed based on the Ministry of Higher Education’s (MOHE) vision to incorporate industrial-based training into the higher education curriculum. The programme’s work-based learning approach aims to equip students with theories and practices relevant to their respective area of studies such as social challenges, world economics, diverse political structures and cultural nuances, and instil leadership skills that will enable them to draw contemporary solutions to positively impact society.
To this extent, the programme introduces prolific industry figure and unity advocate, Anas Zubedy as an adjunct professor, who will also serve as the Director for the Social Innovations and Change specialisation. In his role, Professor Anas will be teaching a module titled “Politics and Public Issues in Malaysia” where the students will shadow eminent Malaysian public leaders as part of experiential learning. He will lead workshops for students and guide them on how to carry out socially responsible activities.
Both degree programmes also welcome industry leaders such as prominent political cartoonist, Zulkifli Anwar (Zunar); a senior country representative for the US – ASEAN Business Council, Tina Jamaludin; founder and executive director of Refuge for the Refugees, Heidy Quah Gaik Li; and more as adjunct professors.
Taylor’s Bachelor of Social Sciences programme is the latest addition to one of the youngest and fastest-growing schools in Taylor’s University, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences (SLAS).
To learn more about the new programmes, please visit here for Bachelor of Social Science With Honours (International Relations) and here for Bachelor of Social Science With Honours (Social Innovation & Change).