MISC Annual Report 2017

MISC BERHAD | Annual Report 2017 110 Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Kolej Yayasan Pelajaran Johor (KYPJ) to provide KYPJ’s culinary students career options in the maritime sector, the new culinary modular courses will commence at the Academy’s refurbished training galley in 2018. The year saw an increase in the number of international students attending post-sea programmes especially from Bangladesh and Pakistan. ALAM’s training programmes were also given recognition by the government of Timor Leste with a MOU signed between both parties leading to the roll out of port management and safety training courses for Timor Leste's port officials. ALAM also secured a grant from the Technology Depository Agency (TDA) to conduct Preparatory Electro Technical Officer programmes for ship's electrical engineers. In 2017, the concessionaire for ALAM, Malaysian Maritime Academy Sdn. Bhd. (MMASB), signed an 18-month Interim Agreement and Tenancy Agreement with the Ministry of Transport and Pesuruhjaya Tanah Persekutuan respectively. MMASB and the Government are currently finalising the Concession Agreement and Lease Agreement extensions that will give MMASB the rights to run and operate ALAM for another 30 years. As a testament to ALAM’s position as a key player in the regional maritime education arena, ALAM was named the “Best in Maritime Education & Training” at the prestigious Seatrade Maritime Awards Asia 2017 event. The Academy also received the outstanding 6-Star Rating (for the international student services category) and a 5-Star Rating (for both the college-based category and cluster-based category respectively) at the Quality Evaluation System (MyQUEST) 2016/2017 event. ALAM was also awarded a 5-Star Rating (the highest rating) as a Training Provider for the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF). MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS MARITIME EDUCATION & TRAINING