Appointed as Vice Chancellor from 1 November 2012 until 31 October 2017

 A UNIVERSITY FOR ALL TIME

When Datuk Ir Abdul Rahim Hashim was approached to take on the role of Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) it was an opportunity he could not turn down. “The area of people development has always been my focus even in my early years at PETRONAS. I felt that this was something that I could contribute.”

Throughout his 32-year career with the national oil corporation, Abdul Rahim served as CEO of PETRONAS Oil Refinery Malacca, Vice President of Group Human Resources, Gas Business and Research & Technology. He contributed his expertise and leadership to the oil and gas fraternity – serving as president of the Malaysian Gas Association and president of the International Gas Union.

Although he assumed the mantle of Vice Chancellor in November 2012, Abdul Rahim was no stranger to UTP, having served as a member of the steering committee responsible for establishing the university.

As Vice Chancellor, his priority was to continue the work of his predecessors and further strengthen the foundations they had laid. “I knew that we were heading into a steep phase of the university’s development. We were eyeing research university status, aiming for Tier 6 rating for the quality of teaching and learning, and we wanted to be ranked and rated accordingly. So there were targets to be achieved,” he says.

He put his decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, as well as his extensive industry network to good use – advancing on the earlier successes and driving the UTP team further.

Some four years on, UTP has garnered an impressive tally of awards and recognition, both nationally and globally. On the international front, in October 2016 Abdul Rahim accepted the William Pitt Fellowship on behalf of UTP from Pembroke College of Cambridge – the first Malaysian representing a university to be admitted into this esteemed group. But Abdul Rahim, though pleased with the university’s achievements, believes that the finish line isn’t yet within grasp. “Targets are basically works in progress. The issue now is getting everyone on board as we continue our journey.”

The next milestone for UTP is to achieve global prominence by 2025, expressed in terms of being among the leaders of technology education and to be a driving force of research.

“The vision and mission of the university has not changed – we want to ensure that we are a centre for creating and disseminating new knowledge,” he says, adding that he would also like to see more meaningful collaboration between the university and industry.

“The focus ahead is to get everyone aligned to our objectives, and for everyone to be focused and committed to those objectives. We want to be moving in unison so that when the university achieves its goals, it is the result of everyone’s contributions,” he adds.

Background

Datuk Ir (Dr) Abdul Rahim Hashim was a graduate in Electronics and Electrical Engineering in 1976 and a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK in 2006. As a professional engineer, Datuk was previously on the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) and served for five years, from 2007, as the Chairman of the Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC) Malaysia.

Datuk Abdul Rahim was also the Vice President of Gas Business from 2002 to 2006, Vice President of Human Resource Management from 1998 to 2002, CEO of PETRONAS Penapisan Melaka, 1991 to 1998 and CEO of Malaysian Refinery Company from 1995 to 1998.

He also holds the Chairman's post in various PETRONAS subsidiaries and associated companies such as:

• PETRONAS NGV Sdn Bhd
  
• OGP Technical Services Sdn Bhd
  
• Gas District Cooling (M) Sdn Bhd
  
• Gas District Cooling (UTP) Sdn Bhd
  
• Gas Malaysia  Audit Board Committee
  
• ASEAN LNG Trading Company Ltd
  
• PETRONAS Egypt Corporation Ltd (PICL)
  
• PETRONAS Gas Berhad (PETGAS) (UK) Ltd
  
• PETRONAS Argentina S.A
  
• Trans-Thai-Malaysia Ltd
  
• P.T. Transportasi Gas Indonesia
  
• Egyptian LNG Co. S.A.E.
  

Datuk Abdul Rahim is currently the Immediate Past President of the Malaysian Gas Association, President of Asia-Pacific Natural Gas Vehicle Association and Immediate Past President of the International Gas Union for the triennium 2012 to 2015. He is also an associate member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, a Commissioner of the Energy Commission and a member of the National Science & Research Council.

Datuk Abdul Rahim was elected as Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) during the Academy's 19th Annual General Meeting. He was elected in the discipline of Engineering & Computer Sciences.