A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed between Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) and the Marketing Research Society of Malaysia (MRSM) on 9 February 2018, symbolizing the establishment of a strategic partnership between the private university and the professional body for market research in Malaysia.
The Agreement marked the collaboration between both parties to develop qualified APU students as professional market researchers who will be recognized by the market research industry upon graduation.
Under this collaboration, APU students from selected courses related to the market research industry will be entitled to a joint MRSM-APU Market Research Professional Certificate, which is recognized locally and internationally.
MRSM will also embed necessary course content into existing APU courses in order to reflect the joint priorities of academia and industry. Students who have completed and passed relevant modules will also be eligible for MRSM membership.
APU is the first university in Malaysia to establish the partnership with MRSM.
Prof. Ron Edwards, Vice Chancellor of APU, applauded the partnership, stating that the collaboration of this type will assist graduates to be work ready on graduation and have the standard of proficiency and ethics that the community is seeking.
Datin Kalavalli Sethu, President of MRSM, mentioned that “APU-MRSM collaboration is a historical moment for MRSM as this is a major step in our partnership with Academia. MRSM applauds APU for taking professional standards of the marketing & marketing research courses very seriously.”
The establishment of this partnership marks a new milestone for both APU and MRSM to address the needs for Market Research Professionals in the industry. The market research profession in Malaysia has annual revenue of around RM 500 million.
Under the new MOA, APU becomes the first university to establish ties with MRSM, to address the needs for Professional Marketing Researchers in the market.
Prof. Ron Edwards, Vice Chancellor of APU (left) and Datin Kalavalli Sethu, President of MRSM (right) applaud the efforts made by both parties in closing the gap between industry and academia, in terms of producing competent Marketing Research professionals.