Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail is confident that this country would be able to produce Nobel Prize laureates with proper planning and conscious efforts.

He said although the selection process and criteria were stringent, efforts towards that direction should be intensified to produce scholars who could be eligible for nominations for the prestigious awards.

"We previously aspired to produce an astronaut, and we ultimately succeeded as we dared to make the investment and collaborate with foreign countries," he said at the sixth Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) convocation in Kangar today.

Tuanku Syed Faizuddin, who is also UniMAP chancellor, said likewise efforts should be garnered to realise the dream of having Nobel prize winners.

"Does the absence of a Nobel Prize winners shows that we have a shortage of highly acclaimed thinkers?" he quipped.

Degrees conferred

Meanwhile, at the convocation, UniMAP conferred degrees and diplomas to 1,237 students, of which four received doctor of philosophy (PhD) scrolls, 58 Master of Science degrees, 953 bachelor degrees and 222 engineering diplomas.

UniMAP also awarded three technocrats with honorary degrees. They were Dr RVasant Kumar from Department of Material Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge (Honorary Doctorate of Engineering), former Ministry of Higher Education secretary-general Zulkefli A Hassan (Honorary Doctorate of Management) and Manufacturing Board Design Centre director Mohd Parid Sulaiman (Master of Engineering).

UniMAP's electronic engineering biomedical graduate Norsima Nazirah Sidek and microelectronic engineering graduate Khor Khang Nan clinched the royal gold education awards for their outstanding achievements.

They each received a gold medal, RM5,000, and commendation certificates from the Conference of Rulers and UniMAP.

- Bernama