Island College of Technology

infobox University
name= Island College of Technology
native_name= Kolej Teknologi Pulau


motto= Commitment To Excellence
established= February 1998
president= Siti Mazenah
city= Balik Pulau
country= Malaysia
state= Penang
type= Private

Island College of Technology (ICT) (Malay: Kolej Teknologi Pulau (KTP) ) is a private college in Malaysia. Established in 1998, it was originally located at Tabung Haji Complex, and the college shared the building with the the participants of the Hajj. Difficulties arising from sharing the building led to the relocation of ICT to its current location at Sungai Rusa, Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang.

Background

Balik Pulau, where ICT is located, was one of the more remote provinces of the mostly-urban island of Penang, known mostly for its durian plantations and numerous fruit farms.

However, the reputation of the province and the college was quickly built up when ICT became the first private-sector college to offer a Bachelor in Pharmacy Twinning Programme, in collaboration with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Lecturers were brought in from prestigious universities across the nation in order to comply with the high standards set by USM, a public university.

The college also made the headlines by creating success stories from students who had been rejected by public universities. Along with events like Malaysia's number one pop singer Siti Nurhaliza's college fund concert and other events involving artistes like Jamal Abdillah and Ning Baizura, KTP has earned a reputation for being one of the few colleges that are also hotspots for special artiste performances.

Despite all the publicity stunt pulled off by the college's administration, it is still one of the lesser known colleges in Malaysia despite a good link between the college and its mentor university, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Administration

The college's administration is divided into four departments, with the Department of Academics as the main unit. It is responsible for all matters related to curriculum, academic performance, learning method of conduct, and course and teaching force competency.

The second most important department is the Department of Registry, which manages the enrollment of new students, procedures of enrollment, student affairs, advertising and promotion, human resource, public and alumni relations.

The Department of Finance manages the college's financial issues such as scholarships, study loans, and tuition fees.

The Library Department handles issues related to the procurement of books and articles for reference in the library, and is also responsible for the safekeeping of books and other literature, including digital media.

Courses

Since attaining its full college status in February 1998, the college has been offering degree, diploma and certificate courses in a collaborative effort with other local universities such as Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). The courses are certified by the national accreditation board, Lembaga Akreditasi Negara (LAN).

Courses offered as of July 9, 2007 are:

*Bachelor of Management
*Bachelor of Pharmacy
*Diploma in Accounting
*Diploma in Marketing
*Diploma in Communication
*Diploma in Management
*Diploma in Information Technology
*Certificate in Information Technology
*Certificate in Business Administration

Facilities

The overall feel of the entire college resembles that of a resort. Low-rise buildings and wooden architecture combined with lush greenery results in a natural and serene environment suitable for learning.

The campus is made up of 8 blocks of buildings where lecture rooms are situated. Lecture rooms are categorized alphabetically from A-Z (e.g. Bilik Kuliah A). The college has since expended with the addition of six new building blocks that accommodates the Pharmacy course that was first offered in the first semester of 2006 academic year.

The library is located further north from the lecture rooms. Apart from being a central resource of books, journals and other academic material, the library also serves as an online research portal and cyber-cafe where students can surf the internet at a small fee or via Wi-Fi that has been provided free of charge.

Four computer labs are also available to ease the students in completing their assignments or searching for academic information online. One of the labs houses more than 20 PCs which are fully furnished with various productivity,multimedia and educational softwares coupled with high speed broadband connection that serve the purpose to assist students in their education. All the labs are accessible to the students permitted they are using it for academical purpose.

To accommodate the latest degree program offered, the college has since developed two specialized building blocks that houses a number of pharmaceutical laboratories to provide the comprehensive equipments and facilities to accommodate the learning process of undergraduates.A third facility is under development to house more laboratories and equipments that would greatly boost the School of Pharmacy 's student capacity.

External links

* [http://www.ict.edu.my/ Official website]
* [http://fund4education.blogspot.com/ Malaysia Education Fund / Scholarship]
* [http://www.usm.my University Sains Malaysia]