Kota Bharu: Prof Dr Arham Abdullah has been appointed as the seventh vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), effective this Sunday. The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) announced that he will be succeeding the previous vice-chancellor, Prof Datuk Dr Razli Che Razak.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the ministry expressed confidence in Arham’s ability to lead UMK towards significant academic development and innovation. With his extensive background in institutional leadership and organisational administration, he is expected to nurture top talents in the country, focusing particularly on entrepreneurship.

Arham holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), obtained in 1998 and 1999, respectively. He furthered his studies in the United Kingdom, earning a Doctor of Philosophy in Construction Management from Loughborough University in 2003.

He commenced his career as a lecturer at UTM in 1999. In 2010, he advanced to the position of deputy di
rector (Innovation) at the UTM Innovation and Commercialisation Centre, serving until 2014. He was then seconded to the Department of Higher Education, where he led the Industrial Relations Division for five years. In 2019, he was appointed as the deputy vice-chancellor (Research and Innovation) at UMK.

The MOHE also extended its appreciation to Razli for his dedicated leadership at UMK since March 1, 2022, acknowledging his contributions to the institution.