On 20 January 2026, Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and FASSI Asia Pacific formally launched an off-campus Teaching Factory at FASSI’s manufacturing facility in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. The initiative places students directly within a live industrial environment, integrating academic learning with day-to-day production activities.
Unlike traditional training models that rely on simulations or controlled laboratory settings, the UniKL–FASSI Teaching Factory is embedded in an operating production plant. Students are exposed to real workflows, quality standards, and industrial processes, while working alongside engineers and technicians engaged in commercial manufacturing for regional and international markets.
Mr. Michele Dossi, Y.B. Datuk Hajah Rubiah, and H.E. Raffaele Langella Celebrating The Opening Of The Teaching Factory
For FASSI Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of the Italian FASSI Group, a worldwide player specializing in truck mounted cranes. the Teaching Factory reflects a long-term commitment to Malaysia’s industrial ecosystem. From its establishment in the country, the company has focused on developing sustainable collaboration with the local supply chain, investing in skills development and knowledge transfer rather than short-term workforce solutions. The partnership with UniKL extends this approach by creating a structured platform where industry and academia can collaborate continuously.
For UniKL, this is its first Teaching Factory located entirely off-campus. The model represents a shift from preparing students for industry to educating them within industry, allowing academic programmes to align more closely with real operational requirements and professional standards.
The Guests of Honour present at the launch (from left to right): Prof. Ir. Dr. Azman Senin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Universiti Kuala Lumpur; Yang Bahagia Emeritus Prof. Dr. Kamaruddin bin Mohd Said, Board of Directors, Universiti Kuala Lumpur; Mr Giovanni Fassi, President of Fassi Group; His Excellency Raffaele Langella, Ambassador of Italy to Malaysia; Yang Berhormat Datuk Hajah Rubiah Haji Wang, Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW); Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Abdul Kahar bin Abdullah, Deputy Secretary-General (Policy), Ministry of Rural and Regional Development; Mr Michele Dossi, CEO of Fassi Asia Pacific and President of Italcham Malaysia; Yang Berbahagia Encik Zahari bin Aziz, Deputy Director-General of MARA; Yang Berbahagia Encik Yahaya bin Sani, Group Chief Executive Officer, MARA Corporation Sdn Bhd
The launch ceremony was attended by representatives from government, academia, and industry, reflecting the shared interest in strengthening technical and vocational education through closer industry participation. More importantly, the initiative is designed to evolve over time, serving as a practical model for deeper academia–industry collaboration in Malaysia and beyond.
In this joint interview, Prof. Ir. Dr. Azman Senin, President & CEO of Universiti Kuala Lumpur, and Mr. Michele Dossi, CEO of FASSI Asia Pacific and President of ITALCHAM Malaysia, discuss the rationale behind the Teaching Factory, the challenges of integrating education into a live production environment, and the potential of this model to contribute to skills development, innovation, and bilateral industrial cooperation.
Opening Remarks by Mr Michele Dossi
Opening Remarks by Y.B. Encik Zahari bin Aziz
Industry Motivation
1. As an Italian manufacturing company with long-term operations in Malaysia, what motivated FASSI Asia Pacific to collaborate with UniKL on a fully integrated, off-campus Teaching Factory rather than a more conventional internship or training programme?
Michele: The motivation behind the UniKL-FASSI Teaching Factory was to establish a platform for technical knowledge exchange, effectively bridging the gap between academia and industry. By moving beyond traditional training, we are integrating industry-led education directly into the curriculum. This allows students to gain genuine, hands-on experience and develop practical skills within a real-world industrial environment, ensuring they are fully prepared for the complexities of modern manufacturing.
Letter of Intent Signing Ceremony between Prof. Ir. Dr. Azman Senin & Mr Michele Dossi.
Signing of Officiating Plaque by Y.B. Datuk Hajah Rubiah Haji Wang & H.E. Raffaele Langella
From Campus to Factory
2. This is UniKL’s first Teaching Factory located entirely within an operating industrial facility. What were the main academic and organisational challenges in moving teaching and learning onto a live production floor, and how does this environment change the way students are prepared for professional careers?
Azman: Moving teaching and learning onto a live production floor presented significant academic and organisational challenges for UniKL, particularly in aligning academic curricula, learning outcomes, and assessment methods with real industrial workflows, production schedules, and quality requirements while ensuring that educational activities did not disrupt ongoing manufacturing operations. In addition, strict safety regulations, standard operating procedures, and regulatory compliance required students to be thoroughly prepared to function in a high-risk industrial environment, supported by close coordination between academic staff and industry personnel to balance educational objectives with operational priorities.
At the same time, this live industrial setting fundamentally reshapes student preparation for professional careers by providing direct exposure to real machines, real products, and authentic production processes, enabling students to apply theoretical knowledge in practical contexts. Equally important, immersion in an active factory environment develops professional attitudes, workplace discipline, teamwork, and communication skills, ensuring that graduates are not only technically competent but also work-ready and well-prepared for a smooth transition into industry.
Machinery Demonstration by UniKL Students
Group Photo of UniKL Students with the Guests of Honour
Learning Within Real Production
3. FASSI chose to integrate students directly into daily production activities and standard operating procedures. From an industry perspective, what value does this approach bring compared to simulated training environments, and how are production quality and operational continuity maintained?
Michele: The Teaching Factory model delivers value that simulation cannot replicate. We focus on two core pillars: maintaining absolute quality conformity and fostering genuine student growth.
While theory provides a foundation, real-world growth only happens when a student is responsible for a tangible outcome. To ensure operational continuity, we treat quality control as a constant learning loop. This creates a cycle where any technical issue becomes a real-time problem solving lesson, ensuring that as the factory produces quality components, it also produces highly skilled, industry-ready talent.
Crane Assembly Process Demonstration
Mr Muhammad Nizam Ibrahim, Technical staff at Fassi Asia Pacific, explaining how to use the jig and fixture in the welding process
Academic Rigor and Industrial Standards
4. With students contributing to commercial manufacturing activities, how has UniKL adapted its academic framework and assessment methods to ensure educational rigor while meeting FASSI’s industrial quality and compliance requirements?
Azman: To support student involvement in commercial manufacturing activities, UniKL has adapted its academic framework by formally integrating the Teaching Factory into the Welding Practice subject for Semester 4 students at UniKL Malaysia France Institute (UniKL MFI), embedding industry-aligned competencies, standard operating procedures, and quality standards directly into the course learning outcomes and teaching plans.
Assessment methods were redesigned from conventional classroom-based evaluations to competency-based and performance-oriented approaches consistent with Teaching Factory principles, including supervised execution of real welding tasks, practical skill verification, reflective learning logs, and continuous assessment jointly conducted by academic staff and FASSI industry supervisors. These assessments are aligned with academic rubrics while incorporating FASSI’s quality, safety, and compliance requirements, ensuring that student work meets professional manufacturing standards without compromising academic rigor. Through this integrated Teaching Factory framework, UniKL ensures educational quality while enabling students to contribute meaningfully to real industrial production.
Teaching Factory Demonstration by students of UnikL with Y.B. Datuk Hajah Rubiah Haji Wang
FASSI Truck-mounted Crane Demonstration
Addressing the Skills Gap
5. From both an educational and employer standpoint, which technical or workplace competencies are most often missing in graduates entering the manufacturing sector today, and how does the Teaching Factory model help address these gaps?
Azman: From educational perspectives, many graduates entering the manufacturing sector today lack sufficient hands-on technical competence, practical problem-solving ability, and familiarity with real industrial systems, despite having strong theoretical knowledge. Common gaps include limited experience with operating advanced machinery, interpreting technical drawings in production contexts, applying quality control procedures, and adhering consistently to safety and standard operating practices.
In addition, employers often highlight weaknesses in workplace competencies such as communication, teamwork, time management, and professional discipline, which are difficult to fully develop in traditional classroom settings. The Teaching Factory model helps address these gaps by immersing students in real production environments where they are required to apply technical knowledge under actual industrial conditions, collaborate with experienced practitioners, meet performance and quality expectations, and adapt to workplace culture. Through continuous exposure to authentic manufacturing processes and professional standards, students develop both technical proficiency and workplace readiness, enabling a smoother and more effective transition into industry.
Teaching Factory Showcase and Demonstration
Innovation and Regional Relevance
6. FASSI deals with various customisations for the Malaysian market. How does this variety in the production mix enhance a student’s ability to understand the intersection of global manufacturing standards and local market needs?
Michele: FASSI’s production line serves as a live case study in a market-driven engineering. Students don’t just experience a standard assembly, they will have the opportunity to work with various engineering solutions used to customise our cranes for the Malaysian market’s unique purposes.
This exposure is critical, as it teaches students that manufacturing is not just about following a blueprint, but about adapting global technology to solve local challenges. It bridges the gap between theoretical ‘global standards’ and the practical reality of local utility, creating a more versatile and innovative mindset among the students.
Teaching Factory Showcase and Demonstration
Scaling and Replicability
7. Looking ahead, does UniKL see potential to extend this Teaching Factory approach to other disciplines or emerging technologies, such as automation, robotics, or advanced manufacturing, either with FASSI or with other industry partners?
Azman: UniKL sees significant potential to extend the Teaching Factory model to other disciplines and emerging technologies, including automation, robotics, and advanced manufacturing, either in collaboration with FASSI or with additional industry partners. The success of the current Welding Practice integration demonstrates that students benefit greatly from hands-on exposure in real industrial environments, and this approach can be adapted to other engineering and technical fields where practical, industry-aligned training is critical. By partnering with companies that specialise in advanced manufacturing technologies, UniKL can provide students with access to state-of-the-art equipment, innovative processes, and industry-standard workflows, fostering both technical competence and workplace readiness. Expanding the Teaching Factory framework in this way would further strengthen UniKL’s commitment to bridging academic learning with professional practice, ensuring graduates are prepared for the evolving demands of Industry 4.0.
Group Photo of the Guests of Honour, UniKL Students, and VIPs in Front of the Fassi Asia Pacific Warehouse, the Venue of the Teaching Factory Initiative
Long-Term Collaboration and Bilateral Impact
8. How does this collaboration strengthen Italy–Malaysia industrial and economic ties in practical terms, and could the Teaching Factory model be replicated with other Italian companies operating in Malaysia through ITALCHAM?
Michele: Yes, this long-term collaboration is a definitive milestone in strengthening the industrial and economic bond between Italy and Malaysia. At FASSI, we view the Teaching Factory not merely as a corporate social responsibility project, but as a practical engine for technology transfer that embeds Italian engineering excellence into the local Malaysian talent pool.
By cultivating a workforce that is natively fluent in our high-quality standards and innovative processes, we are securing a sustainable future for Italian manufacturing in the region.
This model is absolutely replicable with the strategic support of ITALCHAM Malaysia, the Teaching Factory can serve as a scalable blueprint for other Italian enterprises to transform their operations into centres of educational and industrial synergy, ultimately creating a more integrated and competitive bilateral economic landscape.