EKSPEN 2026 EXPANDS CAREER ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS

NIBONG TEBAL, 10 June 2026 - The Career & Education Expo (EKSPEN) 2026, held today at the Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), served as a strategic platform to strengthen connections between students and industry while supporting efforts to enhance the employability of university graduates.

The programme, which is the flagship subprogramme under the Engineering Career Expo 2026 (E2K26), was officiated by the Director of the Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Engineering Campus, USM, Professor Ir. Dr. Mariatti Jaafar @ Mustapha.

In her officiating address, she said that EKSPEN 2026 plays an important role in preparing students for an increasingly challenging and competitive job market, while also recognising the commitment and efforts of the secretariat in successfully organising a programme that brings significant benefits to the campus community.

According to her, the carefully curated programme content, supported by strong industry networks, aligns with the campus's aspiration to ensure that graduate employability remains at the highest level.

"Our aspiration is for the knowledge and experiences gained throughout students' time on campus to translate into quality career opportunities upon graduation," she said.

She also emphasised that the success of the programme was the result of close collaboration among various stakeholders who overcame numerous challenges throughout the planning and implementation process.

She added that students' involvement in organising a large-scale programme such as EKSPEN 2026 provides significant added value in terms of leadership development, resilience and teamwork.

Meanwhile, Talentbank Chief Executive Officer, Ben Ho, congratulated USM on its outstanding achievement at the Talentbank Graduate Employability Award 2026.

He noted that based on assessments conducted entirely by employers nationwide, USM ranked among the top three universities in Malaysia for graduate employability.

"USM also received the Talentbank 6-Star Employer Choice recognition, the highest level of employer confidence, across 27 fields of study. Furthermore, in seven disciplines, USM emerged as the champion among public universities in Malaysia," he said.

According to him, these achievements reflect the high level of industry trust in the quality of USM graduates, particularly in engineering, with three of the seven champion fields being engineering-related disciplines.

A total of 15 leading employers in the country participated in EKSPEN 2026, providing students with opportunities to explore career prospects, build professional networks and gain first-hand exposure to industry expectations and requirements.

Text: Siti Faizah Abd Halim/Photo: Muhammad Taufik Abdul Rahman