Our Research Champion: Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Tajudin Md Ninggal

Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Tajudin Md Ninggal is a licensed Professional Counsellor. He was professionally trained in counselling psychology in the United States, and his particular areas of interest include Individual and Group Counselling, Psychological Testing and Assessment, Training and Supervision, School, College and University Counselling, Counselling Theories, Career Counselling and Talent Management, Multicultural Counselling, Stress Management, and Research and Development in Psychometric Innovation.

He has over 31 years of experience as an academic in world-class universities with 20 years of experience in top management. Prof Tajudin was recently appointed a member of OUM’s Board of Governors.

He wrote and founded the first Malaysian online psychological system, which comprises TAJMA Personality Plus and TAJMA Career Interest Plus. He is also the founder of Al-Ghazalian Psycho-Spiritual Counselling and has 20 intellectual properties registered under his name. Various versions and editions of his system have been copyrighted, including TAJMA Personality Profile in 2003 and 2018, TAJMA Career Interest Profile in 2003, TAJMA Stress Profile in 2003, Johor State Human Capital Online Profiling System in 2009, Terengganu Students Online Tracer System for the Terengganu State Government in 2007, University Online Undergraduate Employability Tracer Study System for the Ministry of Higher Education in 2006, and several versions of TAJMA Personality Certification Module in 2018.

At OUM, he is a professor of counselling psychology, and programme director for the Master of Psychology and PhD (Arts) programmes.

Prof Tajudin has led various projects with multiple funding sources, including government-awarded grants. He currently has 31 research activities and grants, including grants from the Trans-Disciplinary Research Grant Scheme, Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT), and Ministry of Higher Education. He is currently developing a system to assess the relationship between learners’ personality traits and e-learning skills towards lifelong learning.

One of his most significant contributions in higher education is a project that he led for developing the first web-based tracer system for university graduates’ employability in Malaysia. 25 public universities and over 350 private colleges and universities in Malaysia have adopted this system over the last 15 years.

Prof Tajudin has also had the opportunity to contribute to several significant projects with achievements toward developing higher education research and development. He developed web-based leadership profiling expert systems for AKEPT (ALPS 1.0 and 2.0), the first Malaysian web-based psychological profiling system (TAJMA Psychometric Plus, or TP+), the first web-based student profiling system in Terengganu, and the University Students Leadership Training Module (also well-known as Modul Latihan Kepimpinan Mahasiswa under Majlis Kepimpinan dan Latihan Universiti-Universiti Malaysia, or MAKLUM).

Prof Tajudin is also no stranger to conferences and seminars, and has spoken extensively as a guest and keynote speaker. This year, he spoke at the 2021 International Conference on Education, 2021 Iran International Conference, Indonesia Lecture Series at Universitas Sumatera Utara, the 22nd Malaysian Counselling National Seminar, and Heart and Laughter Talk Series.

He served as a member of the Malaysian Board of Counsellors and Malaysian Counselling Advisory Council. He has also been a life member, secretary, and deputy president of the Malaysian Counselling Association, and is the founding member and deputy president of the Malaysian Psychometric Association. In addition, he is president of the Golden Key International Honour Society Malaysia, chairman of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Expert Panel in Counselling Psychology, and chairman of the Bureau on Drug Education and Prevention Programmes in Malaysian Public Universities (National Association on Drug Prevention).

He has published actively in multiple high-quality outlets, having produced 19 indexed publications in ISI, Scopus and MyCite and written 15 books and modules. Beyond the academic circle, he provides integrative counselling, coaching, and psychological consulting to government agencies, corporate agencies, colleges and universities, professional associations, expatriates, non-governmental organisations, and the general public.

He is currently the Visiting Psychological Consultant with the Twin-Towers Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur.

By Aisyah Nik Yahya, Centre for Research and Innovation