The main IIUM Campus is nestled in a valley in the rustic district of Gombak, a suburb of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. This Garden of Knowledge and Virtue covers 700 acres, with elegant Islamic-style buildings surrounded by green-forested limestone hills, attracts avid photographers from among both locals and tourists.
This campus houses all the facilities that a modern community needs, including a mosque that can accommodate thousands, state-of-the-art sports complexes with Olympic-size swimming pools, a fully equipped library, a 24-hour medical clinic, a child-minding centre, banks, post offices, restaurants, bookshops and grocery stores. A fibre-optic backbone runs through the entire campus, facilitating instant communication from one corner of the campus to another.
Accessibility to Kuala Lumpur from the campus is made easy not only by efficient bus and taxi services, but also by a light rail station close to the campus.
About 250 kilometres of Kuala Lumpur is the Kuantan Campus, 1,000 acres of a virtual garden nestled within a valley surrounded by thick forest. This is where the Medical-Science, Pharmacy, Allied Health Sciences, Nursing and Dentistry faculties are located.
Kuantan is the capital city of Pahang, the greenest and geographically the largest state in peninsular Malaysia. Famous for its clean white beaches, Kuantan is one of the main communities on the Malaysian East Coast and a favourite destination of both foreign and local tourists.
This campus is as well-equipped as the Kuala Lumpur campus. The physical facilities feature architectural themes that are generally similar to those of the Kuala Lumpur campus, but there are distinguishing motifs that imbue the Kuantan campus with a character that makes it distinctive and yet remain connected to the IIUM order.
IIUM aims to become a leading international centre of educational excellence which seeks to restore the dynamic and progressive role of the Muslim Ummah in all branches of knowledge and intellectual discourse.
The summary of the Mission should read as follows:
The University library system consists of five libraries at each of the University’s five campuses: the Main Library at the Gombak campus, two Medical libraries in the Kuantan campus (Indera Mahkota and Jalan Hospital branches), the ISTAC Library at Damansara, the IIBF Library at Jalan Duta and the Centre for Foundation Studies (CENFOS) Library at Petaling Jaya and Nilai.
With a total collection of over 550,000 volumes of monographs, 1,600 serial titles on subscription, 24,000 volumes of bound serials, 60,000 units of audio-visual media, and 29,000 microforms, the library also subscribes to a number of online databases and electronic journals and e-books, using the Library of Congress List of Subject Headings and the Library of Congress Classification Scheme to organize its collections.
Library operations are computerized using an integrated library automation system. The system allows for speedy and convenient access to the library’s catalogue both from within the library and remotely through the Internet. Its ‘broadcast’ search facility provides direct access and simultaneous searches to a selection of other libraries’ online catalogues.
The Main Library building in Gombak provides a spacious and conducive study environment with 40 carrel rooms, 15 research rooms, 8 discussion rooms, 4 audio-visual viewing rooms, an auditorium, and a multi-purpose room with a seating capacity for over 2,000 users. In addition, the Library also has 3 computer labs as well as computer and internet facilities for Library users.
To introduce and familiarize new users to the available resources, services and facilities, training programmes are conducted by the Library to enhance information-seeking skills to facilitate maximum use of in-house facilities and external information resources by learning efficient and effective methods in accessing information.
In-line with the Library’s emphasis on customer oriented services, faculty and subject liaison teams have been established to cater for the information needs of clients at the various Kulliyyahs in the University.
IIUM campuses are virtual International food fairs. At the Kuala Lumpur campus alone, there are more than 10 different places where you can snack or dine, with many choices of ambience and cuisines.
You can take away fast food, lounge at the casual food courts or dine in classy restaurants serving Asian, Middle Eastern or Western dishes. In the Central Complex, there are food kiosks, cafes, bakeries and restaurants that offer choices to suit every palate and temperament.
Each residential college or mahallah has its own cafeteria, and there are food courts at the AIKOL, KAED and KENMS faculties.
IIUM is committed to providing continuous internet services to all its campuses and facilities by providing broadband and wifi access to all its students and staff members. IIUM is also continuously expanding its internet services and facilities to meet connectivity demands through its various upgrading projects.
IIUM also has various online services, such as the myIIUM Student Portal, in which IIUM students can check and organize their personal schedules and information in a centralized online database. IIUM also has an e-learning and online community portal, whereby students can organize and coordinate their schedules, announcements and activities.
IIUM provides a wide variety of sports and recreational facilities and services across its campuses, in order to encourage productive and constructive leisure activities amongst its students. This is to realize the vision to produce students with holistic personalities, as well as promote an active and healthy lifestyle amongst the IIUM community.
To achieve this, IIUM has set up teams and clubs for a wide variety of activities, such as adventuring, cycling, Silat, Aikido, Karate, Taekwondo, and many others. IIUM also conducts various workshops, such as Clinics, Awareness Campaigns and Carnivals to promote encourage its students and residents to live healthier lives.
The Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Mosque is situated at the centre of Gombak Campus, surrounded by greenery and flora. Its strategic location signifies the vital role of spiritual elements as the main foundation in human life and knowledge. The location of the mosque and covered pathways to it make it easy for the students and staff of the University to attend the prayers and other function(s) at the mosque.
The Mosque’s main prayer hall has a maximum capacity of 9000 people, with female prayer halls on the 2nd and 3rd levels of the Mosque. The Mosque also organizes lectures, seminars and classes on concepts such as marriage and janazah, Tilawah and Tahfiz Al-Qur’an, as well as activities such as Qiyamullail and Tarbiyyah and training for students.
The Azman Hashim Complex is a RM7 million multipurpose hall set up to serve the needs of IIUM students, and to be a revenue source for the IIUM Endowment Fund.
Within the Complex, students can find all the modern conveniences for living their daily lives, such as three banks (Bank Islam, Bank Muamalat and AmIslamic Bank), a bookstore, an exclusive café and a multipurpose hall house. The income from these facilities will fund the scholarships for 15 deserving IIUM students, covering registration, tuition, hostel fees as well as a monthly stipend allowance.
The students’ residential colleges in IIUM are also known as Mahallah, which is Arabic for ‘neighbourhood’. IIUM’s mahallahs are self-contained not only with services but also activities, and are named after the leading companions of the Prophet s.a.w and the female Mujahidah and Syuhada.
Since the early years of its establishment, IIUM has practiced 100% accommodation for its full time undergraduate students. For postgraduate students, accommodation is provided based on availability of rooms. Priority is given to the non-Malaysian students, especially students from the newest intake.
Currently, IIUM has 16 mahallahs that accommodate about 14,000 students from various countries and cultures. Each mahallah is lead by a Principal and assisted by administrative staff and fellows. The staff concentrates on the administrative and maintenance needs of the mahallah, while the fellows focus on students’ matters and activities.
Since the foundation of the university in 1983, IIUM has been seriously striving towards producing fully functioning insan who will serve as agent of change. Efforts to market the students have been strategised to ensure that the trained workforces are accordingly placed in related places.
The Alumni Relations Section (ARS) was established in 1999 as a university’s agency under the purview of Admissions and Records Division. It was run by a Deputy Dean, an Assistant Director and two support staff members. Presently, it is under the administration of Alumni and Career Services Division, run by a Director, a Deputy Director, a Senior Assistant Director, a Assistant Director and three support staffs.
