How to be a Professor?

General prodecures for promotion of local professors: (Comment given by PROF DR JAMAL H. HASHIM, a professor at a local university) (TheStar, pg 32, 24th November 2005)

1. A lecturer has to apply for the post of associate professor or professor.
2. He has to list all his academic and professional qualifications as well as his achievements in teaching, research, consultancy and administration.
3. His application will go through several stages of internal and external screenings.
4. His greatest hurdle is when his curriculum vitae is reviewed by local and foreign reviewers, and his publications by local and foreign assessors. These are professors at established local and foreign universities in the candidate’s field of expertise. (So, no matter how much a university wants to award a professorship, it normally does not do so without sanction from independent external reviewers and assessors.)
5. The final hurdle is a gruelling interview by a panel made up of internal and external members to review his qualifications, excellence and comments from external reviewers and assessors.

This practice may vary from one university to the next.