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History of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)

The history of the establishment of UiTM began with the Dewan Latihan RIDA (Rural and Industrial Development Authority) Training Centre. Dato' Onn Ja'afar, founder and former president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), was its inspiration. The concept arose as a result of a study visit to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1951 to investigate its rural development programme. In June 1965, Dewan Latehan RIDA was renamed Maktab MARA, or MARA College. The name change also meant that the college no longer operated under RIDA and instead became the most important unit of the MARA Training Division.

MARA College was officially renamed Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM) on October 14, 1967. Its establishment came as a response to a crucial need in the country for trained manpower at professional and semi-professional levels, especially among bumiputras. The government and the United Nations collaborated to conduct a manpower survey in 1965, which revealed this shortage.

In August 1999, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, announced the change in name of ITM to Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). With such acknowledgement from the government, a major restructuring exercise was carried out to consolidate the university's resources for optimum productivity. UiTM aspires to be world-class in all its endeavors and forges ahead in a direction that is in tandem with the latest developments in the world. As UiTM moves forward, it remains focused on academic excellence, innovation, socio-economic goals, worldwide accreditation, globalization, and new technologies in order to contribute to industry and national development.