Photos Mohd Iqbal Roslan
SINTOK, 5 February 2026: Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) welcomed a delegation from the Fakultas Ekonomi, Ilmu Sosial dan Humaniora (FEISHum), Universitas Aisyiyah Yogyakarta (UNISA) for a courtesy visit and strategic discussion on academic collaboration on 28 January.
The meeting was held at the U-Assist Meeting Room, UUM, and was chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd. Khairie Ahmad, Dean of the School of Multimedia Technology and Communication (SMMTC). The UNISA delegation was led by Dr. Annisa Warastri, Dean of FEISHum.
In his welcoming remarks, Dr. Mohd. Khairie Ahmad emphasised UUM’s openness to strengthening partnerships with Indonesian higher education institutions.
“UUM always welcomes new partners from Indonesia for meaningful and sustainable collaboration. We believe it is important to start with realistic and impactful programmes, particularly student exchange initiatives supported by proper course mapping to enable credit transfer for UNISA students” he said.
Both institutions agreed that student exchange and credit transfer mobility should be prioritised as the initial phase of collaboration. Discussions focused on course mapping in selected disciplines, including Psychology, Management, and Public Administration, to identify courses that could be recognised for credit transfer. UNISA will share relevant course lists and course synopses, while UUM, through the Centre for International Affairs and Cooperation (CIAC), will facilitate the academic exchange agreement process.
The meeting also explored opportunities to organise short-term mobility programmes, with UUM schools encouraged to offer suitable short courses for UNISA students. In addition, the implementation of visiting lecturer programmes was discussed as a practical initiative to enhance academic exchange and international exposure for both institutions.
Further areas of collaboration highlighted during the discussion included joint publications and matching grant opportunities, curriculum review support for UNISA, participation in international student competitions, as well as cooperation in community engagement (pengabdian masyarakat) initiatives.
The meeting concluded with a mutual agreement to proceed with the exchange of a Letter of Intent (LoI) as an initial step towards formalising the partnership. Both UUM and UNISA expressed confidence that the collaboration would expand progressively, beginning with student mobility and extending to wider academic and research cooperation.
The meeting was also attended by several Deans and school representatives including Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamad Sukeri Khalid, Dean of the School of Government (SOG); Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shuhymee Ahmad, Dean of the School of Business Management (SBM); Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Norliza Katuk, Deputy Director of the Centre for International Affairs and Cooperation (CIAC); Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arifatul Husna Mohd Ariff, Deputy Dean (Academic and International) of the Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy (TISSA); Dr. Teoh Ai Hua, Chair of the Social Work Programme, School of Applied Psychology, Social Work and Policy (SAPSP); and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Azahar Kasim, CIAC Manager for South East Asia. The session was also attended by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Romlah Ramli, Deputy Dean (Academic & International), and Dr. Mohd. Zuwairi Mat Saad, Deputy Dean (Student Affairs & Alumni), representing the School of Multimedia Technology and Communication (SMMTC). – Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Norliza Katuk
