SINTOK: The visit of the delegation from Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) to Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) yesterday opened the door to collaboration opportunities between the two universities aimed at their respective areas of thrust.
The UTeM delegation led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ts. Dr. Massila Kamalrudin was warmly welcomed by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Haim Hilman Abdullah and the university management committee at Welcome Centre.
During the brainstorming session in the Senate Room, Haim Hilman presented the background of the university including the vision, mission, and motto including achievements attained by the university at the national and international level.
He said that the presence of the UTeM delegation will open up opportunities for both parties to establish cooperation according to their respective areas of thrust or expertise, and further benefiting both institutions, UUM and UTeM.
Meanwhile, Massila said, her delegation would like to see opportunities for cooperation between UTeM and UUM, including in the ‘internship’ programme and also in the supervision of UTeM international students at the master’s and doctor of philosophy levels.
According to her, the delegation came to UUM not to compete but to mutually appreciate each other’s advantages, in fact, she even humbly considered UTeM as a ‘little sister’ to UUM which is more ‘senior’ in higher education.
“With UTeM’s technical expertise, we wish to provide UUM with this chance so that we may find out how these two universities might complement one another and work together.
As an example, she said, “technology services or golf system management that may be deployed at the UUM National Golf Academy (AGNUUM) without UUM needing to employ external resources, instead we operate through this collaboration.”
Additionally, according to Massila, the visit to the UUM International School (UUMIS) will be used as the benchmark to respond to the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Melaka’s recommendation to establish an international school in Melaka to meet the capacity needs of investors in the state as well as expatriates at UTeM.
She also requested the relevant parties involved in the discussion to expedite the necessary cooperation so that success can be achieved in the near future, and she hopes that this visit is only the beginning and not the conclusion.
At the same session, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), Prof. Dr. Shahimi Mohtar; Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni), Prof. Dr. Ahmad Martadha Mohamed; Director of RIMC, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nor Idayu Mahat representing the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) and Chief Financial Officer of UMHSB, Mohamad Rafi Khamis made presentations according to their respective fields.
Prior to that, the UTeM delegation was shown around the facilities at AGNUUM and UUMIS since the Vice-Chancellor of UTeM was interested in exploring potential collaboration with UUM.
