Translated by Mahaliza Mahadhir

Pictures by CIAC

UUM ONLINE: In a bid to expand the network of cooperation with the best universities in Indonesia, the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Centre for International Affairs and Cooperation (CIAC) held virtual discussions with Education Malaysia Indonesia (EMI), the Embassy of Malaysia in Jakarta, recently.

The session was led by the Director of CIAC, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arpah Abu Bakar with EMI Education Advisor, Mr Mohd Mubarak Shamsuddin as well as EMI Education Attaché, Mr Zulfadhli Hamzah.

During the meeting, Arpah sought the help of EMI to assist UUM in expanding its network with the best universities in Indonesia in order to increase UUM's visibility in the country while also succeeding in its internationalisation agenda.

EMI expressed its enthusiasm to collaborate with UUM to realise the aspirations, and even suggested that UUM participate in promotional activities organized by EMI.

This is done so that efforts to strengthen the network in the country can be carried out more effectively, with the strong support of the Embassy.

Among the regions proposed for exploration by UUM are the Kalimantan and Sulawesi regions, which have significant potential and should be pioneered, particularly in terms of attracting local students to UUM.

In addition, EMI congratulated UUM on its successful collaboration with the Republic of Indonesia's Ministry of Religion (KEMENAG).

EMI will contribute as much as possible to the realisation of the UUM-KEMENAG project because it will serve as a model for KEMENAG's collaboration with other Malaysian public universities.

EMI was also pleased to inform the meeting about the statistics of Indonesian students in Malaysia, with the largest number studying at UUM.

The discussion also centred on the well-being of Indonesian students in Malaysia, particularly the issue of accommodation.

Among those in the discussion were CIAC Deputy Director, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asmat Nizam Abdul Mutalib; Manager of the Student Accommodation Centre (SAC), Mr Zor Mohd Noor and EMI and UUM senior officials.