UGM continues to broaden cooperation with international partners. This time, UGM initiates a cooperation with Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) which is marked by the signing of Memorandum of Understanding by the leaders of the two universities on Thursday (21/12).
“UGM is a famous university and we are very glad to obtain an opportunity to come here and UGM has agreed to sign an MoU with us,” said Vice Chancellor of UMK, Prof. Dr. Mortaza bin Mohamed.
Mortaza said UMK is one of the youngest universities in Malaysia that was established in 2007. Despite its young age, the university has been mandated a big task to encourage the development of Kelantan which was previously one of the poorest regions in Malaysia.
Considering the big trust, the cooperation with the best university like UGM is one of the ways to advance the development of UMK to become a respected university, particularly on academic quality.
“Our university is established to increase the prosperity of Kelantan. Therefore, we are very glad to become a part of UGM and we deliver our biggest gratitude towards UGM which has shared their experience,” he added.
Mortaza mentioned three focus areas of UMK development, those are earth science, agriculture, and business. Mortaza hopes through this cooperation UMK can be developed to a higher level and the students can become qualified graduates who contribute to the development.
The cooperation obtained a positive response from Vice Rector of Research and Community Services UGM, drg. Ika Dewi Ana, M.Kes., Ph.D. who welcomed UMK’s visit to UGM. Ika said the cooperation is a good step for the advancement of UGM, too. Ika hopes the collaborative activities that will be conducted in the near future can give many benefits to the two parties.
“I hope we can build a good cooperation and provide many benefits for UGM as well as UMK in the future,” said Ika.
The Memorandum of Understanding includes collaborations in various activities, including academic exchange of students, lecturers, researchers, and staff, collaborative research, as well as exchange of scientific experts, publications, and academic information. In addition, the two institutions may hold series of collaborative events in the form of conference, seminar, or symposium.