By Saiful Bahri Kamaruddin
Pix Abd Ra’ai Osman

BANGI, 7 November 2014 – The National University of Malaysia (UKM) and Universitas Muslim Nusantara Al-Washliyah (UMNW) in North Sumatra are set to collaborate in the exchange of teaching staff and students as well as jointly organise workshops on teaching and learning.

Both universities signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to enable such cooperation here today.

Deputy Dean (Academic) Faculty of Education Associate Professor Dr Hamidah Yamat signed for UKM while UMNW Vice Rector III, Drs H Milhan represented his university at the brief signing ceremony.

The LoI is aimed at initiating joint mobility programmes for their students and lecturers, mutual visits, smart partnerships and jointly organising workshops and seminars.

Prof Madya Dr Maimonides Aqsha Lubis of the Faculty of Education, who started the ball rolling for cooperation between the two universities was present at the ceremony.

Dr. Maimonides explained that it was merely by chance that he met with some academics from UMNW not too long ago when attending a seminar in Medan, Indonesia.

The chance meeting led UKM and UMNW to examine the possibility of having formal co-operation between them.

Dr Hamidah, in her welcoming remarks expressed hope that the LoI would be a starting point for greater cooperation in the future expecting that more such LoIs to be signed.

She said the success of the LoI may pave the way for a more formal cooperation through a full Memorandum of Understanding between them.

Also present were Leni Apridawaty of UMNW and Ong Chan Ee, an executive at the International Relations Centre of UKM.