KUCHING: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) recently took an internationalisation strategy where a group of academic staff visited Turkey to secure bilateral ties with major universities in Ankara, Istanbul and Bursa.
Led by deputy vice chancellor (Academic and Internationalisation) professor Dr Fatimah Abang, the nine day trip has open the door to the possibility of having Turkish students and staff studying or working at Unimas.
The trip, which coincided with the TUYAP International Education Fair in Bursa (Turkeys fourth largest city), gave Unimas the opportunity to promote itself as an international destination for quality education and a unique cultural experience to visitors of the fair.
According to a press release yesterday, the delegates also met the Ambassador of Malaysia to Turkey where they gained an insight of Turkey and its political environment as well as given tips on the best approach to promote education in Turkey.
The ambassador, in particular, was very positive about the education fair which he saw as an opportunity to introduce Malaysia as an alternative academic and scholar destination.
Unimas first visited Gazi University in Ankara which has an annual enrolment of 60,000 students.
Officials from the university were briefed on Unimas’ internationalisation strategies and its capacity to become an internationally renowned research university in the near future.
Impressed by the presentation from Unimas, Gazi University has agreed to send students for an exchange programme and would establish research collaborations between their researchers and Unimas’.
An MoU between the two universities would be signed within this year.Moving to Marmara University in Istanbul, the delegates held a discussion with the Rector and Vice Rectors of the university on possibilities of exchanging academic staff and students.
Marmara University offers the largest number of foreign language courses compared to other universities in Turkey.
At Uludag University in Bursa, a campus tour was promptly organised, allowing the delegates to view the facilities and faculties available in the campus ground. Uludag University appeared to be an eager partner as they had put forward their intention to start the exchange programme with Unimas as soon as possible.
In Ankara, the delegates were doubly fortunate to be given the opportunity to have an audience with the Turkish Parliament in Ankara where they were selected by the MP of Aydin to present Unimas’ internationalisation strategies to the four mayors of the major cities in Turkey.
Another toss to Unimas internationalisation effort came from the Higher Education Council of Turkey, an agency similar to the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education, who also extended their hospitality to the delegates.
A brief meeting, with its deputy president in attendance, was accomplished and Prof Dr Fatimah explained the advantages of studying in Unimas to the agency’s officials. Impressed by the strategies adopted by the university, they have agreed in principle to endorse MoUs that would be signed between Unimas and Turkish universities to give credentials to the effort.