KUALA LUMPUR: University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), represented by Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik and its vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Hamdi, has secured collaboration opportunities with two top universities in the world, Peking University and Tsinghua University during a recent visit to Beijing, China.
“As a top 30 QS-ranked university, Peking University has expressed great interest in learning how Malaysian education’s emphasis on values leads to the promotion of peace, stability and harmony in Malaysia’s diverse society,” read a statement issued by UKM’s corporate communications centre.
Peking University chairman Qiu Shuiping was on hand to welcome the Malaysian delegation and expressed the university’s interest in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UKM, which would cover areas such as the rapidly increasing knowledge and cultural exchange opportunities, as well as joint research collaboration.
Meanwhile, this year’s top QS-ranked university in China, Tsinghua University also indicated great interest in collaborations with UKM towards promoting a more robust relationship between Malaysia and China.
Together with Tsinghua University’s Vice President and Provost Prof Yang Bin, the Malaysian delegation explored options for joint programmes between the two universities.
“Tsinghua University is also keen to establish dual/joint degrees and module-sharing arrangements.
“Tsinghua University also agreed with Maszlee and Prof Dr Mohd Hamdi on the importance of establishing organic relationships between university staff and students, and signalled their commitment to greater staff and
student mobility.
“With these efforts, Malaysia will be able to accelerate our push to future-proof Malaysian students and lead future collaborative efforts between Malaysia and China, especially under the framework of the era-defining Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),” said the spokesman, adding that the collaborations were made possible due to the working visit to Bejing led by the minister.
The visit was organised by Education Malaysia Beijing and the Embassy of Malaysia in China.