BANDUNG, 15 October 2015 – The Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Professor Dato' Dr. Omar Osman recently met the Rector of Institut Teknologi Bandung (Bandung Institute of Technology/ITB) Indonesia, Profesor Kadarsah Suryadi to strengthen existing ties between the two institutions.

The Vice-Chancellor of USM personally conveyed his appreciation to ITB for their assistance in ensuring the success of the International Conference on Local Knowledge, to be held for the first time at the international level, more so in Indonesia.

"The cooperation and collaboration between these two institutions would be increased in the future, by looking more closely at the details of this visit," he said.

From this visit also, Omar hoped that the collaboration with ITB would expand the USM network in Indonesia and the region through the mutual sharing of expertise, and the success in launching the Asian Local Knowledge Network (ALKN) would be one of them.

Meanwhile, the ITB Rector said, the cooperation between USM and ITB is a good indicator in the strengthening of the partnership between two institutions from countries within the region.

"Thank you to USM in welcoming ITB to participate together in this conference, and also the opportunity to ALKN which is a relevant network in pursuing the preservation of local knowledge," he said further.

Others who were present during the courtesy visit were the Vice-Rector (Academics and Student Affairs) ITB, Professor Ir. Bermawi Priyatna Iskandar, Vice-Rector (Communication, Partnership and Alumni) Dr Miming Miharja, Head of USM Local Knowledge Team Professor Badaruddin Mohamed, Chairperson of ICLK 2015 Associate Professor Dr. Salasiah Che Lah, Coordinator for ALKN Dr. Norizan Esa and the top management staff of ITB.

The discussion also focused on the efforts to establish a strong network for cooperation in the areas of academics, research and innovation, student mobility and the exchange in expertise between both institutions.