USM, PENANG, 6 September 2016 - Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) continues to expand its international collaborative efforts when its School of Educational Studies hosted the USM-FAU Conference 2016 with Friedrich-Alexander Universitat (FAU), Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany.

The conference was one of the joint activities outlined in a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed in 2014 between both parties.

The Dean, School of Educational Studies, Professor Dr. Hairul Nizam Ismail in his welcoming remarks said that, the main objective of the conference is to highlight the diverse approaches in diversity education and how it can be integrated into the different education systems.

The Chairperson of USM-FAU Conference 2016, Dr. Salmiza Saleh meanwhile said that, the conference provides the opportunity for young researchers and also students to participate in discussions, which could become inputs for involvement in future conferences.

She further added that, lecturers from FAU would be also be attending this conference to present papers on various topics, with regard to providing education to diverse groups within different contexts.

The Project Leader from FAU, Professor Dr. Anatoli Rakhkochkine in his opening remarks mentioned on how diverse education can lead to intercultural and interreligious dialogues, which in turn could promote a better understanding among the diverse community groups, at the local as well as the international level.

The conference, with fundings provided by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), would be held from 6-8 September 2016 at the Dewan Bankuet, Canselori 2, USM where there would be 2 keynote speeches and more than 40 papers presented, in addition to a forum and a workshop.

Also present were the Deputy Dean (Academic, Student Affairs and Alumni), Associate Professor Dr. Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail; Deputy Dean (Research, Postgraduate and Network), Professor Dr. Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan Abdullah; former Dean, Professor Dato’ Dr. Abdul Rashid Mohamed, participants, academic staff and students, and invited guests.

Text: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin / Photo: Ebrahim Abdul Manan