USM PENANG, 16 March 2026 – The Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE), through the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Facility (CTEF), successfully organised an international webinar recently via the Webex platform, drawing nearly 300 participants from across the globe.

Attendees included academics, policymakers, stakeholders, and postgraduate students from countries such as India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Indonesia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Germany, Bangladesh, Australia, Nigeria, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Iran, Jordan, Bahrain, and Iraq.

Together, they explored challenges, policy frameworks, and best practices in the implementation of Transnational Education (TNE) within the global higher education landscape.

Themed “Sharing Experiences in Transnational Education (TNE): An International Perspective,” the webinar was officiated by the Director-General of Higher Education, Profesor Datuk Dr. Azlinda Azman.

Opening remarks were delivered by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and International of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Profesor Dato’ Gs. Dr. Narimah Samat, while closing remarks were presented by the Undersecretary of the International Relations Division (IRD), MoHE, Datin Noorazah Omar.

The session was chaired by the Director of CTEF, Associate Professor Dr. Thien Lei Mee.

Among the distinguished speakers was Dr. (Mrs.) Pankaj Mittal from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), who highlighted the complexities of designing and implementing TNE curricula in India.

She emphasised the need to align global academic standards with regulatory requirements and local socio-cultural contexts to ensure sustainability.

Professor Ir. Dr. Khairul Salleh Mohamed Sahari of Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) emphasised the importance of strong national policy support, clear regulatory frameworks, and robust quality assurance mechanisms such as the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF).

He noted that these elements are critical to sustaining and enhancing the credibility of TNE in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Professor Stephen Boyle from Monash University Malaysia stressed the significance of maintaining equivalence in academic standards across campuses, fostering cross-border collaboration, and ensuring continuous quality monitoring to uphold the integrity of international TNE programmes.

The organisation of this webinar reflects Malaysia’s ongoing commitment to strengthening global higher education and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

The outcomes and key insights from the webinar will be used for policy recommendations by CTEF, which will be presented at the upcoming Commonwealth Conference of Education Ministers (CCEM) as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation and advance higher education development among Commonwealth countries.

The Commonwealth Tertiary Education Facility (CTEF) is a collaborative initiative between Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) and the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, designed to strengthen cooperation among Commonwealth countries in the development of tertiary education. It acts as a hub for research, policy development, and sharing best practices across member nations.

CTEF is based at USM’s National Higher Education Research Institute (IPPTN), making USM the operational hub for its activities.

Text: Dr. Nur Rafidah Asyikin Idris/Editing: Tan Ewe Hoe/Photo: Sri Jeyanthirar Subramaniam, IPPTN, USM