NIBONG TEBAL, December 2014 - Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) through the School of Civil Engineering further strengthened its networking and international relations through a collaboration with Kyowa Electronic Instruments Co. Ltd., Japan.

A delegation from the Japanese company led by its president, Yoshio Hoshi; Director of Foreign Affairs, Yoshio Saito; Director of Corporate Administration, Giichi Tanaka; and Overseas Marketing Officer, Shinnosuke Haraguchi visited the USM Engineering Campus recently.

According to the Dean of the School of Civil Engineering, Professor Dr. Ahmad Farhan bin Mohd Sadullah, USM Engineering Campus can expand their networking collaboration with industries from the ‘land of the rising sun’ through Kyowa and since they are well established in Japan, their high technology will benefit Malaysia’s future development.

"We need to learn and distinguish the opportunities that can be taken to ensure the sustainability and the agenda of USM as an APEX university," he said in his welcoming speech at a reception to welcome the delegation.

Ahmad Farhan has a research contract with Kyowa in projects relating to assessing the sustainability and over-capacity of roads in Malaysia.

Ahmad Farhan said this jived with the APEX Agenda and this relationship opens doors for schools in USM Engineering Campus to collaborate with Kyowa in the area of equipment and expertise sharing as well as to learn from their vast experiences in problem-solving, especially in the Malaysia context.

As part of this commitment of cooperation and friendship, Kyowa presented a multipurpose "data logger" system to the School of Civil Engineering worth RM140,000.

Meanwhile, Yoshio Hoshi described this visit as a good start towards closer cooperation between Kyowa and USM.

"I am very pleased and excited to have the opportunity to work with one of the best universities in Malaysia," he said.

He also welcomed the USM students who will be undergoing their industrial training programme in his company, based in Chofu, Tokyo.

"I am sure that the placement of students in this industry training programme can further strengthen the good relationship between Japan and Malaysia, thus enabling us to have a better understanding of Malaysian culture," he added.

The delegation also visited the geotechnical and heavy structure laboratories in the School of Civil Engineering, vibration and nano fabrication laboratories in the School of Mechanical Engineering as well as the power and mechatronics laboratories at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. - Translation: Siti Faizah Abd Halim/Text: Mohd Kamil Ashar/Photo: Muhammad Sarif Mhd. Rapiai