PENANG, 15 April 2014 - More than 30 delegates who were associated with higher education in Malaysia and India will focus on a more detailed discussion as a follow-up on the second meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) which was held in India last year.

The discussion during the Strategic Planning Workshop for Promoting Student Mobility in India and Malaysia between the two countries will focus on nine main thrusts outlined by the government for the development of higher education in both countries.

The Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman said that the nine thrusts include efforts to strengthen the field of food security, cyber security, health and medicine, energy, water, climate change, agriculture, and biodiversity.

He said that the two-day workshop between India and Malaysia will also detail other aspects including efforts to strengthen aspects of student and staff exchanges, joint development of academic programmes and potential collaboration opportunities for the development of both countries.

“As an initial step after the JWG last year, both sides have agreed to hold a workshop for a detailed discussion towards a focus that has been determined.

“USM took the initiative to serve as the secretariat for this workshop and came up with a strategic and comprehensive plan to catalyse the activity of Indian and Malaysian students’ mobility between the two countries,” he said.

He was speaking at a press conference after opening the workshop here today. India sent 10 representatives from the fields of education headed by the Vice-Chairman of University Grants Commission, New Delhi, Professor Devraj H.

Also present were USM Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic and International Affairs, Professor Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Shukri Mustapa Kamal and Chairperson of CAP Internationalisation, Ministry of Education Malaysia, Professor Dr. Mohd Ismail Abd Aziz.

The workshop was also attended by a representative from each institution of higher education (IPTA) in the country, two representatives from the Ministry of Education Malaysia, two representatives from High Commission of India in Kuala Lumpur and the Secretariat from USM.

Omar also said this is the first time such discussions were held between the two countries in hope that efforts to strengthen higher education can be brought to a higher level involving governments’ intervention from both countries.

“We hope that the results of these discussions can lead to an effort through which stronger policies can be formulated to bring higher education to the highest level besides sharing the benefits of respective strengths between Malaysia and India,” he said.

In the meantime, Devraj stressed that India is committed to widening its collaboration with the outside world and hope that the cooperation with Malaysia could be beneficial in mobilising the improvement of higher education in the country.

“India sent a special representative who is specialised in various fields of education including science, social science and others. We are committed to the partnership and we also see the potential in the development of collaboration, ideas and views on many things other than the nine designated areas.

“We also see opportunities in achieving collaboration, for example the potential in offering specific scholarships for mobility of students and staff as well as conducting twinning programmes, joint research and so on,” he said. - Translation: Yong Check Yoon/Text: Marziana Mohamed Alias/Photo: Mohd. Fairus Md. Isa