USM, PENANG, 16 March 2016 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) continues to strengthen relations with universities in the ASEAN region.

The USM Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dr. Wan Ahmad Kamil Che Mahmood recently welcomed the delegates from Yala Rajabhat University (YRU), headed by its Vice-President, Associate Professor Somsak Dandecha.

According to Wan Ahmad Kamil, USM is actively establishing relations with universities in the ASEAN countries by means of student exchanges as well as through the admission of students from countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines to create stronger ties with such countries.

“We are always prepared with arms extended in welcoming any collaboration with any of the universities, to raise the achievements in academics and also in research,” he said.

He explained that, the cooperation established would allow the various fields of study to be improved and academic programmes to be further developed by the academic schools, which in turn would benefit both universities.

Meanwhile, Somsak Dandecha also hoped that the visit would realise the plan for cooperation through the sharing of expertise in the field of education, as YRU is a university focusing in the field of education and has developed its graduates to become educators in Thailand.

“This visit to USM has brought us many benefits, especially to the 46 postgraduates in Educational Studies as part of the delegation, such as to be able to share ideas and views with USM students who are studying in the same field,” he stated.

Somsak Dandecha hoped that the cooperation can enhance the relations between the universities in Malaysia and Thailand in the solidarity of ASEAN, more so in the field of education and with the expertise available at USM and YRU.

YRU is a public university that was established to give focus mainly in education but in 2004, YRU has widened its scope into other areas of study such as the Social Sciences, Management and Pure Sciences.

The delegation also visited the USM Institute for Postgraduate Studies (IPS) and a few other USM centres of responsibility (PTJ).

Translation: Tan Ewe Hoe

Text: Syuhada Abd. Aziz