USM PENANG, 14 December 2021 – In a historic first, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Xi'an University, China have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to focus on the objective of exploring opportunities to develop, support and enrich research activities, educational programmes and training in the fields that will benefit both parties.

The MoU was signed by both universities through a virtual ceremony conducted using the Webex video conferencing application on 10 December 2021, in part due to restrictions on international travel brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

USM Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and International, Professor Dato' Gs. Dr. Narimah Samat signed the MoU on behalf of the university, while Xi’an was represented by its Vice-President, Professor Wang Xiaoping.

Present to witness the virtual signing ceremony were USM International Mobility and Collaboration Centre (IMCC) Acting Director, Aizat Hisham Ahmad; senior officers of the USM Academic Management Division along with various Xi'an heads of departments.

"USM, as one of Malaysia's top-ranking research universities and the first science university in the country, welcomes the move to cultivate this spirit of communion between fellow institutions with the hope that this MoU will inspire and nurture the reciprocation of knowledge and good practices through the exchange of students, staff and scholarly research materials,” said Narimah.

“Among the fields of study that USM champions are the Pure Sciences, Applied Sciences, Pharmaceutical Studies, Architecture, Business Management, Social Sciences, Humanities, Languages and Translation, Arts, and Education. USM also offers studies in Engineering and Medical Sciences at its branch and offshore campuses.

“On behalf of USM, I would like to thank Xi’an University, China for choosing us to partner with, in the pursuit of excellence with the signing of today's MoU,” she added.

Meanwhile, for Professor Wang Xiaoping, the signing of this MoU opens a new chapter for both institutions to collaborate in areas which have been mutually identified, and he looks forward to a fruitful relationship with a prestigious university like USM, in the years ahead.

“Hence, we would like to welcome USM staff and students to Xi’an (University) when the pandemic situation so permits. I hope through this MoU, we can both increase the expertise of our academic staff and enhance the experience of our students,” he added.

Xi’an University is a key university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education of China and is one of the oldest universities in China.

Xi’an has fully implemented the ideas of "cultivation in conduct, impartation of knowledge, training abilities, innovation in thinking" in the cultivation of talents, and established the system of "general education plus professional education with wide-ranging knowledge" and "Undergraduate-Postgraduate-Doctoral Students" through type-talent cultivation mode.

Text & Photo: Mohamad Hafiz Asyraf Mohd Arop