This also marks USM's first offshore presence in Europe.

USM PENANG, 28 January 2022 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has entered into a partnership with the European Global School University (EGS), an esteemed learning centre in Turkey, to offer offshore academic programmes recently.

The USM collaboration with EGS was sealed through a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signing ceremony, with USM making its presence felt for the first time in such a venture in Europe.

At the ceremony held here on January 26, USM was represented by its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan and its Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and International, Professor Dato’ Dr. Narimah Samat, while EGS was represented by its President, Dr. Nour El Hoda Awada.

The inaugural initiative, to be known as USM@Turkey, represents a new milestone for USM in bringing the academic programmes to Europe, whereby EGS will cover both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

USM aims to offer 28 programmes from 12 academic schools, of which 18 programmes have been approved so far by the USM Senate and the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE), Malaysia, at USM@Turkey for this offshore collaboration with EGS.

Among the programmes to be offered are dental sciences, engineering, and language and business studies. This offshore centre is planned to serve and function as the USM academic centre for the Middle Eastern, African and European markets as well.

According to Faisal Rafiq, being one of the top-ranking research universities and the first science university in the country, USM will be more than happy to cultivate the spirit of academic collaboration between fellow institutions, with the hope that MoAs such as these, will lead to smoother undertakings and more fruitful outcomes in the future.

“During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, USM recorded successive years of growth in the intake and enrolment of international students, even though that was during times of restricted movement. We don’t want to rest on our laurels and will continue to embark on initiatives that will attract more international students,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nour El Hoda said that the MoA is an important milestone in the journey towards forging a strong and fruitful partnership to share and promote education and learning across the globe, as education is a powerful tool in enhancing a person’s self-worth, increases opportunities, and unlocks the mind.

“I am particularly pleased to celebrate the launch of this collaboration because at EGS, we consider this as a long-term investment that will allow us to explore opportunities in academics, research and training,” she added.

The ceremony was then continued with a short discussion between both parties, discussing on the materials and documentations needed to be prepared in promoting the programmes offered at EGS.

During the discussion, the Director of USM Strategic Corporate Development Office, Muhammad Sabri Said thanked the EGS team for their presence at USM.

He also proposed several marketing strategies for the USM and EGS office in Turkey, discussed on the contents for the EGS website, and also on official communications with other government agencies such as embassies and schools in Turkey.

Faisal Rafiq and Muhammad Sabri attended the ceremony via Webex link. Also present were the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EGS Turkey Campus, Bachir Al Salman and Research Centre Director of EGS Turkey, Dr. Fadi Hasan.

The EGS team has been in USM since January 23, visiting the Advanced Medical and Dental Institute (IPPT), Bertam Campus and the School of Housing, Building and Planning (HBP), among others.

Text: Nur Farrah Ezlin Mohd Suhaimi/Editing: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin