USM PENANG, 2 February 2023 – “Internationalisation of higher education has always been the top agenda for many higher educational institutions around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic however, had forced many of the institutions to review, revise or revisit their research and collaborative agendas as they deal with the effects of the pandemic.

“Currently, both the policymakers and academicians in higher education are giving focus on rebuilding higher education for the new norm or post-pandemic era, one of which is on internationalisation and student mobility.”

The above was mentioned by the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and International, Professor Dato’ Gs. Dr. Narimah Samat, in her officiating speech for the Commonwealth Postgraduate Forum 2023 held via Cisco Webex recently.

Focusing on the issue of “Internationalisation and Student Mobility in Post-Pandemic Higher Education,” Narimah continued by saying that this forum, organised by the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Facility (CTEF), hopes to bring to light the paradigm shifts that would lead to positive changes in university policies and practices for the betterment of postgraduate students in Commonwealth countries.

CTEF is the collaboration between the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) and the Commonwealth Secretariat (COMSEC) in London, England.

It serves as a network for Commonwealth countries to strengthen linkages through the sharing of knowledge and good practices regarding the development of higher education.

Two experts were invited to talk about different aspects of opportunities for internationalisation and student mobility.

Panellists consisting of three international postgraduate students (from Nepal, Nigeria and Pakistan) were also invited to provide their insights and feedback on matters relating to internationalisation.

They shared their experiences as well as provided feedbacks on certain issues and ideas on how to overcome those issues.

The online forum was organised by CTEF, together with USM, Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), National Higher Education Research Institute (IPPTN), the Malaysian Society for Higher Education Policy and Research Development (PenDaPat) and Commonwealth Youth Innovation Hub (CW Youth).

Among those from USM who attended the forum were: Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr Wan Fatma Zuharah Wan Musthapa (CTEF Director); Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yazrina Yahya (PenDaPat Chair); and Dr. Muhammad Muftahu (IPPTN Acting Director).

Text: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin