NIBONG TEBAL, 28 September 2023 – The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Engineering Campus recently received and welcomed a visit by Professor Dr. Cristina Sissa, a researcher from Universita Di Parma in Italy.

The visit made on 7 September 2023, among others, was meant to explore the potential collaboration between both organisations, as stated by the USM Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation, Professor Dr. Habibah A Wahab at the discussion held during the visit.

According to her, USM has so far built a strong collaboration with other institutions involving multidisciplinary fields, so it is the right time for USM, as one of the leading universities in Malaysia to add Universita Di Parma to its list of partners.

In addition, Habibah also hoped that the collaboration would offer a better platform for the student exchange programme, as the students will be able to discover the best technology offered by Universita Di Parma and apply it when they serve USM in the future.

Meanwhile, Cristina, an expert in the investigation of optical properties of molecular materials, particularly on the environmental effects, during the discussion stated that, on behalf of Universita Di Parma, she looked forward to utilising the facilities offered by USM, particularly in the field of Chemistry to accommodate their professors, lecturers, and PhD students.

She added, the visit will not only be able to strengthen the relationship between both countries, but will also be a start of idea-sharing opportunities between different schools that are involved in the discussion at the Science and Engineering Research Centre (SERC) today.

During the visit and discussion, the Director of SERC, Professor Dr. Mohd Azmier Ahmad said that SERC, as a material testing and analysis centre of USM at the Engineering Campus, is always prepared to network with other institutions.

According to him, the centre by far has offered various research laboratory services to locals as well as international industries, particularly from Brunei and Indonesia, in building research networking with other universities, and has also been implementing a mobility programme for its staff as part of their self-development initiative. 

Text: Siti Faizah Abd Halim/Photo: Muhammad Taufik Abdul Rahman