KUALA LUMPUR, 11 July 2018 – The Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has received a courtesy visit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
The visiting team was headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, His Excellency (HE) Mr. Taro Kono and accompanied by Ambassador of Japan to Malaysia, HE Dr. Makio Miyagawa.
The International Liaison Coordinator of MJIIT, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhayati Abdullah said that Mr. Kono met with the Dean of MJIIT, Prof. Dr. Ali Selamat to have some discussion about close cooperation between the two parties.
“Both of them have met and discussed close cooperation in Japanese-oriented education following the meeting between the Malaysian and Japanese Prime Ministers on 12 June 2018 in the capital of Japan, Tokyo.
“They briefly discussed the distinctive working culture and holistic Japanese-oriented engineering education approach in programme offerings at MJIIT which Prof. Ali has expressed heartiest gratitude to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the assistance rendered in ensuring successful and sustainable growth of MJIIT since its establishment in 2010,” she said.
HE Kono was pleased to be informed that MJIIT receives collegial suport from 29 well- established Japanese Universities Consortium (JUC) as well as other international universities fostering greater cooperation in high-impact research and academic endeavors.
“It is the desire of MJIIT to produce knowledgeable human capital towards the advancement and development of state-of-the-art technology and processes while safeguarding the environment which was reflected in the Second Phase of the G-to-G project between both governments respectively,” she said.
In his presentation, Prof. Ali elaborated on the First Phase of the G-to-G project between the Governments of Malaysia and Japan, which was initiated for the period of 2010 until 2017 whilst the Second Phase of the Project will continue from 2018 until 2023.
The Second Phase Project aims to strengthen the Japanese-oriented Engineering Education and research at MJIIT through cooperation with Japanese Universities and industrial partners.
In this regards, MJIIT hopes to develop human resources and capacity building that will in the future contribute to the industrial sector of neighboring ASEAN countries.
“In view of strengthening the cooperation in education between both countries, HE Kono enquired on information related to graduates employability, percentage of graduates working in Japanese companies upon graduation and the level of Japanese language proficiency of the students.
“The courtesy call provided not only an avenue for HE Kono to meet MJIIT representatives but also an opportunity for both sides to share and exchange views on issues of common interest,” she said.
The courtesy call to MJIIT was concluded by HE Kono visiting the Microscopy Laboratory and Tribology and Precision Machining iKohza laboratory, which were established with the support by JICA and the Professors from Japanese universities.
The courtesy visit was also attended by YBhg. Prof. Dr. Shamsul Sahibuddin, Pro Vice Chancellor, UTM Kuala Lumpur and YBhg. Prof. Dr. Arham Abdullah, Director, Industrial Linkages Division, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education Malaysia.
