Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) as Network Host and Secretariat of the Asia Technological University Network (ATU-Net) led the network’s second International Staff Week 2021, from 2 August 2021 to 5 August 2021. First held physically on campus in 2019 by UTM as organiser, this year three more institutions co-hosted ISW2021 together with UTM: Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) and Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB).
Held virtually, ISW2021 featured five keynote speakers, four workshop sessions, and 22 paper presentations. The theme of ISW2021 was Redesigning and Managing HEI Internationalisation in an Era of Uncertainties: Collaborating for Global Solutions. The programme recorded an overall of 480 participants for all days. The highest number of participants was 145 on the first day on Zoom with over 2.5K of viewers on Facebook live to date. On average, 30 higher education institutions in Asia attended the programme daily on Zoom.
Programme Details of ATU-Net ISW2021 (2-4 August 2021)
The annual ATU-Net International Staff Week (ISW) serves as a capacity building programme with the aim to foster stronger ties and to enhance cooperation. It is an annual programme especially tailored for members of staff of the international office to enhance skills and competencies in managing international office; to nurture intercultural competencies and international understanding; and to share best practices in various areas related to international relations and activities. The programme catered four different areas of international office management: Institutional Management, Internationalisation and Ranking; International Partnerships; Students and Staff Mobility; and Visibility and Engagement.
In the Opening and Welcoming session on the first day of the programme, hosted by UTM, Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr. Ahmad Fauzi Ismail as Chair of the network congratulated UTM International and thanked all hosts for the tremendous progress. He emphasised on the role of the international office as a key component of a great ecosystem of the network. In addition to enhancing skills and competencies on international relations, he expressed that all participants should take advantage of the programme to establish useful connections, to build a shared repository of knowledge and resources, and to create a sustainable international office community for mutual benefits, while prospering the lives of others, universally.
Welcoming Remarks by Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr. Ahmad Fauzi Bin Ismail, Chair of ATU-Net
The first day featured two keynote speakers and was moderated by Assoc Prof Dr Norhayati Abdullah, Associate Director, UTM International Kuala Lumpur. The first speaker, Prof. Ts. Dr. Mohd Hamdan Hj Ahmad, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development), UTM delivered a speech on ‘Caring for Campus Sustainability in Challenging Pandemic Era’, while the second speaker, Ms Maria Kiseleva, Head of International Academic Mobility Programme Department, Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University (ETU) on ‘Managing International Office and Mobility at ETU’. The first day concluded with a workshop on ‘Internationalisation and Ranking’ by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Ismid Md Said, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International), UTM.
Keynote Speech by Prof. Ts. Dr. Mohd Hamdan Haji Ahmad, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development), UTM
Keynote Speech by Ms Maria Kiseleva, Head of International Academic Mobility Programme Department, Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University (ETU)
Workshop by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Ismid Md Said, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International), UTM
Three Managers of UTM International presented papers on partnership, mobility, and visibility, respectively. On the second day of ISW2021 hosted by ITS, Mr Ahmad Hilman Borhan, Manager (International Relations), Global Strategy & Engagement Unit presented a paper entitled ‘Against All Odds: Leveraging on Virtual Engagements to Achieve Institutional Internationalisation Agenda’. On the following day hosted by UMT, Ms Zetty Raihan Binti Hj Mohd Yassin, Manager (Student Mobility), Global Education & Experience Unit presented on ‘UTM OGC: The New Normal Online Learning for UTM Mobility Program’. Meanwhile, on the final day of ISW2021 hosted by UTB, Ms Su Zalpha Binti Mohamed, Manager, UTM International Kuala Lumpur shared a paper on ‘Uberisation: Conventional vs Pandemic-Altering Approach to Institutional Visibility and Prestige’.
Mr Ahmad Hilman Borhan, Manager (International Relations), Global Strategy & Engagement, UTM International
Ms Zetty Raihan Hj Mohd Yassin, Manager (Student Mobility), Global Education & Experience, UTM International
Ms Su Zalpha Mohamed, Manager, UTM International Kuala Lumpur
Group photos of Day 1 of ATU-Net ISW2021
Links to the live sessions of the ISW2021 are also available on https://www.facebook.com/UTMInternational/videos/564374504720518.
The International Staff Week is a signature programme of ATU-Net, in addition to the University Presidents Forum (UPF), Student Leader Forum (SeLF), Hackathon Competition, and Virtual Asia Exploration (VAx). Visit http://atunet.org/ or email atunet@utm.my/diana@utm.my for more information on ATU-Net activities. For more information on the networks and alliances that UTM is a member of, visit https://www.utm.my/international/alliances/.