JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 21 – In celebration of the World Erasmus Day in October, UTM International has successfully organised a half-day event to provide valuable information about the Erasmus program. This session is specifically tailored for the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) community and encourages both staff and students to participate in engaging discussions.

Erasmus Day is a celebration of the Erasmus+ program, which aims to promote international exchange, cultural understanding, and educational cooperation across Europe and beyond. The day highlights the impact of mobility experiences on students, educators, and institutions, fostering a sense of shared identity and global citizenship.

UTM Erasmus Day 2024 was officiated by Eero Oinonen, Political Officer in the Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia. Among the invited speakers are  Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Ariffin Abu Hassan, Director of UTM International, Erasmus Malaysia National Focal Point and also Ronald Willie Binati, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Country Representative for Malaysia on Erasmus Mundus.

This half-day program also featured two forums that focused on the exchange of experiences from three esteemed speakers, a student from the Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering (FKT), Loke Rui Kee, administrative staff, Dzulhelmi Mohd Razali from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH) and academic staff, Ts. Dr. Suhana Mohamed Sultan, Faculty of Electrical Engineering (FKE) UTM where they have been selected for the Erasmus Mobility program.

Three renowned speakers have also been invited to share their insights on Erasmus Capacity Building in Higher Education namely Prof. Dr. Rosmini Omar (ASEAN Network for Green Entrepreneurship and Leadership – ANGEL), Associate Prof. Dr. Zaleha Abdullah (Accelerating Digital Transformation for Higher Education Institutions in South East Asia – DX.sea), and Associate Prof. Dr. Mahani Mokhtar (Digital Transformation of Asian Higher Education – DIGITAsia).

The Erasmus Day support desk offers personalized assistance for staff and students on Erasmus opportunities, including mobility applications, funding, travel, study abroad, professional development, and partnership agreements through memorandum of understandings (MoU) and memorandum of agreements (MoA). It ensures smooth processes and provides expert guidance to maximize the benefits of the Erasmus program.

Erasmus Day 2024 has successfully brought together the UTM community to celebrate the transformative power of international exchange and collaboration. Overall, Erasmus Day 2024 was a success in inspiring and empowering individuals to embrace the global opportunities available through the Erasmus+ program.