PUNJAB, Mar 1 – Two academic staff from the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Dr. Nurhafizah Hasim and Dr. Muhammad Firdaus Omar, were invited as visiting lecturers under the International Faculty Exchange Program (IFEP) organized by Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India. Their participation, held from 14th February to 1st March 2025, was part of the university’s broader international engagement agenda, spanning from 13th January to 12th April 2025.
During their two-week stay, both UTM lecturers delivered multiple expert lectures and engaged with postgraduate and undergraduate students across several academic platforms. Their lectures for the M.Sc. Physics students covered a wide range of advanced topics in line with their respective expertise. These included nanomaterials and quantum structures, biopolymer-based sustainable materials, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) applications, and cutting-edge solar cell technologies such as semiconductors, organic photovoltaics, and perovskite materials.
In addition to their teaching roles, Dr. Nurhafizah took part in the Undergraduate Final Year Poster Symposium held on 28th February 2025, where students from various disciplines showcased their final year research projects. Her presence as a guest evaluator and academic observer provided critical feedback, inspiration, and encouragement to the young researchers. The session reflected UTM’s continuous commitment to empowering student-driven research and promoting scholarly dialogue at the international level.
Both lecturers were also involved in a series of high-level academic engagements throughout their stay. These included curriculum review discussions for M.Sc. and B.Sc. programs, meetings on joint research opportunities, and strategic planning for international research funding proposals. Their involvement extended to potential co-supervision of postgraduate dissertations, aiming to foster long-term academic collaboration between UTM and Chandigarh University.
Moreover, they conducted interactive sessions with Ph.D. candidates and M.Sc. dissertation students, creating an open platform for exchanging ideas, discussing research progress, and building mentorship networks across institutions.
Chandigarh University, recently ranked among the top 700 universities globally (QS World Rankings 2025) and #120 in Asia, hosted the UTM lecturers with great hospitality. Their participation in the IFEP exemplifies the university’s strong emphasis on internationalization, global academic collaboration, and excellence in teaching and research.
The visit of Dr. Nurhafizah and Dr. Firdaus not only enriched the academic atmosphere at Chandigarh University but also helped build a stronger foundation for sustained collaboration between Malaysia and India in the areas of science, research, and education. This initiative further reinforces the value of cross-cultural academic exchange and the shared goal of nurturing global talent through knowledge transfer and innovation.
By: Dr. Nurhafizah Hasim, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, UTM