On June 25th, 2019, the School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities received a delegation from the Universitas Negeri Padang (UNP), Indonesia. The delegation was led by Dr. Budhi Oktavia with four lecturers and 16 students of the Chemistry Education Program. Their arrival was warmly welcomed by the Director of Science and Mathematics and Creative Multimedia Education Department, Dr. Megat Aman Zahiri Megat Zakaria and lecturers of the Chemistry Education Panel, Dr. Nor Hasniza Ibrahim, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Johari Surif, Dr. Corrienna Abdul Talib and Dr. Chuzairy Hanri.

The discussion session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Hamdan Said and it started with a welcome speech from the Director of the department. It continued with a display of the UTM corporate video, a brief explanation of the Chemistry Education Postgraduate Program and later concluded with the discussion session for collaborative activities between UNP and UTM. Among the activities to be implemented are joint organizing of the International Seminar on Chemistry Education, student exchange, and collaboration in research and publication.

In addition, the meeting was also graced with the presence of Prof. Dr. Hadi Nur, Director of Ibnu Sina Institute of Science and Industrial Research who also discussed the opportunity for cooperation between UTM and UNP through the production of STEM prototypes. “Ibnu Sina is working on a collaborative project between Malaysia and Indonesia in producing STEM  products for sale in both countries. Now Ibnu Sina is working with the State University of Malang and welcomes UNP to participate in this project “, says Prof. Dr. Hadi Nur.

It is hoped that this visit will strengthen the relationship between UNP and UTM as well as a starting point for greater collaboration in research and education between the two universities.

By Nor Hasniza Ibrahim, Hamdan Said dan Norulhuda Ismail