Johor Bahru, 8 March – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) welcomed an official visit by the Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Malaysia, His Excellency Michalis Rokas, and 13 Member States Diplomats to its Johor Bahru Campus. The visit aims to strengthen current collaboration and explore opportunities for further higher education and R&D cooperation between European Universities and UTM.
His Excellency Michalis Rokas was accompanied by H.E. Mr Andreas Launer (Austria), H.E. Mr Peter Van Acker (Belgium), H.E. Mr Milan Hupcej (Czech Republic), H.E. Mr Sami Leino (Finland), H.E. Mr Axel Cruau (France), H.E. Dr Peter-Christof Blomeyer (Germany), H.E. Dr Petra Ponevacs-Pana(Hungary), H.E. Ms Hilary Reilly (Ireland), H.E. Mr Massimo Rustico (Italy), H.E. Mr Krzysztof Debnicki (Poland), H.E. Mrs Nineta Barbulescu (Romania), H. E. Mr José Luis Pardo Cuerdo (Spain), H.E. Dr Joachim Berström (Sweden),Mr. Timo Goosmann – E.U. Political Counsellor, and Mr Francesco Floris – E.U. Trade Counsellor.
EU Ambassador & 13 Member States Diplomats with UTM Senior Officials
The delegation was given a tour of the UTM Gallery, which provided insights into UTM’s history and achievements in academia and research. UTM Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Ir Ts Dr Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), Prof Sr Dr Hishamuddin Mohd Ali, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs), Prof. Dr Shamsul Sahibuddin together with UTM Deans, hosted the visit.
Tour of UTM Gallery
The Vice-Chancellor highlighted that UTM had been given the responsibility to be the coordinator for an internationalization mission, specifically with “EU for Malaysia,” by the Minister of Higher Education (MoHE) this year. The EU delegation was also informed that UTM had been the coordinator for four (4) projects and a beneficiary and partner in eight (8) projects under the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education Programme since 2016.
In the discussion agenda, His Excellency Michalis Rokas expressed his satisfaction that UTM had partnered with Ericsson and had recently launched a cyber security partnership with Malaysia. He also informed UTM about EU programs, such as sharing know-how on polytechnic education and engineering expertise to meet the growing demand for skilled workers.
Other matters discussed were UTM’s vision and aspiration beyond 2025 and how the EU could assist in realizing these initiatives. Additionally, both parties discussed UTM’s programs to ensure students are future-oriented and the pertinent issue of quality graduates.
Q&A Session
UTM also took the opportunity to invite His Excellency Michalis Rokas as a Keynote Speaker to UTM’s 13th UTM University Presidents Forum 2023 (UTM-UPF2023), scheduled from 8 until 10 August this year. The visit was timely, and UTM looks forward to strengthening its collaboration with the EU.
