BANGKOK, THAILAND, 1 Jan. – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) is taking proactive global initiatives by providing training and international exposure to its academic and support staff. UTM International has launched the “High-Impact International Working Exposure (Hi-WE)” program, which includes groups of UTM support staff with grades 40 and below. The program aims to provide opportunities and global exposure to staff who play a crucial role in supporting UTM’s internationalization goals.

Recently, UTM International sent a group of six staff members from UTM International and the UTM Bursar Office to participate in the Hi-WE attachment program. The program was held from December 15 to 22, 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand, at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), which is one of UTM’s established partner universities.

The attachment program at KMUTT covers various operational management scopes. It includes exchanging information and best practices on internationalization topics between two universities over three days.

During their visit, the group had the opportunity to discuss UTM and learn about the role and responsibilities of the International Office and Bursar Office in supporting internationalization. These face-to-face two-way discussion sessions allowed the group to demonstrate their capabilities and boost their confidence. They were grateful for KMUTT’s warm welcome, full cooperation, and support, especially from its International Affairs (IA) Unit and Student Finance Aid Unit (SFAU) throughout their stay. The program is expected to strengthen the relationship between UTM and KMUTT.

The group was able to expand their program by visiting Sripatum University (SPU), one of the private universities in Bangkok established in 1970. SPU was one of UTM’s partners in 2013, and this visit is intended to restart the collaboration between the two universities. During the visit, the Vice President of SPU, Asst. Prof. Wirat Lertpaitoonphai expressed his intention to collaborate with UTM in various academic and research areas. UTM also took this opportunity to share on the Asia-Technological Universities Network (ATU-Net) and extended the invitation as a member of the network to SPU. ATU-Net was founded by UTM in 2016 and currently has 38 member universities from 9 countries.

Moving forward, the universities of SPU and UTM have agreed to collaborate through a Letter of Collaboration (LoC). Both universities will officially sign the LoC in February 2024. UTM is also looking forward to partnering with more universities from Thailand in ATU-Net in the near future.

In summary, this program has provided a platform for support staff to gain new experiences and learn various perspectives. This not only helps them in their work practices but also exposes them to the cultural diversity of other countries, especially Thailand.

Despite the challenges, this program has taught them about togetherness, teamwork, and commitment.

Prepared by:
Norhaiza binti Daud
Nurul Izzati binti Mohd Twa
Zanariah binti Aripan
Nor Izzati binti Che Aziz
Muhammad Irham Sauti bin Ishak
Wan Abdul Azim bin Wan Ahmad