A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between UTM and the Islamic University of Madinah (IUM), undersigned by Prof Wahid Omar, the Vice-Chancellor of UTM and Prof Abdurrahman bin Abdullah Al-Sanad, the Rector of IUM, and witnessed by the Minister of Education of Saudi Arabia.
The MoU signing was the highlight of Vice-Chancellor Prof Wahid Omar’s visit to Saudi Arabia, where he was accompanied by Prof. Dr. Awaluddin Mohamed Shaharoun, Dean of the UTM Razak School of Engineering & Advanced Technology, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Othman Che Puan, Director of UTM Student Recruitment and Admission Division (SRAD).
The MoU involves UTM assisting IUM’s School of Engineering to develop three new undergraduate programmes, namely Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Civil Engineering. A two-year service contract will see UTM experts assessing the proposed programme specifications, and offering advice and input for programme enhancement, curriculum content and proposed laboratory equipment.
Involvement of UTM experts will help ensure that the new programmes meet the requirements of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (Abet) and the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAA) Saudi Arabia.
Prior to the MoU signing, the UTM delegates attended the opening ceremony of the 2014 International Exhibition and Conference on Higher Education (IECHE) in Riyadh. This exhibition is the largest annual higher education exhibition in the region and provides a good opportunity to meet with many major Saudi and regional institutions of higher learning providers. The Vice Chancellor took the opportunity to visit the booths of two renowned universities, namely, the International Islamic University of Madinah (IUM), and the University of Hail.
At the University of Hail’s booth, the VC was met by Prof Dr Khaleel Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, the University’s Rector as well as the University’s other senior personnel, namely Prof Dr Rashid M Alhamali and Dr Abdul Aziz Alghonamy. UTM’s collaboration with the University of Hail has been forged for nearly three years. In fact, two of the University’s academic staff member, Dr Yusef Althueni and Dr Abdul Aziz Al Amro, had undergone a brief attachment at the UTM Razak School.
Discussions held further strengthened UTM’s networking with the University of Hail, with Prof Wahid extending an invitation to Dr Abdul Aziz Al Amro, Dean of the School of Engineering, to visit UTM. The main purpose of the visit would be to assess collaboration opportunities in developing the University of Hail’s Engineering Programme, similar to the model being developed between UTM and IUM.
Prof Wahid and his delegation also met with Prof Khalid Khoshhal, the Deputy Rector (Postgraduate and Research) of the University of Taibah (TU).Among the topics deliberated include the possibility of initiating a PhD programme for TU’s female academic staff members under the supervision of UTM academic staff. The main areas of interest include Science, Mathematics, Computer Science, and Education.
