"Today, I think we need to elevate relations to a better stage, especially in the higher education sector," Malaysia's Minister of Higher Education Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said on the sidelines of the signing ceremony here on Tuesday.
Nordin attended the signing ceremony during his first visit to Indonesia as Minister of Higher Education.
The visit was made to provide support for various new collaborations achieved between Indonesian and Malaysian higher education institutions.
Nordin said the relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia in the higher education sector is nothing new. The 10 cooperations agreed upon are meant to further bolster relations between the two countries in that sector.
The 10 collaborations include the one between the University of Technology Malaysia (UTM) and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) to promote research and development, as well as the cooperation on raising 17 sustainable development agendas (SDGs) between the National Council of Professors (Majlis Profesor Negara /MPN) and the Indonesian Professors Forum (FGBI).
Next, is the collaboration between the National University of Malaysia (UKM) and PT Tracol Asia to open a UKM Offshore Center in Jakarta, UKM and Padjadjaran University to produce 250 doctoral graduates in medicine, and UKM with the Indonesian University of Education to produce 3 thousand undergraduates and postgraduates.
Furthermore, cooperation has also been inked between Northern University Malaysia (Universiti Utara Malaysia /UUM) and State Islamic University (UIN) Raden Fatah Palembang, UUM and UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya, and between University of Malaya (UM) and State University of Malang (UNM) in the field of science and human resources.
Meanwhile, cooperation between the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and North Sumatra Muhammadiyah University (UMSU) aims to improve academic feasibility, while collaboration between the National Energy University (Universiti Tenaga Nasional /UNITEN) and PLN Institute of Technology seeks to realize international strategic initiatives, which focus on the energy sector.
In the meantime, Director General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology at the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Prof. Ir. Nizam said he hopes the cooperation can further deepen the friendly relations between the two countries.
He also expressed the hope that cooperation in the higher education sector will support the economic growth of the two nations through human development and innovation given that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is currently the center of global economic growth.
"It is very important for us to build this economic growth through human development and innovation. So, this higher education collaboration will provide enormous benefits and impacts for the progress of ASEAN as a community," he said.
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Reporter: Katriana
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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