London, 17th July 2023 – Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) began an academic visit to the United Kingdom with a courtesy visit to the High Commissioner of Malaysia to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, His Excellency Dato’ Zakri Jaafar. The meeting which took place at the High Commission of Malaysia, London was represented by Prof. Ts Dr Haryani Haron, Assistant Vice Chancellor for the College of Computing, Informatics and Mathematics (KPPIM).
In the visit, Prof Ts Dr Haryani shared the objectives and expected outcome of UiTM’s academic visit to various academic institutions in the UK. This includes curriculum benchmarking and to foster continuous collaboration with several UK universities such as University of Kent, University of Sheffield, University of Leeds, University of West Scotland and Heriot – Watt University.
His Excellency commended the initiative as it serves as a platform to not only market UiTM but also to highlight the university’s strengths. He strongly believes that UiTM offers tremendous courses to collaborate on which in turn would lead to a sustainable student exchange programme once UiTM and UK universities have similar curriculum.
Prof. Ts Dr Haryani Haron proudly informed that UiTM, especially KPPIM is integrating the curriculum with soft skills offered through professional certification. His Excellency responded positively to this and also expressed the importance for communities in London to be aware that the UiTM curriculum is within standard recognition and is future ready.
Among those present in the meeting were Mr Lukman Zulkifly, Malaysia Education Attache (Administration and Finance) as well as representatives from KPPIM – Assoc. Prof Dr Ahmad Zia Ul – Saufie Mohamad Japeri, Head of School of Mathematical Sciences; Dr Sofianita Mutalib and Dr Nurain Ibrahim.
UiTM academic visit to UK universities is part of an effort to develop UiTM’s Globally Renowned University (GRU2025) initiative through close collaboration with other universities to improve subject ranking in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science and Data Science. The visit also fosters strategic alliances aligning with SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals. In the era of IR4.0, global collaboration is crucial for society’s progress through exchanges of best practices and digital transformation which promotes the objectives of SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. The objectives of the visit also holistically align with the government’s aspiration of Malaysia Madani.