Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) on Thursday (19 May 2022) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with The Regional Group of Qatar to open up a new branch in Doha. Hence, the educational institution officially becomes the first Malaysian public university to open a branch overseas.
The MoA signing ceremony was witnesssed by Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad and intake for the Doha branch will start in October this year. It was signed by UKM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Ekhwan Toriman and Regional Group of Qatar chief executive officer Sheikh Abd Rahman bin Khalifa bin Abdul Aziz Al-Thani.
As reported by national news agency Bernama, the UKM vice-chancellor lauded the move, saying that the UKM branch in Qatar will increase cooperation in consultancy and research. It will also strengthen the UKM brand in the Gulf countries. He further asserted,
“UKM is proud of this recognition. As a local university, UKM will continue to provide the best educational services worldwide. Through the agreement signed on March 26 (the MoA on programme offerings), UKM agrees to offer offshore undergraduate and postgraduate level programmes in Doha,”
Meanwhile, Noraini said that the MoA opened a new chapter for Malaysian institutions of higher education to achieve higher levels of research and innovation, teaching and learning, consultancy as well as community development. She also expressed her elation at UKM contributing to such an achievement and how the university has taken the next step in expanding its efforts to go international.
As for the structure of the UKM branch in Qatar, The Regional Group will handle programme management, marketing and provide facilities and infrastructure for teaching and learning sessions. On the other hand, UKM will be responsible for providing academic input involving curriculum, teaching and learning, quality assurance and graduation.
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