UNAIR NEWS – Universitas Airlangga delegates attended a knowledge exchange session with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia ( UTM ) on Sunday, August 27, 2023. This session was part of collaborative activities between UNAIR and UTM, lasting two days from Saturday, August 26, 2023. Prior to this, UNAIR and UTM collaborated in a community service activity.
Strengthening ties and collaborative partnerships
As the first and oldest campus in Johor, Malaysia, UTM welcomed the presence of UNAIR academics. Remarks from UTM Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Prof. Dr. Rosli bin Md Illias opened the event. Prof. Rosli was very grateful for the visit from UNAIR delegates and stressed that this was not the first time UNAIR had collaborated with UTM. He also believed that this would not be the last.
“There are many other activities that UTM and UNAIR can do together, such as community service, publication, and research,” he added.
Representing UNAIR delegates, Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Community Empowerment, Prof. Dr. Ni Nyoman Tri Puspaningsih delivered her remarks.
“UNAIR and UTM have collaborated for 15 years, so we are like a family,” she said. Prof Nyoman also added, “One of the UNAIR-UTM collaboration programs is the matching fund for ecotourism and natural resources projects on Bintan Island, which has been running since 2022.”
Cross-sector knowledge exchange
The knowledge exchange session continued with two representatives from UTM and 4 representatives from UNAIR: Dr Ahmad Rizki Sridadi SH MM MH, Edi Dwi Riyanto SS MHum PhD, Prof Dr Retna Apsari MSi, and Prof apt Dewi Melani Hariyadi MPhil PhD. Dr. Ahmad Rizki presented about halal tourism. Dr. Edi conveyed the cultural aspects in ecotourism. Prof Retna spoke about the use of laser technology in the health sector, while Prof. Dewi shared knowledge about microencapsulation using natural polymers.
This knowledge exchange event emphasized the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration to provide solutions to the problems faced by society. Each expert hoped that UNAIR and UTM can continue to collaborate and contribute together to the improvement and goodness of the global community.
The session continued with visits to several units in UTM for more specific network development, such as the Institute of Bioproduct Development (IBD), the Research Institute for Sustainable Development (RISE), and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH). (*)
Author: Gesang Manggala