Building ties with Meizhou City People's Government

Liang (left) Prof Ewe exchanging the MoU documents while Tan Sri Ng (right) looks on 

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was exchanged between UTAR and Meizhou City People’s Government (???????), China at UTAR Kampar Campus on 8 June 2019. 

Representing UTAR was its UTAR Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Prof Ir Dr Ewe Hong Tat; while representing Meizhou City People’s Government for the exchange ceremony was Meizhou City People’s Government Executive Deputy Director of the Publicity Department Liang Fang (??). 

Witnessing the exchange were UTAR Planning and Development Committee Advisor Tan Sri Hew See Tong and Meizhou Daily President-cum-Guangdong Kedu Culture Development Company Limited (????????????) Director Luo Jinliang (???). Also present were Federation of Ka Yin Chu Associations of Malaysia Past President Dato’ Seri Dr Lee Yow Ching and President Ir Chin Ching Chung (???); Perak Ka Yin Association President Dato’ Hew Choy Kon; Kampar Meijiang Association President Phan Yau Yin (???); Meizhou Radio and Television Station General Manager Wang Yuping (???) and Deputy General Manager Zhang Daquan (???); Guangdong Hanju Chuan Cheng Yan Jiu Yuan (?????????Guangdong Han Opera Inheritance Research Institute) Deputy Dean Wei Ruixin (???); UTAR Council Member Hew Fen Yee, UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong; Institute of Chinese Studies Dean Assoc Prof Dr Chong Siou Wei; Faculty of Science Dean Assoc Prof Dr Lim Tuck Meng; Division of Community and International Networking Deputy Director Dr Chen I-Chi; as well as guests from Meizhou and the Federation of Ka Yin Chu Associations of Malaysia.

Welcoming the delegates to the award-winning Kampar Campus, Prof Ewe introduced UTAR as a 17-year-old not-for-profit private university which has a long-standing relationship with universities in China. “UTAR has been appointed by China’s State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs (SAFEA) as one of the recognised overseas training providers. The University also established the Belt and Road Strategic Research Centre (BRSRC) last year with the intention to carry out Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) development-related research and training, as well as look at how ASEAN and China influence Malaysia’s effort in the pursuit of BRI,” he mentioned, pointing out that UTAR values global partnerships as reflected by the spectrum of collaborative initiatives from the mutual collaborations with various partners. 

Impressed by UTAR’s prodigious growth and reputation as one of the top-notched universities in Malaysia, Liang welcomes the collaboration which engenders joint initiatives ranging from the fields of education to cultural research.

In August 2016, UTAR and Meizhou City People’s Government signed an MoU focusing on student scholarships and Hakka Cultural Studies. On top of offering scholarships to Meizhou students to study at UTAR and spearheading joint academic activities related to Hakka Culture, the MoU exchanged this year will also facilitate academic development exchanges which include mutual visits by faculty members to pursue research, teaching, and to participate in seminars, conferences, workshops, and so on. The MoU will also allow both UTAR and Meizhou City People’s Government to facilitate study visits and student exchange aimed to promote mutual understanding as well as enhance students’ learning experience. 

To date, UTAR has over 330 partners from 28 economies which have brought about mutual initiatives such as staff and students exchange, joint research and supervision, study tours, internships, cyber classrooms, industry consultation and others. With China alone, UTAR has over 60 universities and corporations as collaborative partners. These collaborative ties have been instrumental in catapulting the University to be a global university of educational excellence with transformative societal impact. 

The delegates from Meizhou were in Kampar, Perak for the 68^th Annual General Meeting of Federation of Ka Yin Chu Associations of Malaysia held at Grand Kampar Hotel from 8 to 9 June 2019 in which Tan Sri Dr Datuk Ng Teck Fong was the Guest of Honour.

Prof Ewe (fourth from right) presenting souvenirs to Liang while Tan Sri Ng (third from right), Tan Sri Hew (second from right), Ir Chin (most right), Wang (most left), and Luo (second from left) look on

Liang presenting souvenir to Prof Ewe (left picture) and Tan Sri Hew (right picture) 

From left: Dr Chong, Hew, Dato’ Hew, Zhang, Wei, Wang, Luo, Liang, Prof Ewe, Tan Sri Ng, Tan Sri Hew, Ir Chin, Dato’ Seri Lee, Prof Choong, Dr Lim, and Phan