As part of UTAR’s effort in fostering international collaboration, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between UTAR and Shijiazhuang Posts and Telecommunications Technical College, China at Sungai Long Campus on 26 November 2019.

Signing on behalf of UTAR was its President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat, while Shijiazhuang Posts and Telecommunications Technical College was represented by its Vice President Prof Zhao Shuanliang. The signing was witnessed by UTAR Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman and Shijiazhuang Posts and Telecommunications Technical College Teaching Affairs Office Director Prof Zhang Hongfen.

Also present at the signing ceremony were Shijiazhuang Posts and Telecommunications Technical College Foreign Languages Department Deputy Director Prof Run Guie, Express and Logistics Department Deputy Director Prof Zhang Huifeng; UTAR Belt and Road Strategic Research Centre (BRSRC) Chairperson-cum-Institute of Management and Leadership Development (IMLD) Director Prof Dr Cheng Ming Yu, Division of Community and International Networking Director (DCInternet) Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Onn, Faculty of Accountancy and Management (FAM) Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Deputy Dean Dr Hen Kai Wah, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science Department of Mathematical and Actuarial Sciences Head Dr Wong Voon Hee, Division of Programme Promotion (DPP) Director Lee Choy Fong, Head of Programme for Master of Information Systems Dr Wong Whee Yen, and Department of Soft Skills Competency (DSSC) of Sungai Long Campus Head Fook Oi Yee.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prof Ewe said that the bilateral ties between Malaysia and China have been shaped by long historical links which traced back to Tang and Song dynasties in the historical records, especially the relationship between the Malacca Sultanate and China’s Ming dynasty in the 15th century. “Under the Belt and Road Initiative, the two countries have not only fostered the cooperation at the political and economic levels but also actively exchanged and cooperated in culture and education,” he said. He mentioned that UTAR has been working closely with China higher education institutions and corporates. He hoped that through this MoU, both institutions could enjoy a strong relationship of cooperation in the areas such as research projects, student exchange and joint conference.

Prof Zhao, on the other hand, gave a brief introduction on China post and Shijiazhuang Posts and Telecommunications Technical College. He first talked about the historical development of China Post, explaining that China post was originally born in 1896 during the Qing Dynasty and now it operates the exclusive postal services as a large state-owned enterprise. He also introduced the development of the college and shared the core courses and major areas of focus. He also gave an overall idea of the college’s international exchange and cooperation and outlined several international-level activities such as international post-training courses, China-ASEAN Education and Training Conference, and China-ASEAN Vocational Education Forum. He also explained the collaboration with foreign universities such as Concordia University, Roosevelt University, Asia Pacific Postal Union, and Panyapiwat Institute of Management.

In order to enhance the delegates’ understanding on the development of e-commerce, a talk titled “Shaping the Development of E-commerce in Malaysia: How does UTAR Grooms E-commerce Talents in Education and Industry with Societal Impact” was presented by Dr Wong Whee Yen during the event. She said, “UTAR is the first Alibaba GET member in Asia besides China. Under the GET programme, 30 UTAR lecturers from both Kampar and Sungai Long Campuses attended the five days of TTT training.” She explained the activities done under the collaboration of Alibaba and UTAR, and the effort taken to create e-commerce awareness among students, staff and the public. She also introduced briefly UTAR New Village E-commerce Project and Unnovate Centre and presented the outcome of e-commerce practical project.

Moreover, Prof Cheng provided an overall introduction on IMLD. She explained that the Institute aimed to provide professional advancement opportunities to academics, business leaders and government officials through creatively-designed programmes to unlock their potential and improve themselves. She mentioned that the institute offers training courses covering multiple features to meet the needs of different levels. Among the training provided were middle management development, professional development series, short courses in social sciences, corporate regulations and business environment, Belt and Road Initiatives project and many more.  

The event was continued with a souvenir exchange session and group photography session. It was subsequently followed by a discussion between the two parties on matters such as staff training, PhD study and visiting scholar, research collaboration, study tour and internship.