MoU with AIHEW

UTAR and Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women (AIHEW), India, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) via Zoom on 8 November 2021 to establish collaboration with one another.

The signatories for the MoU were UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat and AIHEW Vice Chancellor Dr Premavathy Vijayan. It was witnessed by UTAR Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Ir Prof Dr Yow Ho Kwang and AIHEW Registrar Dr S. Kowsalya.

Prof Ewe (left photo) and Dr S.P.Thyagarajan (right photo, middle)

In his remarks, Prof Ewe enthused, “Today’s MoU signing exemplifies UTAR’s continuing efforts in forging international collaborations to inject internationalisation into research initiatives, teaching and learning for both staff and students. This UTAR and AIHEW MoU will facilitate staff and student exchanges, industry attachment and internships, PhD supervision, and mutual visits by staff for research, training and conferences. We can explore many possible collaborations and we look forward to working with AIHEW.”

“In addition, the MOU will provide opportunities for mutual understanding of each other’s culture and language while providing a global experience for our staff and students,” added Prof Ewe.

According to AIHEW Chancellor Dr S.P.Thyagarajan, the highlights of the MoU were to initiate cyber classroom between the two universities and conduct researches that focus on functional foods and nutraceuticals, edible and eco-friendly smart packaging solutions, and artificial intelligence in food science and nutrition. He also mentioned that he is looking forward to exchange knowledge as well as research scholars through the signing of this MoU.

Through this MoU, both parties will initiate joint international collaborative research projects and joint talent training programmes. The MoU also aimed to facilitate academic development exchanges between both parties, including mutual visits by faculty members to pursue research and teaching, and facilitate participation in seminars, conferences and workshops. These initiatives would help enhance students’ learning experience by facilitating student mobility programmes, facilitating internships for undergraduates and initiating joint supervision for master and doctoral programmes where applicable.

Also present at the virtual ceremony were AIHEW Dean of Research & Consultancy Dr V. Murugesan, Dean of School of Home Science Dr N. Vasugi, Head of Department of Food Science and Nutrition Prof Dr M. Sylvia Subapriya, Department of Food Science and Nutrition Prof Dr A. Thirumani Devi, Assistant Dean of Sponsored Projects Assoc Prof Dr Kalaiselvi Senthil, Department of Food Science and Nutrition Assoc Prof Dr PA. Raajeswari, UTAR Faculty of Science Dean Dr Lim Tuck Meng, Deputy Dean for R&D and Postgraduate Programmes Dr Phoon Lee Quen, Centre for Biomedical and Nutrition Research Chairperson Dr Eddy Cheah Seong Guan, Department of Chemical Science Dr Anto Cordelia Tanislaus Antony Dhanapal, Division of Community and International Networking (DCInterNet) Deputy Director Dr Chen, I-Chi, and Senior Assistant Managers Ong Yoon Furn, Chin Sau Lai and Liu Dan.

Group photography session after the MoU event