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MOE Mobility Signature Programme at Universiti Putra Malaysia

Report by Putra International Centre (i-Putra), UPM

For the very first time, the Education Section of Malaysia (BEM), under the Department of Higher Education (JPT) of the Ministry of Education Malaysia (KPM), has organized the MOE Signature Mobility Program 2018 funded by Education Malaysia Gobal Services (EMGS) from 20 October to 2 November 2018. Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is privileged to be selected among other 4 universities (UiTM, MMU, IUKL, University of Notingham Malaysia) in Klang Valley to take part in this programme for 3 days from 23 -25 October 2018. This programme focuses on language mastery, travel, and heritage with participation of 50 students and 5 counsellors from Indonesian high schools such as SMA Islam Al-Azhar 3 Jakarta, SMA Labschool Rawamangun Jakarta, SMA Negeri 1 Tasikmalaya, SMA Negeri 81 Jakarta, SMA Negeri 31 Jakarta, SMA Negeri 16 Bekasi, SMA Muhammadiyah 2 Sidoarjo and SMA Darul Ulum1 Unggulan.  The programme at UPM comprised of three modules, namely the Arts and Social Science module with The Centre for The Advancement of Language Competence (CALC), Agriculture and Science module with the Faculty of Forestry, and the Sciences and Medicinal Science module with UPM Edu-Park.

 

Global Language Exposure

On their first day at UPM, the students were given a warm welcome at CALC by UPM’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Student Affairs Division), Professor Dr. Mohd Roslan Sulaiman and the Deputy Director of i-PUTRA, Assoc. Professor Dr Noritah Omar.

CALC (formerly known as Language Extension Centre) was established in 2011, and acts as an extension of the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication (FBMK), specifically created to focus on language development and competency.

The activity for the day began with a Global Culture activity where the students learnt foreign languages such as Spanish, Japanese, Thai, Arabic and others. Through activities relating to food and culture, each student was given the opportunity to learn at least 3 languages. The students experienced wearing traditional costumes from different countries, and learnt different writing systems such as the Japanese Kanji and the Thai alphabet. The programme provided not only educational input in various fields of knowledge, but also encouraged intercultural communication among foreign participants.  Such cultural experience is important in helping minimize the gap between individuals of different cultural backgrounds. The activities also helped to enhance cultural awareness and tolerance among individuals, as well as promoting appreciation of one’s own culture.

 

 

Into Nature

The second day began at 8:30 am at the Ayer Itam Forest, Sultan Idris Shah Forestry Education Centre (SISFEC). The programme was organized by the Faculty of Forestry, under the guidance of Dr. Mohd Hafizal Ismail, who is an expert in Heritage Tourism and Community Management. The outdoor provided an amazing place for the students to experience time out from electronic devices such as smart phones, TV or gaming consoles. In this module, the participants were required to walk along designated trails in SISFEC, accompanied by the instructors and UPM Buddies. Several checkpoints were prepared for the students to stop, learn and experience the forest ecology.  The students learnt about the features of the tropical forest, its canopy stratification, its plant communities, adaptation, and unique characteristics. The participants were required to answer certain questions and collect specimens during the activities. The day’s activities ended at 6pm.

 

 

A Day with Edu-Park

On their last day, the students had the opportunity to experience UPM’s unique characteristic as a Research University that was started as a School of Agriculture in 1931.   Through a programme organized by UPM’s Edu-Park, the students were exposed to the various fields of knowledge for which UPM is well-known. They visited the Human Pathology Museum, the Veterinary Museum and the two most popular faculties in UPM, the Faculty of Architecture and Design and the Faculty of Engineering. Through these visits and interaction with experts from the various research facilities, the students were exposed to the process of doing research and learning at UPM.

The day continued with a talk given by the Deputy Director of Edu-Park, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Faridah Qamaruz Zaman, and a casual sharing session with UPM’s own Indonesian Students from the Faculty of Modern Language and Communication, the Faculty of Food Science and Technology, and the Faculty of Economics and Management. The students then listened to a talk by Puan Norliya Yahya from UPM’s Academic Division on ‘How to Study at UPM’. The programme ended with closing remarks by i-Putra’s Deputy Director, Assoc. Professor Dr. Noritah Omar, who highlighted the value of the experience as strengthening collaboration between the two countries. 

The students’ feedback on the whole mobility experience at UPM has been very positive.  They found the experience provided by the MOE Signature Mobility Programme through which they were able to combine overseas travel with cultural and educational experience to be most rewarding.  According to the students, the programme has certainly given them a truly amazing and memorable travel experience.

 

Date of Input: 16/11/2018 | Updated: 19/11/2018 | azlida_jamil

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