From August 15th to 17th, Prof. Tooyama, Director of Research, Planning, and International Affairs, Prof. Agata, Vice Director of International Strategy, Prof. Kato, Vice Director of International Exchange, and Mr. Sukegawa, Head of International Planning Office and Vice Head of International Center, visited the National University of Malaysia (UKM) in Kuala Lumpur for courtesy visit and academic exchange.

UKM is a leading national university in Malaysia and is consistently ranked in the top tier of Malaysian schools in international university rankings. In 2011, our university concluded an international exchange agreement with UKM and has been conducting joint research and personnel exchanges mainly through the Molecular Neuroscience Research Center and the Division of Legal Medicine. As well, in educational areas, we have been hosting graduate students from UKM, many of whom have earned doctoral degrees from SUMS, while continuing to offer undergraduate programs including exchange programs for nursing students and short-term training programs for medical students. These projects and programs have resulted in a close and cooperative relationship between two universities.

The delegation led by Director Tooyama was invited to Cheras Campus of UKM on Monday, August 15, to meet with Prof. Razman Jarmin, Director of the affiliated hospital (HCTM), and the Management of the Faculty of Medicine, and to tour the affiliated hospital and the Center for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (CTERM). Afterwards, they exchanged views with Prof. Gafor Halim, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, and his team regarding the establishment of an international double degree program between the two schools and had constructive discussions. In the afternoon, Director Tooyama and Prof. Agata gave a seminar, which was attended by many faculty members and medical students of UKM and was followed by a lively Q&A session.

On Tuesday, August 16, the delegation revisited the Cheras campus, exchanged views with the Heads of the Basic Medicine Department on the possibility of future collaborative research, and toured some labs and their medical museum. Then, they moved to Bangi Campus, where they paid a courtesy call on Prof. Mohammad Kassim, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic and International Affairs, and discussed the establishment of an international double degree program. After that, the group went to the Institute for Systems Biology (INBIOSIS) on the same campus to meet with Assoc. Prof. Syarul Nataqain, Acting Director of INBIOSIS, took a tour of the Institute, and attended a reunion held for this occasion with five former international students of SUMS who are now working actively as researchers at UKM and other universities to re-establish old ties.

During this visit, our delegation received a warm welcome from the Faculty of Medicine of UKM, and both universities were able to deepen the relationship through various meetings and interactions with meaningful discussions on the establishment of an international double degree program. We look forward to further exchange of human resources and strengthening of multifaceted cooperation in the future.