KATOWICE, POLAND, 27 JUNE – Open University Malaysia (OUM), a leading provider of part-time higher education for working adults, has signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) with two Polish institutions on the sidelines of the 11th World Urban Forum here, witnessed by Housing and Local Government Minister, YB Dato’ Sri Reezal Merican Naina Merican.
The MoUs were signed at the Malaysian Pavillion with Nicolas Copernicus University (NCU) and the Asia-Pacific Society (APS). Both agreements focus on strategic partnership in the areas of academic research, expertise, publications and scientific activities as well as other forms of information sharing and capacity building.
OUM President/Vice-Chancellor, Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Izanee Awang, signed the two MoUs with NCU’s Dean of Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management, Professor Jerzy Borhlke, and APS President, Adam Marszalek. Also present were the Malaysian Ambassador to Poland, HE Dato’ Chitra Devi Ramiah, and the CEO of OUM’s holdings company, METEOR Sdn Bhd, Muhammad Afiq Redzuan.
At the Forum, which focuses on sustainable urbanisation, the METEOR-OUM delegation is showcasing the provision of higher education through online learning, which enables working adults to study anytime anywhere and obtain the qualifications they need for career progression or change.
Said Dr Izanee, “We are honoured to have been invited by Urbanice to take part in the WUF. We are using this opportunity to share about our online learning initiatives. Through this approach, students need not physically travel to classes, so it reduces their carbon print. Instead, they engage in paperless learning, which can greatly contribute to sustainable urbanisation.”
OUM is confident that its partnership with the two institutions in Poland can generate wider interest in online learning among students across the globe. NCU, which has the status of research university in Poland, offers education in over 100 fields of study and 55 postgraduate courses. Meanwhile, APS focuses on the cultural, scientific and economic development of Asian states and seeks to enhance friendly relations between Poland and Asia.
