Education Malaysia Global Services Signs MoU with the Eurasian Universities Union 

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- The international promotion arm of the Ministry of Higher Education, Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Eurasia Universities Union (EURAS) in Istanbul on Thursday. The MoU was signed by Dato’ Prof Dr Rujhan Mustafa, CEO of EMGS and Dr Mustafa Aydin, President EURAS, witnessed by Dato’ Seri Idris Jusoh, Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia.
 
“It is not impossible to see a future where a student will have the choice to do a year or even a subject in a different university across different geographical borders. Imagine the wealth of knowledge and experience this will bring to a graduate - in understanding and appreciating cultures, people and places – skill sets crucial for the global economy.
 
“If we can open such opportunities to our students, we will be successful in our aim as educators to develop global talents,”Dato Seri Idris said.
 
According to the WEF’s Future of Jobs Report, the top 10 skills in demand for the future are about being able to problem solve complex situations, being creative, thinking critically, having the ability to coordinate and interact with others, to name a few.
 
“To compete in the global workforce, it’s now all about skills, not just degrees. We cannot underestimate the importance of student mobility programmes – the significance of cross border and cross cultural learning and experience in learning spaces that is foreign to our own. It will equip students with multicultural understanding and experience, interpersonal communication skills, independence and confidence- skills which will provide the competitive advantage to be employable in the global economy.
 
EURAS, a union of 90 universities from all across West and Central Europe, Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East and Asia is the platform for cooperation, education development and cultural flows.
 
The MoU will pave way for significant collaboration between Malaysian higher education institutions and universities within the EURAS network particularly in student and academic mobility and research.
 
“We need to bridge quality and standards of higher education across regions for a more seamless collaboration. Malaysian institutions have long standing partnerships with  many universities  in the UK, Australia, the US, Asia and with the collaboration with EURAS, partnerships will stretch wider – Balkans, Central Europe and other countries  in the EURAS network. Through inter-institution collaboration, we have opened opportunities for students to study in both campuses and earn degrees from both universities. Our institutions too have hosted students from all over the world on shorter mobility programmes. Our truly Asian culture, historical and geographical diversity, hospitality of our people and reputable and quality institutions makes Malaysia an ideal partner in education.
 
Malaysia’s higher education system ranks 25^th in the world (U21), 11 of its subjects rank top 50 and 42 subjects rank top 100 in the world (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017) and five of its universities rank in top 8 in Asean. Friendly immigration laws have made it possible for a Visa Approval letter to be issued within 14 day, making it relatively easy for students who qualify to enter and study in Malaysia. Malaysia ranks no 1, alongside Germany for internationalisation in higher education and is the 12^th most preferred Education destination in the world.
 
“Turkey is an important partner for Malaysia on Waqf (charitable endowment) revival in higher education. We are looking at waqf as the third economic sector. Waqf will ensure the financial sustainability of the higher education industry,” Dato Seri Idris said.
 
The Minister also met up with over 25 Malaysian Alumni in Istanbul, many graduates of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) from as far back as the early 90s. “I am happy to see that they are successful in their respective fields – many are in education, media, IT and business; they still speak Bahasa Malaysia and they say they miss our durian, nasi lemak and roti canai, but mostly, our people,” Dato Seri Idris added.
 
The Minister also met with a group of 50 Malaysian students studying in Turkey and visited several universities in the capital city.
 
For information on studying in Malaysia, refer to www.educationmalaysia.gov.my

About Education Malaysia Global Services

Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) is a non-profit company, limited by guarantee, wholly owned by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) Malaysia. EMGS acts as a One Stop Centre for international student services. EMGS is responsible for the management and processing of applications for a Student Pass to higher education institutions in Malaysia. EMGS also leads the worldwide promotion of education in Malaysia. At present, higher education institutions in Malaysia hosts over 170,000 international students from more than 150 countries.

SOURCE: Education Malaysia Global Services

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
Name : Anita Daud Charles
Education Malaysia Global Services
Tel    : +603 21 800 800 / +6013 6033 855
Email   : anita@educationmalaysia.gov.my

--BERNAMA