NEUST President Dr. Rhodora Jugo connected with potential international partners in Malaysia through an institutional visit held on November 7, 2025, to strengthen the University’s international linkages and explore new areas of academic collaboration.

Accompanied by Quality Assurance Office Director Dr. Analyn Gamit, and Local and International Accreditation Unit Head Dr. Angelo Santos, Dr. Jugo led a series of meetings with officials from the University of Malaya, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

At the University of Malaya, Dr. Jugo and her team were received by Professor Dr. Ahmad Zabidi Abdul Razak, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Dr. Ali Sorayyaei Azar, Senior Lecturer, and Mrs. Farah Nadiah Nordin, Assistant Registrar for Research.

Discussions centered on establishing collaborative initiatives in research, faculty development, and academic mobility, reinforcing both institutions’ commitment to advancing quality higher education across ASEAN.

In a separate engagement, the NEUST delegation met Professor Yahaya Md. Sam of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), who shared valuable insights on international accreditation and quality assurance practices.

This meeting opened prospects for future joint projects, particularly in the areas of research, innovation, and QA capacity building.

The NEUST officials also held a discussion with representatives from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), including Prof. Dr. Natrah Saad, Deputy Director of the Quality and Accreditation Management Centre, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norani Nordin, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hafizab Abd Mutalib, both International Accreditation Managers.

The conversation focused on collaborative benchmarking, external accreditation, and faculty exchange programs designed to enhance institutional quality systems.

Beyond formal meetings, the NEUST team engaged in informal networking with ASEAN university leaders and quality assurance experts during the AUN-QA International Conference 2025 held in the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from November 5 to 7, 2025.

These conversations helped identify new potential partners for future academic and research collaborations, which will be further explored in the coming months through possible Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs).

The series of strategic partnership meetings in Malaysia underscored NEUST’s proactive commitment to internationalization and global collaboration, reflecting the University’s vision of fostering quality-driven governance and institutional excellence.

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