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UUM ONLINE: Alor Setar - Â鶹ֱ²¥ (UUM) through two of its schools signed a Research Agreement with Albukhary International University (AIU) recently.

The Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy (TISSA) and the School of Multimedia Technology and Communication (SMMTC) were selected to conduct three separate researches amounting to MYR228,600 for a period of two years.

The Research Agreement signing ceremony was officiated by UUM Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Prof. Dr. Ayoib Che Ahmad and AIU was represented by its Vice-Chancellor and President, Prof. Dato' Dr. Abd Aziz Tajuddin at the Chancellery Building, AIU.

In his speech Prof Dato' Dr Abd Aziz expressed his elation when four institutions of which three were local universities, while another was a non-profit organization from Thailand wanted to create a synergy of joint ventures that would bring about positive impact and benefit to the community especially in the field of social business which is the niche area of AIU.

Prof. Dato' Dr. Abd Aziz described the signing of agreement as another milestone to AIU with project allocation worth MYR1 million involving three Research Agreements and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). As a result, it would help change the lives of local communities by producing more social entrepreneurs.

“This cooperation is also a new approach to help the community around the world as AIU students come from all over the world and the country.

"As a university, we must conduct research and AIU would like to take advantage of this opportunity so that the benefits can be extended to the community," he said at the Research Agreement and MoU Signing Ceremony.

Apart from UUM, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) too signed the research agreement. Meanwhile the MoU signed between AIU and Yunus Thailand was held through the Zoom application.

He said, the research cooperation will focus on the districts of Baling and Sik where help can be rendered to increase the income of residents in the said districts.  By doing so, it would reduce the gap between the poor and rich.

To realize that aspiration, according to him, AIU needed the expertise from strategic partners such as UUM, an institution known for its eminence in the field of management and administration, USM for its niche in policy and USIM for its finance.

"I hope with this cooperation, the people in Baling and Sik will benefit from AIU.

"Besides that, our students will also learn from these joint ventures. As we all know knowledge is an important weapon to change their future. Later on they will help their community when they return to their respective countries, "he said.

The signing of the Research Agreement was witnessed by the Dean of TISSA, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rose Shamsiah Samsudin and Dean of SMMTC, Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Sobihatun Nur Abdul Salam.