IIUM Graduate School of Management (IIUM-GSM), a strategic business unit of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU ) with a leading international university of USA , namely the University of Minnesota (UMN). The ceremony was held at the Office of the Rector of IIUM in Gombak campus. The signing ceremony was done by the Rector of IIUM Datuk seri Prof. Dr. Zaleha Kamarudin, Prof. Dr. David Chapman of the University of Minnesota, and by Prof. Dr. AAhad Osman-Gani, Director of IIUM-GSM. It was attended by members of senior management of IIUM, faculty, staff, and representatives from the American Embassy in Malaysia.
The collaborations between the two universities will involve among many things, student and faculty exchanges, offering online courses, internships, and research collaborations. IIUM, being an international university with students from more than 120 countries, and faculty members (lecturers) from more than 40 countries has the unique advantage of developing extensive international collaborations. But, IIUM is now focusing on developing such relationships only with the highly respectable institutions of higher learning with excellent global reputation.
The Director of IIUM-GSM, Professor Dr. AAhad M. Osman-Gani mentioned that GSM chose UMN because of their excellent reputation globally and for their interests in making collaborations with Asian Universities, particularly with IIUM-GSM. He said the program was introduced to provide opportunities and exposures to students and faculty members for gaining comprehensive learning experiences and for achieving the objectives of a global research university. In addition, he said, the program will also help to enhance the students’ thinking and actions on various issues related to the community, and global perspectives and to establish and strengthen relationships with reputed institutions overseas.
Previously, IIUM GSM has signed MoUs with two internationally renowned universities namely the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign of USA, and Kyoto University of Japan. Through the collaborations, students from these universities will have the opportunity to pursue their programs at one of the universities for one semester. They can also study approved courses for more semesters in their areas of specializations.
Prof. AAhad said he is now working with the university in establishing high quality video conferencing system to offer distance learning courses from Malaysia to USA (University of Minnesota) and vice versa through high technology communication device more effectively and efficiently. He reported that three Japanese executives of Kyoto University are now attending classes at the IIUM-GSM and doing internship programs at three Malaysian companies. They are here as part of the Global Leadership program conducted under the joint efforts of IIUM-GSM and Kyoto University GSM.
On the development of new courses at IIUM-GSM, he said, the fifth specialization of Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Protective Security Management will be offered soon. This program will give exposure to the students on how to protect ICT security and intellectual property rights in todays’ competitive business environment. In line with GSM’s mission of developing Ethical Global Leaders for the Future, this program will emphasize on moral and ethical dimensions of management.
By: Ahmad Zikri Othman
http://www.iium.edu.my/news/iium-signed-mou-university-minnesota-usa
