Bintulu, 19 October 2023 - The student e-mobility program, titled International Class Exchange: Exploring Sarawak and Indonesia's Nature and Culture 2023, has taken place on 18 and 19 October 2023. This program has been organized by the Borneo Institute of Ecosciences (IEB), Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus (UPMKB) in collaboration with the National University (UNAS), Indonesia. It has received the participation of 148 participants from 4 countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and India. The two-day e-mobility program has been implemented online through the ZOOM platform, and has been coordinated by Dr. Keeren Sundara Rajoo, as the program director

 

This program was inaugurated by Dr. Syeed Saiful, Director of the Borneo Ecosciences Institute (IEB) UPMKB, and Dr. Tatang Mitra Setia, Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Agriculture, Universitas Nasional (UNAS). Dr. Syeed Saiful has stressed that cooperation among universities in the Southeast Asian region is imperative in facing global challenges, and hopes that this program will become a platform for stronger cooperation between UPMKB and UNAS. Dr. Tatang has expressed a desire to make this program an annual program, because of its obvious benefits especially for UPMKB and UNAS students.

 

The speakers of this program consist of IEB UPMKB associate researchers, namely Dr. Latifah Binti Omar and Dr. Keeren Sundara Rajoo. Dr. Latifah has explained about the native plants used as flavors and spices by the Melanau community, while Dr. Keeren has spoken about the forestry sector in Malaysia. Apart from that, two UNAS lecturers, namely Prof. Dr. Sri Endarti Rahayu and Assoc. Prof. Ir. Etty Hesthiati have shared about ethnobiological studies in Indonesia and the biodiversity of local fruit plants in the South Jakarta City Forest.

 

At the closing ceremony, Mr. Inkorena Sukartono, as the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Agriculture of UNAS, has commented and hopes that the cooperation between UNAS and UPMKB will continue for years to come, not only in terms of student mobility but also in terms of research and teaching. He also expressed his intention to conduct a physical mobility program at UNAS especially for UPMKB students next year if circumstances allow.