UNITYINK: UMPSA EMPOWERING INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES ONE AT A TIME

The Centre for Modern Languages (CML), Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) has embarked on an international community service project at the Writing Centre, Hiroshima University (HU), Japan.
The programme kicked off with five sessions of webinar series from September 11 – 15, 2023, with the theme “Empowering Learners Worldwide towards Quality Education,” prior to the on-campus visit from October 2 to 4, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan.

The designed programme, UNITYINK, aims to assist postgraduate students at both institutions, UMPSA and HU by exposing them to relevant skills related to postgraduate research and scientific writing skills.
Almost 90 participants from various institutions, including UMPSA and HU, attended the webinar series throughout the 5-day sessions while 18 students of diverse international backgrounds attended the UNITYINK programme at the Writing Center, HU.

The two-day on-campus sessions were designed as a tailored individual session led by five members of the Department of English Language, CML, including Associate Professor Dr. Nik Aloesnita Nik Mohd Alwi, Associate Professor Dr. Hafizoah Kassim, Ms. Nur Syafawati Sabuan, Ms. Wan Noor Farah Wan Shamsuddin as well as Ms. Arulselvi Uthayakumaran with the assistance of the HU staff members, Assistant Professor Dr Wang Tingjia, Ms. Madison Nicolle, Mr. Daisuke Ueda, and Ms. Mishida.

The webinar series served as an introductory and preparatory activity for the on-campus sessions held at the Writing Centre, HU. The promotion of the planned on-campus program has been successfully carried out with the success of this webinar series.

It also acted as a platform to gather and engage postgraduate students from various institutions in academic discourse sessions. The Writing Centre also played a crucial role as a collaborative partner in this program, with comprehensive promotional activities and involvement as moderators throughout the program.

The on-campus sessions further enhanced the topics discussed during the webinar with focus on abstract writing for journal articles, and presentation skills. Furthermore, the abstracts and presentations created by UNITYINK participants were recorded as reference materials for learning and teaching and uploaded to designated learning tools as digital records.

UNITYINK was also designed emphasising on the significance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs implementation is a universal call to action to address some of the pressing societal issues around the globe including poverty, protection of the planet, equality and inclusive and equitable quality education. Therefore, there are significant implications of SDGs implementation for research, and by exposing postgraduate researchers to SDGs, hence our future hope, they are able to contribute to the advancement of a more sustainable and equitable future for all via their research work.

During the UNITYINK implementation, the instructional materials of the webinar series and tailored individual sessions including the topics, notes, participants’ tasks and reference materials were linked to the relevant SDGs.
This engagement with the Writing Centre, HU has been a great opportunity for new lessons learnt and new prospects for CML and UMPSA. Primarily, the concept and implementation behind the establishment of the Writing Centre, HU opened diverse new perspectives on best practices that could be adapted and implemented in UMPSA context, particularly for the benefit of the students.

In addition, this initiative resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between UMPSA and HU for future collaborations in research, academic programmes, knowledge sharing sessions as well as corporate social responsibility programmes.

UMPSA and HU could collaborate on a student exchange or mobility programme for engineering and science students, particularly in relation to university-wide courses and those offered by the HU Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability (NERPS).

Furthermore, an internship opportunity at Mazda Motor Company in Hiroshima for UMPSA students was in the works, as were customised summer programmes offered by UMPSA to better suit the needs of HU students or staff. These were the successful outcomes of the program's exclusive discussions with several HU academic members.

Finally, potential research and teaching collaboration opportunities between UMPSA and other programmes on and off the HU campus were also identified. The Writing Centre, particularly the Cross-appointed Research Fellow, Assistant Professor Dr. Wang Ting Jia, who has been the main executor for the success of this insightful event since day one, could mediate and establish any communication for future initiatives to take place. In the pursuit of social transformation, UMPSA and HU have inexorably prioritised community outreach as well as empowerment.

Prepared by: Associate Professor Dr. Hafizoah Kassim, Associate Professor Dr. Nik Aloesnita Nik Mohd Alwi, Nur Syafawati Sabuan, Wan Noor Farah Wan Shamsuddin, and Arulselvi Uthayakumaran.