ISTANBUL: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today received a courtesy call from Turkish Higher Education Council (YOK) president Prof Dr Erol Ozvar.
On the agenda were ways to strengthen cooperation in technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
The 40-minute meeting began at 11.30am and was attended by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
Discussions included the introduction of a modular credit system and greater exchanges of academics and students between the two countries.
Zahid said the meeting was also aimed at reviewing memoranda of understanding (MoUs), cooperation agreements and technical agreements signed between higher education institutions in Malaysia and Turkiye.
“We already have close cooperation between universities in Turkiye and Malaysia. I hope the discussions will help strengthen these ties further.
“Mara institutions, particularly Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia and UniKL, have established good cooperation with several universities here,” he told a press conference after the meeting.
He said Mara’s 270 TVET institutions, together with other educational institutions, could provide a platform for expanding technical training cooperation.
Zahid said Malaysia also planned to send experts to Turkiye for training-the-trainers programmes while expanding exchanges involving lecturers and students.
He said cooperation could also extend to the defence industry, particularly through joint research involving technical universities and industry players.
Ozvar said the meeting had opened up opportunities to expand cooperation in higher education and scientific research, building on the close ties between universities in both countries.
“We would like to bring our universities together more frequently. Today’s agenda included possible areas of collaboration between universities in both countries.
“There are ongoing scientific research projects involving universities from both countries, and we would like university leaders to identify projects in priority areas pursued by Malaysia and Turkiye,” he said.
Also present on the Turkish side were the council’s ambassador and adviser to the president, Dr Ergun Bekar, and YOK Department of International Relations head Mustafa Efe.
Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, is in Turkiye for a four-day working visit from Nov 5 to 8.