News

Walailak University (WU) continues strengthening its close ties with Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) to advance academic and research initiatives. Following the visit of UniMAP Vice Chancellor Prof. Dato' Ts. Dr. Zaliman Sauli to WU on Monday this week, during which the delegation met with WU President Professor Dr. Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, the School of Informatics hosted a delegation from UniMAP’s Faculty of Business & Communication (FPK) today to discuss into more in-depth collaborations.

The discussion covered a wide range of opportunities, from developing dual degree program for postgraduates to the promotion of internship and student exchange program aimed at fostering cultural immersion and enhancing academic skills. The fruitful dialogue, attended by faculty from both institutions, took place at the Khao Luang Chamber of the Cooperative Education Building.

Associate Professor Dr. Mohammad Harith Amlus, Deputy Dean for Academic and Research at UniMAP’s FPK, on behalf of the delegation, said that he was very glad to visit the School of Informatics at WU with his colleagues and was honored to represent the Dean of FPK in today’s discussion. He stated that there are many opportunities for the two institutions to collaborate. “Walailak has its strengths, and UniMAP also has its strengths. So, we can collaborate to improve our quality as well as our rankings together."

Associate Professor Dr. Chaowanan Khundam, Chairperson of the Postgraduate Program at WU’s School of Informatics, noted that UniMAP has strength in graduate programs. “UniMAP has a strong point in the high number of graduate students. We can exchange our master’s or Ph.D. students and even establish a dual degree program. For example, students could spend one year at FPK and another year conducting research here at the School of Informatics,” he said.

 

 

In addition to the dual degree program, both parties agreed to extend the collaboration to internship, also known as Cooperative Education, and student exchange program. The School of Informatics also took this opportunity to invite FPK students to join its International Short Course, scheduled to commence in May 2025, and extended an invitation for FPK faculty to serve as speakers at the Walailak Research Convention 2025, set to take place from March 26 to 28 at WU. Additionally, WU faculty were also invited to participate in the FPK Conference in Malaysia, scheduled for September 9–10, 2025. 

A key highlight, apart from the discussion, was a tour of the School of Informatics’ advanced facilities, such as the Interactive Multimedia Animation and Games Studio Lab, the Computer Graphics Laboratory, and the Digital Content and Media Studio Room. The UniMAP delegation was very impressed, as one delegate saying, “If only the two institutions were just 30 minutes away, we would send all our students here.”

 

 

 

Established in 2001, UniMAP is a leading Malaysian university renowned for excellence in engineering. Beyond engineering, its Faculty of Business & Communication (FPK) has demonstrated a strong commitment to providing a world-class learning environment and fostering entrepreneurial qualities for the students. The faculty currently has 2,074 undergraduate and 413 postgraduate students.

As of the School of Informatics, it has around 1,320 undergraduate students while the number of postgraduate students remains relatively low.  However, the school has achieved significant milestones in research, contributing to societal betterment through initiatives such as virtual reality tools for training medical students, artificial intelligence applications for examining patient health and reducing labor-intensive tasks for healthcare professionals, and advancements in blockchain technology for cybersecurity, among others.



For more information about the WU School of Informatics, please visit https://informatics.wu.ac.th/en/home/.
For more details about UniMAP’s Faculty of Business & Communication, please visit https://fpk.unimap.edu.my/.

News by Settaboot Onphakdee, Division of Corporate Communication