In a remarkable endeavor to foster cross-border collaboration in scientific research and innovation, the International Conference on Academia-Community Engagement (InACE) program at Universiti Malaya (host) has joined hands with Airlangga University (co-host) from Indonesia. This collaboration aims to leverage the expertise of both institutions to address global challenges and drive groundbreaking advancements across various fields.

The program begins on Tuesday, August 29 at 8 a.m. Opened with a series of Symposiums, starting from Symposium 1 which was moderated by Dr. Azizi Bin Abu Bakar who discussed education. Followed by Symposium 2 moderated by Dr. Ferry Effendi where the topic of discussion was ICT & Technology. Then Symposium 3 which discussed Health & Wellbeing moderated by Dr. Aida Sharinaz Binti Ahmad Adlan. Followed by Symposium 4 moderated by Dr. Eng Sapto Andriyono who discussed topics about Economics, Finance & Social Welfare. Until the last Symposium, namely Symposium 5, which was moderated by Dr. Shafa’atussara Binti Silahudin with the theme General Community Engagement.

The partnership was formalized during an opening ceremony attended by prominent officials from both universities. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Zuhairi Abdullah, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaya, and Prof. Dr. Mohammad Nasih, Rector of Airlangga University, expressed their enthusiasm for the collaboration and highlighted its potential to contribute significantly to the advancement of science and technology. After the opening ceremony, it is followed by a lunch break which can also be a networking session.

The event started again with a forum session which discussed “Fostering Partnership for Community Sustainability: Lessons Learned from the Past, Present, and Future” delivered by great figures who had an impact, namely Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amer Siddiq Amer Nurdin as Director of the University Malaya Community Engagement Center (UMCares), Mr. Suhaimi Sulaiman, Chief Director of Broadcasting from Radio Televisyen (RTM), Mr. John Son Oei, Co-Founder and CEO of Epic Collective, and moderated by Ir. Dr. Nasrul Anuar Abd Razak from UMCares.

At the end of the event as well as closing on the first day of InAce, there was a Plenary 1 session in the form of a workshop entitled “The Role Of The Penta Helix Model For The Community Development Programme” which was filled in by the Project Coordinator in WUACD, Prof. Dr. Mansor Bin Abu Talib Director as Center of Research for Mental Health and Wellbeing from UCSI University. This workshop was led by a great chairperson, none other than Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nur Amani Binti Ahmad Tajuddin from the Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of Universiti Malaya.

With the InACE collaboration between Universiti Malaya and Universitas Airlangga in full swing, the global community eagerly anticipates the innovative solutions and groundbreaking discoveries that will undoubtedly emerge from the synergy of these two distinguished institutions. This partnership serves as a powerful testament to the transformative potential of global collaboration in advancing scientific research and catalyzing positive change on a global scale.