(A) UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONFERENCE 2009
From 23 to 26 November 2009, BJIM organised the University-Community Engagement Conference (UCEC2009) with the objective of enhancing the social responsibilities and changing roles of universities as well as to explore methods, experiences and strategies for community development. UCEC2009 was organised in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Community Engaged Research (GACER) and UNESCO-APEID. The conference was the first of its kind in
Due to the success of UCEC2009, a permanent Secretariat for University-Community Engagement Champion/Conference was set up, thus placing USM at the forefront of community development and engagement.
(B) NETWORKING WITH FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES
From 2008 to 2010, BJIM established collaborations in industrial training, collaborative research and joint courses with universities in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia. Two MoUs were signed with the National Kaohsiung University of Applied Science, Taiwan and O’Brien Institute,
In order to promote UCEC2009 and to learn more on how foreign universities in the region engage with the rural communities, in May and August 2009 the BJIM team made two visits to two universities in southern Thailand, namely Walailak University (WU) and Surat-Thani Rajabhat University (SRU) as well as three award winning communities that adopt ‘self-sufficiency economy’ as the main philosophy in the process of becoming self-reliant. The first trip was led by Prof Lim Koon Ong, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, BJIM. One of the agenda of this trip was for USM to assist WU in planning and strategizing the ASEAN Technology, Education and Community Empowerment Conference (ASEANTEC), which was to be held at WU in April 2010 but is postponed. The request for USM’s assistance came as a result of the successful UCEC2009.
As Thailand was selected by the participants of UCEC2009 to be the next host for UCEC2011, the BJIM team, led by Prof Lim Koon Ong, made another visit to Thammasat University, Bangkok in May 2010 to formally discuss the organisation of the second UCEC in 2011. As a result, Thammasat University has officially agreed to host UCEC2011 with USM as a co-organiser. During this trip, the BJIM team also visited the Population and Development Association (PDA), Thailand’s largest NGO, famed for its extensive scope of community empowerment activities and network of corporate partners. USM-PDA collaboration began with PDA’s agreement to conduct a forum on community engagement for BJIM prior to the public lecture entitled “Privatising Poverty Eradication in ASEAN: A new Approach on Community Empowerment” by Mr Mechai Veravaidya, PDA’s chairman, at USM on 5 October 2010.
(C) GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROJECT SUBMISSIONS
Guidelines for community engagement project submissions have been prepared by UCE cluster members. Besides working on an e-booklet that explains and guides applicants on the requirements and procedures that they need to follow, the group has also made further amendments to the existing project application forms. These documents are finalised and used.
NOTE: * Relevant Appendices can be downloaded at the BJIM website : http://www.usm.my/icn.
(D) COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROJECT/FLAGSHIP
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(i) |
66 community engagement projects were implemented. |
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(ii) |
2 flagship projects entitled “Sustainable Optimal Services (SOS) for OKU” and “Membasmi Kemiskinan melalui Pendidikan Sokongan Percuma dan Pemeliharaan dan Pemuliharaan Alam Sekitar-Sungai Merbok” were implemented. |
(E) VISITS
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(i) |
The BJIM team visited villages around Merbok, Kedah on 7 October 2010. As a result, USM has agreed to choose the Kelab Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Puncak (Kelab Puncak) as a USM Flagship project. |
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(ii) |
2 UCEC 2011 discussions were held in Thailand. Thammasat University, has agreed to host the UCEC 2011 in Thailand and the organising committee of UCEC 2011 was formed. |
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Visit to the Population & Development Association (PDA) Thailand to discuss collaborative projects and partnerships. |
(F) WORKSHOP/SEMINAR ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
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(i) |
Workshop on Refinement of Community Project Guidelines was conducted on 26 May 2010. It was aimed at clarifying the work process of university-community engagement projects as well as in improving several key components in the work process. As a result, several improvements such as the evaluation criteria for the community projects were established and will be implemented for future projects. |
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(ii) |
International Public Lecture on ‘Privatising Poverty Eradication in ASEAN: A new Approach to Community Empowerment’ by Mr. Mechai Viravaidya was conducted on 4 October 2010 at Dewan Budaya, USM. It was organised by the School of Social Sciences in collaboration with BJIM. The Minister of Higher Education attended the lecture as well as officiated the launching of the coffee table book titled “Reaching Out... Making The Difference” as well as launched the UCE cluster on the same day. |
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(iii) |
‘Community Engagement: Sharing Experiences’ workshop was conducted on 5 October 2010 in the School of Management, USM. It was an idea-sharing session on the concept of community engagement in Thailand in conjunction with the visit of Mr. Mechai Viravaidya to USM. |
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(iv) |
A workshop on “Moving Into Engagement” was conducted in the Health Campus. The workshop was attended by about 30 staff from 3 Schools. |