The Textile Technology Programme of Faculty of Applied Sciences (FSG), Universiti Teknologi MARA, (UiTM) Shah Alam, Malaysia recently secured a grant for a project entitled “Smart textiles – Modernisation of the Curriculum of Textile Engineering and Textile Technology in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan”. The grant, ERASMUS+Programme from the Europian Union, which covers a 3-year duration project starts from 15 January 2020 and ends on 14 January 2023 with a grant amounting to EUR 996.160,00.
The aim of the Erasmus+Programme is to boost skills and employability, as well as aims at modernizing the education, training, and youth by supporting transnational partnerships among institutions and organizations. It also supports the program countries’ efforts to efficiently use the potential of Europe’s human and social capital in order to tackle the skills gaps, foster cooperation, and bridge the world of education.
The project includes a collaborative initiative between European universities and some Asian Universities. The universities involved in this ten-team project include University of Ghent, Belgium; Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain; University of West Attica, Athens, Greece; Nadirshaw Eduljee Dinshaw, University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan; Bahauddin Zakariya University, Punjab, Pakistan; Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia: Polytechnic of Textile Technology, Indonesia; and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Johor, Malaysia. A consultancy company based in Piraeus, Greece; IDEC S.A. is also involved in the project by providing high technology training to the universities.
The collaborative efforts include the development of the new curriculum on smart textiles and staff exchange between the Asian and European universities, and also an internship program for the staff and students in European textile industries. The program is expected to generate about 20 MoUs between UiTM and textile-related industries in the Asian and European countries.
The UiTM team which will receive a funding amount of EUR135,670.00 (RM627,940.00) is led by Assoc. Prof. Ts Dr. Mohd Rozi Ahmad. Other members of the team include Assoc. Prof. Ts Dr. Mohamad Faizul Yahya, Ts Dr. Nor Dalila Nor Affandi, Dr. Atiyyah Musa and Ts Dr. Wan Syazehan Ruznan. The FSG Textile team members were personally congratulated by the UiTM Vice-Chancellor Prof. Emeritus Datuk Ir. Dr. Mohd Azraai Kassim for their achievement in securing the grant. Their project will support UiTM’s strategic plans to become a “Globally Renowned University” by the year 2025.
Prepared by: Assoc.Prof.Ts Dr Aishah Bujang, FSG, UiTM
Edited by: Assoc.Prof.Dr.Geetha Subramaniam, Fellow, InQKA , UiTM
