The Faculty of Art and Design (FSSR) of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perak, Malaysia recently organized the “International Art and Design Collaboration: Virtual Program Series (IADC) 2020” with international strategic partners from Pakistan, Indonesia, Russia, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
The seminar, organized by UiTM Perak was co-hosted by 17 strategic partners from both local and international universities.
According to IADC 2020 project director, Dr. Muhamad Abdul Aziz Ab Gani, the International Virtual program series aims to cultivate the diplomatic relations between UiTM and MoU partners amidst the COVID 19 pandemic. The program also hopes to benefit the students and academia in promoting knowledge exchange and increasing research networking.
The session is divided into four parts; the International Classroom Lecture Series, International Design Talk, International Art Talk, and International Virtual Art Exhibition. For the International Classroom Lecture Series, UiTM lecturers conducted online lectures from 1 June until 31 August 2020 with UiTM students and students from universities abroad.
The International Design Talk and Art Talk categories include academics from local and foreign universities sharing their knowledge in their respective fields as keynote speakers.
The closing of IADC 2020 will be the International Virtual Art Exhibition 2020, where all co-organizers will participate in exhibiting and showcasing their creative work via a virtual gallery. This exhibition began on 1st June 2020 and will end on 15th December 2020.
The IADC 2020 had participants from Pakistan (Bahauddin Zakariya University), Indonesia (Universitas Sebelas Maret, National Multimedia University, Jaya Development University, Indonesia Cultural Institute Bandung and Widyatama University Indonesia), Bangladesh (Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University), Russia (Moscow State Academic Art Institute), Syria (Damascus University) and Saudi Arabia (Effat University).
Local participants include Sultan Idris University, University of Science Malaysia, UCSI University, Multimedia University, University of Kelantan Malaysia, Academy of Arts and Heritage (ASWARA), Taylor’s University and Malaysian Design Council.
The opening ceremony of IADC was officiated by the Rector of UiTM Perak Branch, Professor Sr. Dr. Md Yusof Hamid who highlighted that “this virtual program will further enhance UiTM’s visibility globally and the agenda should be continued to expand the nexus of expertise among all universities”.
This is also well aligned to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 4 in achieving quality in education and SDG No.17 to enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, and technology.