KUALA LUMPUR: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) marked a new chapter in its efforts to make Malaysia the hub of higher education when it became the first public university to open a branch overseas, namely in Doha, Qatar.

The Higher Education Ministry, in a statement, said the intake of the university's first batch of students will be carried out in October and the memorandum of agreement (MoA) signing ceremony on the setting up of the Doha branch yesterday was witnessed by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad.

The MoA between UKM and The Regional Group of Qatar, which is a management company in the fields of property development, asset management, agriculture, stock investment and engineering consultancy services in Qatar, is regarded as a success for UKM in being a catalyst for public universities to expand overseas.

Noraini said the inking of the agreement opened a new chapter for Malaysian institutions of higher education to achieve higher levels in terms of research and innovation, teaching and learning, consultancy as well as community development despite facing challenging times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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