As signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Harvard University Asia Center and Lam Kin-Chung Morning Sun Charity Fund  was held on October 28, 2009.

UKM was represented by the Vice Chancellor, YBhg. Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin.  The Harvard University Asia Center was represented by Dr. Ho Hau Wong, the Honorary Advisor, and the last organization was represented by  Dr. Lam Kin Chung, the founder and chairman of Lam Kin-Chung Morning Sun Charity Fund.  Also present was  Prof. Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of History, Harvard University.

The goal of the MoU is to twofold, first, to formalize a collaboration among these three organizations and second, to co sponsor the "Harvard Ezra F. Vogel Malaysia/Singapore Initiative Public Lecture Series”.  With the signing of the MOU, UKM will host the Harvard Ezra F. Vogel Malaysia lecture half yearly, for a period of five years. The next public lecture in 2010 will be part of UKM’s 40th year celebration. 

Named after Prof. Ezra F. Vogel, who served as the Director of Harvard University Asia Centre from 1997 to 1999, the programme aims to strengthen Harvard University ’s links with universities across Southeast and South Asia, starting with Singapore and Malaysia. Harvard University Asia Centre, focuses on international relations in Asia and comparative studies of Asian countries and regions. UKM is proud to be selected as the university in Malaysia to participate in this lecture series, partnering the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

UKM’s association with Harvard began in the late 1980s when the university was studying its parallel track in medical education, one of which was the problem based learning track. Later, in the early 1990s, UKM’s Faculty of Medicine sent four faculty members for clinical training and research in the field of otorhinolaryngology or ENT. The training gained by UKM academics at Harvard Medical School has, in part, contributed to the highly successful UKM Cochlear Implant Programme, which was established in 1995, and the Centre for Tissue Engineering, which was set-up in 2001.
To commemorate the occasion, UKM is proud to present Prof. Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of History at Harvard University to deliver his inaugural public lecture on the topic “The Idea of Asia in Modern History”.

It is hoped that with this new initiative, there will be more opportunities for both UKM and Harvard University to collaborate in areas such as challenges of building a nation state, medical and health technology, renewable energy, climate change, nanotechnology and advanced materials, biodiversity and biotechnology and sustainable Development.

Foto from Office of International Relations, UKM