The presentation of selected study programmes at Palacký University was part of a government mission of the Czech Minister of the Environment and a delegation of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic. The mission was also attended by representatives of Palacký University Olomouc who came home having made interesting contacts in Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. They also explored the possibilities of linking the results of science and research at UP with local partners there.
Palacký University, represented by Jiří Lach, Vice-Rector for Organisation and Development, and Ondřej Pokorný, Head of the Indonesian Studies for Tourism programme at the UP Faculty of Arts, took part in a week-long government mission led by Czech Minister of Environment Richard Brabec and a delegation of the Czech Confederation of Industry to Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. Its primary purpose was to establish contacts with local state and private bodies involved in environmental protection and sustainable development in agriculture, urbanisation, and social sciences. During the meetings, conducted at the level of ministries and local governments, they also discussed the support for the implementation of scientific knowledge into practice.
“In Malaysia, we focussed primarily on negotiations with the representatives of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and the representatives of the government organisation MIDA granting foreign scholarships to Malaysian students. In recent years, this programme has seen significant reduction in the number of scholarships in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which was also noticed by our Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, where dozens of Malaysian students have been studying until recently. In the negotiations, I emphasised that the academic erudition and enthusiasm of these students, along with their smooth integration into the local environment, have always been beneficial for us and that we want to see them at our university in the years to come,” said UP Vice-Rector Lach.
During the series of talks in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu, the Malaysian party presented the concept of its environmental development and the examples of close cooperation between the university and the private sector. Ondřej Pokorný, Head of the Indonesian Studies for Tourism programme from the Department of Asian Studies, stated that Malaysia is very interested in scientific knowledge concerning sustainable development and is ready to participate with third parties in their research and implementation. “Palacký University can offer top workplaces in the departments of geoinformatics, development and environmental studies, natural sciences, and more, and it is true that there has been a great deal of interest in our presentation of these fields in Malaysia as well as in the quality of our research centres related to these disciplines,” Pokorný said.
The Palacký University delegation also informed local interested persons about other Olomouc study programmes, namely those accredited in English, mainly from the Faculties of Medicine and Law. “Especially in Kota Kinabalu, they were very interested in our offer. It resulted in negotiations with the Minister of Tourism on their support of research stays of Palacký University students in this part of Malaysia and also in signing a draft agreement on cooperation with Malaysian University of Sabah,” said Pokorný. Malaysia is one of the most stable countries in Southeast Asia, has a well-functioning education system, and is open to cooperation at all levels of scientific and educational knowledge.
Palacký University was also introduced by UP representatives in Singapore and Johor Bahru, Malaysia, where they had two more meetings. The first one was a follow-up to the UP visit to the National University of Singapore in March and it took place at the Department of South-East Asian Studies. The second one was held in Johor Bahru at Asian Metropolitan University, which specialises in medicine and health sciences, including nursing, and is rated among the best in Malaysia. Thanks to the proximity of Johor Bahru and Singapore, UP academics enjoyed a free afternoon and discussed possible forms of cooperation with the representatives of the local medical faculty. They concluded their mission in Vietnam, where they also introduced the study programmes of Palacký University, closely related to the purpose of the government mission.