KOTA SAMARAHAN, 9 March 2021: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Utsunomiya University, Japan (UU) continues their strong partnership through consistent engagement and good friendship. UNIMAS and UU officially signed the Memorandum of Agreement on 11 May 2017. Since then, UNIMAS and UU have begun several collaborations, especially the renowned EduTour programme.

The EduTour is a student mobility programme which aims to enhance the learning experience for both UU and UNIMAS students. The idea was mooted by Associate Professor Dr. Souba Rethinasamy of UNIMAS and Prof. Dr. Tatsuhiro Ohkubo of UU which then developed into a comprehensive mobility programme with team members from both universities.

The EduTour programme was successfully conducted for three consecutive years- 2018, 2019 and 2020 here on UNIMAS campus. However, the Covid-19 pandemic nearly hindered the programme from continuing for the 4^th time. Nevertheless, the strong partnership that UNIMAS and UU have developed over the years, and the valuable experiences gained from conducting the programme for three consecutive years, have given both institutions the confidence to emulate the ‘old normal’ EduTour, and give birth to a ‘new normal’ full online version, aptly named as e-EduTour2021.  

The e-EduTour2021 was participated by 22 UU and 10 UNIMAS undergraduates from various faculties. The programme started with a pre-briefing on 12 February and was officiated by ...