MONDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER – The International Conference on Education and Psychology 2016 (ICEduPsy2016) could be the platform to promote local and international cooperation to promote the education and psychology professions in the island of Borneo.

According to the Minister of Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister, Datuk Hajah Jainab Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Ayid, education and psychology are two areas that are interrelated and could have a huge impact on the welfare of society.

“We hope this conference will provide a room for educators and researchers to share knowledge and discuss issues on current education and psychology for the future of this region,” she said in her speech at the opening of ICEduPsy2016 in a hotel in Kota Kinabalu, recently.

Earlier, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Professor Datuk Dr. Mohd Harun Abdullah said the collaboration through conferences like that would strengthen neighbourliness especially Malaysia-Indonesia, and to encourage the sharing of knowledge transfer amongst experts in the field of psychology and education.

“The theme, ‘Educating our Generation Transformation in Shaping the Future’, this provides an opportunity for participants who speak the same lingua in the fields of psychology and education the results of research and findings of human behaviour and innovation in teaching and learning activities.

“This effort will bring new insights in advancing the field of psychology and education practiced in both countries,” she added.

A total of 500 participants comprising delegations of both countries participated in the two-day conference jointly organised by the Faculty of Psychology and Education and Universitas Borneo Tarakan Kalimantan, East Indonesia. – (fl)

FRIDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER – A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was today signed between Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy, at the Chancellery Building, UMS.

The MoU was signed by the Vice-Chancellor of UMS, Prof. Datuk Dr Mohd Harun Abdullah on behalf of UMS, witnessed by the Registrar of UMS, No’man Hj. Ahmad and the Counselor of Public Affairs Section, US Embassy, Frank J. Whitaker, witnessed by the Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer, US Embassy, Michael Cavey.

The MoU’s main objective is to establish a corner which will house materials about the United States, and organise activities that will benefit the campus community as well as the general public.

“The concept of the corner named ‘American Corner’will have Smithsonian design and will be launched in early December,” said the Counselor, adding that the corner will have a collection about the U.S. policies, education, geography, history, society, culture among others.

UMS is the first Academic Library in Malaysia to sign this memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Embassy to establish an American Corner at its university.  - FL

FRIDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER – The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FPSK), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) organised a workshop on ‘4^th Ultrasound in Obstetric and Gynaecology’ for three days, held at the Main Auditorium of the faculty.

The workshop was jointly organised by the Women and Children’s Hospital Sabah and IDS Medical Systems Group (IDSMED).

The opening ceremony was officiated by the Deputy Dean (Clinical Research) FPSK, Associate Professor Dr. Helen Benedict Lasimbang representing the Dean of FPSK, Prof. Dr. Zainal Arifin Mustapha.

In her speech, Dr. Helen said, the understanding and use of ultrasound was important in the care and management of obstetric patients nowadays.

“Ultrasound is routinely used to protect pregnancies as part of antenatal care in order to ensure that the foetus is developing normally besides able to detect any problems that might occur during the gestation period,” she said.

In this connection, as doctors and medical practitioners, it is important to understand the principles of ultrasound, which includes awareness on the handling and application.

The workshop was participated by 50 participants comprising students and medical practitioners around Sabah, and would end this Sunday. – (fl)

THURSDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER – A total of 100 participants from across the country participated in the Malaysian Private Entities Reporting Standard (MPERS) organised by the Bursar Department, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), starting today.

Themed “Are You Ready to be Audited?”, the course was held in one of the hotels in Kota Kinabalu and was facilitated by two speakers who had vast experience in the field of auditing.

They were Thong Foo Vung, a partner with audit firm KPMG and also a Board Member of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB), and the Manager of KPMG, Oh Sye Yie who had served KPMG audit firm in Taiwan.

Earlier, Acting Treasurer, Zallifah Shadan in her speech said, the MPERS course was in line with the new accounting standards issued by the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) on 14 February 2014, where MPERS replaces the existing standards.

“This standard applies to financial statements, beginning on or after 1 January 2016,” she said.

She also expressed hope that the knowledge shared would not be restricted within the seminar only but would continue to work closely with each other.

MPERS is held for two days. – (fl)