Kuala Nerus—Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) held a closing ceremony for students of Erasmus Mundus Masters Course in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems (TROPIMUNDO) 2019 at INOS Auditorium on 16 June to mark their one-semester completion at UMT. In relation to the ceremony, UMT also received a courtesy call from Belgian Ambassador Pascal H. Grégoire.

The course that takes two years is sponsored by the European Commission (EC) and coordinated by Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.

UMT Vice Chancellor Professor Dato’ Dr Nor Aieni Mokhtar in her speech during the ceremony said that five cohorts had completed the programme at UMT since 2015.

“The first cohort had 13 students, the second 14, the third 18, and the fourth 17. The fifth cohort consisted of 16 students from ten countries including Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Spain, UK and the United States of America,” she said.

Professor Nor Aieni said that UMT became one of the 12 official member universities in the consortium of TROPIMUNDO mobility programme on 1 September 2014 after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Universiti Libre De Bruxelles.

“Today, 16 TROPIMUNDO students completed the required one semester at UMT for five months beginning last February,” Professor Nor Aieni said.

She also said that, by completing the programme, the students had officially become part of UMT alumni and at the same time also its ambassadors who would help to improve UMT’s visibility at the global arena.

During the ceremony, UMT also thanked Belgian Ambassador Pascal H. Grégoire for his participation in the turtle conservation activities at UMT Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary Station on Redang Island on 10-12 April this year.

UMT Sea Turtle Research Unit Dr Mohd Uzair Rusli and Professor Nor Aieni presented a T-shirt to Mr. Grégoire to symbolically acknowledge him as The First Ambassador to Volunteer at Marine Turtle Field Station.

Also attending the ceremony were TROPIMUNDO General Coordinator Professor Dr. Farid Dahdouh-Guebas from University Libre Brussels (ULB), Belgium, and UMT principal officers.

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Corporate Communication Centre

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu