TAR UMT x UEF Vietnam: A Fresh Viewpoint in Co-Teaching Across Countries

Date: 27 September 2022

Time: 2.00 pm to 3.00 pm (GMT +8.00 Kuala Lumpur time)

Time: 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm (GMT +7.00 IndoChina time)

Venue: Google Meet Platform

The first-ever co-teaching programme was successfully organised by the Department of Communication at the Penang Branch Campus of Tunku Abdul Rahman University Management and Technology (TAR UMT) in collaboration with the Faculty of Public Relations and Communication at the University of Economics and Finance (UEF) Vietnam on 27 September 2022. This co-teaching programme was made possible by synchronising the class schedules for a crisis communication course between these two institutions.

This co-teaching programme, which was later named a "Mini-Symposium on Crisis Communication", was held virtually and attended by lecturers and students from both universities, for a total of more than 100 people. This programme was intended to provide students from both countries with opportunities to connect and interact with their peers, as well as to communicate and acquire new knowledge. Students from both universities participated in the presentation of their case studies, which was followed by a round of discussion and a questions- and-answers (Q&A) session.   

Dr Lim Lai Hoon, a senior lecturer at the TAR UMT Penang Branch who also teaches a course on crisis communication, noted that a co-teaching programme for the crisis management course is a great start in teaching and learning practises because crisis management has garnered high attention as there is more potential for crises to happen and more ways for people to respond to them.

Joining together from the TAR UMT Penang Branch was Dr Syamsul Zahri Subir who is also the Associate Dean for the Department of Communication at the Penang Branch Campus of TAR UMT. He was responsible for organising and coordinating the co-teaching programme between the Department of Communication and UEF Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the Vice President and Director of the International Institute from the UEF Vietnam, Dr Do Huu Nguyen Loc, stated that UEF Vietnam is currently active in working towards internationalisation for the university, and this co-teaching programme with other universities abroad should already become the practice in each university across the country.

Earlier, Dr Do Huu Nguyen Loc welcomed everyone during the opening session and expressed gratitude especially to the representatives of the Department of Communication, the TAR UMT Penang Branch, and all the students.

Other delegates from the University of Economics and Finance (UEF) Vietnam, are the Dean of the Faculty of Public Relations and Communication, Associate Professor Dr Hoang Thi Hong Ha, and the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Public Relations and Communication, Ms Hoang Mi.

There were a total of three group presentations by students from both the TAR UMT Penang Branch and the UEF Vietnam. During the presentation, the students not only talked about the case studies, but they also talked about the crisis management frameworks. This included the important steps that need to be taken to solve problems, like gathering and sorting information, finding causes and solutions, offering compensation, and realigning the internal process of presenting to the media and press.

Both TAR UMT Penang Branch and UEF Vietnam are working towards the goal of increasing other opportunities for co-teaching programmes in the near future, with the intention of covering a wide range of topics that are connected to public relations and communication studies.

The 60-minute long mini-symposium was concluded with a group photo-taking session and a certificate distribution.