Abang Johari (third left) is seen during a photo call after the signing. From right are Olbery, Morshidi, Aavikso, Taveter, and Kadim.

TALINN, Estonia: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tallinn University of Technology (TUT) here yesterday.

The MoU will pave the way for strategic collaboration between Unimas and TUT to support Sarawak’s transformation to a digital economy.

A statement from Unimas said the MoU covers three technical areas of interest for immediate collaboration – research related to e-government (including using requirement engineering to model and evaluate the effectiveness of the digital economy initiative for Sarawak), research related to cybersecurity and blockchain technology, and research related to big data and analytics.

“It is hoped that the MoU between Unimas and TUT will further strengthen the relationship between both institutions of higher learning in areas of interest to both parties, and provide support to the state’s digital economy initiative,” said the statement.

The MoU also formalises cooperation between the two universities in areas of collaborative research activities, student projects and internships, talks for students and faculty members, as well as development of curriculum and syllabus.

The cooperation also extends to the exchange of academic staff and faculty members for research and teaching, and participation in seminars and academic meetings as well as short-term academic programmes.

Unimas vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Kadim Suaidi and TUT rector Jaak Aaviksoo signed the MoU.

In addition, TUT School of Information Technologies Department of Software Science Professor Kuldar Taveter was also offered a visiting professor post at Unimas.

Among those present to witness the signing ceremony were Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg; State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani; Malaysian ambassador to Finland, Latvia and Estonia Puan Sri Blanche Olbery; and honorary consul of Estonia in Malaysia Col Datuk Harbans Singh.
Abang Johari and his delegation also met with Estonian Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Urve Palo and key officials from the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.