Developing a Representative Model of Collaboration Strategies for UTHM – KOPO International Cooperation

Malaysia and South Korea started a partnership in 1962 and since then the partnership has become stronger including in education. In line with this encouragement, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) has strengthened its partnership with South Korean educational institutions through TVET Campus which has developed since 2017. One of the institutions is Korea Polytechnics (KOPO). UTHM-KOPO partnership is relatively new and considering this new pandemical era, a representative partnership model that considers both UTHM and KOPO’s capacities and circumstances has not yet been well established. The absence of a representative model could result in complex challenges, especially in identifying important and necessary steps to internationalization, and further create financial, energy, and time loss. Thus, this study aims to develop a representative model of the internationalization management framework for Malaysian higher education. The development adapts the Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify (DMADV) technique which is commonly used in the field of quality management. There are two phases will be involved; (1) 'Define' and 'Measure' stages where a preliminary framework will be established and (2) 'Analyze', 'Design' and 'Verify' stages where a comprehensive internationalization framework will be developed. Both phases involve document analysis of policies, procedures, and monitoring processes, and meta-analysis of related internationalization acts and literature of Malaysia and South Korea. The framework will also be conceptualized against the current internationalization practices of both countries especially to embed any potential added-value elements in producing a systematic, practical, and economical model tool for UTHM and KOPO in operationalizing international activities. As such, planned internationalization activities could be well coordinated for a sustainable internationalization process. In the longer run, the model should assist the Malaysian and South Korean education ministries to monitor the progress of internationalization in both countries.