Serdang, 1 Feb 2023 – Head of the Biopolymer Laboratory and Derivatives Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Zulkhairi Mohd Yusoff along with his student, Miss Nur Fatihah Eliya Mohamed Fauzi were invited and participated in the program entitled Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science (SAKURA SCIENCE Exchange Program) on January 20 - 30, 2024 at Kyushu Institute of Technology, Fukuoka, Japan. The program is fully sponsored by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

Among the main objectives of this program is to invite young professionals and students from Asian countries for a short-term visit to Japan to share Japan's advanced scientific technology as well as exchange views with universities and research institutions. The program also poses as a bridge for personnel and research exchanges between Japan and partner countries in various fields benefiting both countries.

This program is hosted by Prof Dr Toshinari Maeda from the Department of Department of Biological Functions Engineering, Kyutech. Other participants in this program are researchers and professors from Mexico (Prof. Dr. Rodolfo), Colombia (Prof. Dr. Viviana), Vietnam (Dr. Phoung), and the Philippines (Dr. Pierangeli). The activities carried out are bilateral discussions between each university, student, and staff exchanges, and also the "World Bacteria Convention 2024 (WBC2024)" competition where each country has to prepare a bacterial stain that carries out activity for exoprotease-producing cell and Quorum Sensing strain (the communication process of bacterial cells). Throughout the program, participants were conducting laboratory tests and research to produce bacterial cells that have the desired characteristics and show the highest activity. For WBC2024, INTROP researchers have managed to get the 1^st place in the exoprotease-producing cell category while, researchers from Columbia collected the Quarom sensing category. Certificates of appreciation and medals were presented by Prof. Maeda on behalf of JST.

Also discussed during this meeting was the student exchange initiative and the development of researchers and research in an international collaboration network where the next activity is scheduled for next July. On this occasion, INTROP also promotes research and collaboration activities to invite Kyutech as a co-organizer for the INTROP 2024 open-day program. It is expected that this enggagemant will further highlight INTROP's visibility in the Asian and International regions.

Date of Input: 07/02/2024 | Updated: 07/02/2024 | amallina.osman