UA poultry department adds Malaysian exchange program

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) 169 views 

The University of Arkansas has signed an agreement to create a poultry science student and faculty exchange program with a Malaysian university.

Leadership at the UA, its Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and the Department of Poultry Science all signed the agreement with leadership from Universiti Putra Malaysia in Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.

The agreement lays groundwork for faculty residence exchanges at each institution and for a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, according to the UA.

Arkansas students may participate in summer sessions at UPM, including internships with area companies and will study Malaysian poultry production and processing practices as well as Malaysian culture.

UPM College of Animal Science students will be able to earn a poultry science certificate from the UA by transferring to Arkansas during their senior year.

The arrangement is similar to a poultry science certificate curriculum agreement the Malaysian university signed with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 2013 and a dual transfer bachelor’s degree program created this past year with Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, according to the UA.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to meet the needs of the poultry industry for highly skilled and qualified graduates,” Mike Kidd, UA poultry science department head and director of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, said in a press release. “This is another opportunity for students from a different university to spend a year here and position themselves for a great career in poultry. It also opens the door to new opportunities for our students to go overseas and get experiences that will put them at the top of the list when applying for jobs.”

The agreement also allows for collaborative activities such as research and training, externally funded international projects, programs of consulting and evaluation, sponsorship of conferences, publications and exchange of materials, according to the UA press release.