Professors who visited Parul University from different countries.

Under the International Visiting Professor Program, run by the Centre for International Relations and Research (CIRR), Parul University hosted a cohort of 26 professors from 15 countries over four weeks. Malaysia sent eight of them, more than any other single country, from Universiti Sains Malaysia, IMU University, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, INTI International University and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, teaching across the faculties of Management Studies, Applied Sciences, Fine Arts, Liberal Arts and the Parul Institute of Public Health.

What sets the Malaysian cohort apart is how much of their work pointed beyond the lecture hall. Prof. Dr. Nalini Arumugam of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin reached an arrangement with Dr. Amrita Singh, principal of the Faculty of Management Studies, held an online meeting with her faculty in Malaysia, and began a global classroom between the two universities, lining up two guest lecturers to teach topics in her courses and starting her own online classes while still on campus. Dr. Vijayesvaran Arumugam of IMU University used his visit, through marketing sessions, student pitching, faculty development and research discussions, to open collaboration between IMU University and Parul University in joint research, publications, grants, conferences, student exchange and summer programmes.

The research and faculty-development thread ran through the rest of the cohort. Dr. Lawrence Arokiasamy of Universiti Teknologi Petronas delivered a faculty development programme and expert talks on human resources and research methods, and worked with Parul faculty on joint research papers. Dr. Sarena Abdullah of Universiti Sains Malaysia led a multi-day International Faculty Development Programme for the Faculty of Fine Arts, covering career development, modern Malaysian art, research publication and practice-as-research, and left the faculty with a proposed internal conference and a possible journal initiative. Dr. NG Miew Luan of INTI International University led a faculty development programme on human-centred education in the age of AI. Together these visits turned a teaching programme into a set of concrete, continuing academic relationships.

Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin · Faculty of Management Studies

Taught: A 32-hour paperless course combining agribusiness, digital marketing, supply chain and policy, urging business students to see opportunity in agriculture and agro-entrepreneurship, and drawing on her coconut value-chain and national food-consumption research.

Collaboration that emerged: Agreed an arrangement with Dr. Amrita Singh, principal of the Faculty of Management Studies, held an online meeting with her Malaysia faculty, and began a global classroom between the two universities, with two guest lecturers lined up to teach topics in her courses.

IMU University · Faculty of Management Studies

Taught: How marketing runs across the whole organisation through the value chain and customer relationship management, and how brands compete, using the Coca-Cola and Pepsi rivalry, the Pepsi Challenge and the New Coke case.

Collaboration that emerged: Opened collaboration between IMU University and Parul University, with discussion of joint research, publications, grants, conferences, student exchange and summer programmes, spanning marketing education, healthcare management and health informatics.

Universiti Teknologi Petronas · Faculty of Management Studies

Taught: Human resources, entrepreneurship and research methods, through student sessions and an international faculty development programme, drawing on 23 years in academia.

Collaboration that emerged: Delivered a faculty development programme and expert talks, and worked with Parul faculty on joint research papers.

Universiti Sains Malaysia · Faculty of Management Studies

Taught: Management and economics research, contributing to the Faculty of Management Studies during the programme.

Universiti Sains Malaysia · Faculty of Fine Arts

Taught: A multi-day faculty development programme on building an academic career in fine arts: defining a clear area of expertise, modern Malaysian art, research publication, and developing studio practice as research.

Collaboration that emerged: Left the Faculty of Fine Arts with a proposed internal research conference and a possible future journal initiative as a direction for continuing the work, and was felicitated at the programme’s close.

Universiti Sains Malaysia · Faculty of Applied Sciences

Taught: The use of NMR spectroscopy in organic synthesis research: using proton NMR to confirm chemical transformations, diagnosing unexpected products, and pairing NMR with infrared spectroscopy, framed as a research tool rather than a routine characterisation step.

Universiti Sains Malaysia · Parul Institute of Public Health

Taught: Health is an important concern today. This session was based on obesity, nutrition, public health and energy metabolism. Along with energy balance. The biochemistry of carbohydrates. It was based on the structure from the biochemistry of carbs to the gut microbiota. The session also discussed lifestyle and community intervention. He talked about research literacy and its importance for better results. Pushing students to use peer-reviewed databases such as PubMed.

INTI International University · Faculty of Liberal Arts

Taught: Faculty development programme. Taught the importance of human-centred education. Inclusion and ethical education in the AI era. The new education shall have digital inclusion, something beyond access. It should include critical AI literacy and an ethical AI traffic-light approach for the classroom.

Collaboration: She discussed about her research experience with Parul University’s faculty. It was as part of the development programme. This strengthens the relationship of the two universities. It also included the work with the deaf community on inclusive education.