Dr. Abdul Halim Abdullah, a senior lecturer of Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia was invited as a keynote speaker at two international conferences in two cities in Indonesia. The first conference was the 5th South East Asia Development Research International Conference (5th SEA-DR) which was held in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia from 3 to 4 May 2017. Besides Dr. Abdul Halim who is also a Research Manager of Education Faculty UTM, other speakers were Prof. Dr. Kees Hoogland from Mathematics Curriculum Research and Development SLO Netherland, Dr. Wanty Widjaja from Deakin University Australia, Prof. Dr. H. Ahmad Fauzan from Universitas Negeri Padang and Prof. Dr. Sutarto Hadi from Lambung Mangkurat University. The conference was organized by Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Education Lambung Mangkurat University with the theme “Developing Competitiveness through Innovation and Creativity Teaching and Learning”. Dr. Abdul Halim delivered his keynote on innovative teaching and learning practices in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) generally and Faculty of Education UTM specifically in developing graduate competitiveness and creativity. The second conference attended by Dr Abdul Halim was the International Seminar on Mathematics Education 2017 (Intersection’17) which was held in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia on 6th May 2017. This event managed to attract 1000 participants. Aside from local students, the attendees were foreign students from various countries, such as Thailand, Poland, Madagascar and Papua New Guinea. The conference was organised by Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Muhammadiyah Makassar (UNISMUH). Other keynote speakers were Prof. Dr. Kees Hoogland (Mathematics Curriculum Research and Development SLO Netherland), Assoc. Dr. Wanty Widjaja (Senior Lecturer in School Of Education, Deakin University Australia), Prof. Dr. Irwan Akib (Professor in UNISMUH Makassar) Dr. Wahyudi (Director, SEAMEO Regional Center QITEP in Mathematics, Indonesia), and Dr. Thanya Kadroon (Senior lecturer in Faculty of Education Suratthani Rajabhat University, Thailand). The aim of the conference was to create a platform towards sharing current practices related to mathematics literacy as a solution for those who have difficulties to understand mathematics. With the theme of Shaping Creative Generation through a Culture of Mathematics Literacy, Dr. Abdul Halim Abdullah delivered his keynote on 21st Century Mathematics Teaching and Learning Approaches to Enhance Students’ Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). It is hoped that Dr. Abdul Halim’s participation in this conference can further strengthen cooperation between UTM and UNISMUH.
Dr. Abdul Halim (three from left) during the Opening Ceremony of the 5th South East Asia Development Research International Conference (5th SEA-DR)
Dr. Abdul Halim is delivering his keynote in the International Seminar on Mathematics Education 2017 (Intersection’17)