The University of Nottingham presented a Special Excellence Award 2014 to Nagulendran Kangayatkarasu, former Deputy Under Secretary, Head Biodiversity Section, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Malaysia at an Alumni dinner hosted on September 27 in Kuala Lumpur. Nagulendran graduated with a Masters in Environmental Management from the University of Nottingham in 2003.
“Nagu, has been instrumental in the evolution of Malaysia’s policies on the environment and natural resource management, including the formulation of the landmark Law on Biosafety and developing a common vision for biodiversity that was adopted by the National Biodiversity and Biotechnology Council chaired by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia in 2009,” said Professor Sir David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham.
Nagulendran who has been representing the Government of Malaysia in numerous international conventions and treaties on the environment, negotiating Malaysia’s stand on issues related to biodiversity, access to Benefit Sharing and biosafety. More recently, his achievements include work with the government’s Biodiversity and Forestry Management Division as he led the task force preparing the final draft of Malaysia’s Access to Benefit Sharing, which will be presented to the Malaysian Parliament this year.
“The Special Excellence Award is conferred to individuals who have excelled in their chosen field or shown commitment to a cause and we are proud that this year’s recipient, Nagu continues to achieve greater heights as he is currently pursuing a doctorate in biodiversity governance at UNMC after being awarded a scholarship from the Malaysian Government,” said Professor Christine Ennew, Provost and CEO of UNMC.
Alumnus of the Year 2014 Award
In an unprecedented move, this year, 2 alumni of the University were conferred the Alumnus of the Year 2014 Award for their innovative entrepreneurial efforts, Teoh Wee Kiat and Chin Ren Yi, the co-founders of myBurgerLab and business and engineering graduates of UNMC received the award from Professor Sir David Greenaway. myBurgerLab is a fast food outlet that has its customers’ queueing up daily, serving 600 customers within 5 hours of its operations daily.
“Wee Kiat and Ren Yi make their own ingredients, making the value chain reliable and sustainable, while promoting charitable acts. To celebrate their first and second anniversary they gave away 1,800 of their ‘Say Cheese’ burgers in exchange for canned food which was donated to local charities in the area where their outlets were located,” said Professor Christine Ennew, Provost and CEO of UNMC.
“Through a series of special events, which includes inviting staff and their parents to a special mother’s day and father’s day celebration so the management could cook for them. This innovative young people have created a close-knit and supportive community and a boast a successful business venture. With two outlets already open and possibly a third on its way, it looks like Malaysians are going to spend more time in the lab,” Professor Ennew said.
Among the attendees at the event are Tan Sri Datuk Seri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Group Managing Director, Boustead Holdings Berhad; Datuk Zainal Abidin Haji Ahmad, Board Member of University of Nottingham in Malaysia; Professor Sayed Azam Ali, CEO of Crops for the Future Research Centre; Goh Hoon Huar, President of University of Nottingham Graduates Association (Malaysia); Yang Ariff Prasad Abraham, High Court Judge and past president of University of Nottingham Graduates Association (Malaysia) and friends of Nottingham University from Malaysia and the UK.
The University of Nottingham has more than 250,000 graduates in the alumni community, a global family originating from the foundation of the University in 1881. Approximately 5 percent of the alumni members are Malaysians. Famous alumni include the Allahyarham DYMM Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah, Sultan of Perak; Allahyarham DYMM Tuanku Ja’afar Ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Former Agong and Yang Di Pertuan Negeri Sembilan; Sir Peter Mansfield , Honorary graduate and Nobel Laureate for discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging; DH Lawrence, author; Dr Stewart Adams OBE, Pharmacologist and inventor of ibuprofen and Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GSK and Chancellor of University of Nottingham.
For more information on alumni engagement, please contact alumni.relations@nottingham.edu.my.
Photograph above from left to right : Nagulendran Kangayatkaras, Professor Sir David Greenaway and Teoh Wee Kiat
-ends-
More information is available from Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager on +6 (03) 8924 8746.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also the most popular university among graduate employers, the world’s greenest university, and winner of the Times Higher Education Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the World's Top 75 universities by the QS World University Rankings.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Posted on 1st October 2014