UNMC Interdisciplinary Studies for Tropical Environmental Studies (Mindset) inaugural scholar, Professor Peter Leggat AM from James Cook University, Australia partners with The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) in the area of geospatial technologies used by public health sector in disaster management.
The Mindset Visiting Scholar scheme aims to enable Mindset members to invite international collaborators to carry out study and research in The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and to participate in the academic life of the University.
James Cook University’s Professor is the inaugural Mindset Scholar hosted by the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). Professor Leggat started his first scholarship stint at UNMC in late July and has since been working with Dr Vu and Dr Aini.
The scholarship is a result of a partnership by Professor Leggat and Dr Tuong-Thuy Vu, Associate Professor from UNMC’s School of Geography after participation in a United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) meeting, organised by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in Bonn, Germany, since 2009.
“I have to thank Associate Profesor Tuong-Thuy Vu in the School of Geography, and Assistant Professor Aini Hamid in the Department of Biomedical Sciences for developing the proposal for this scholarship,” Professor Leggat said.
“We are working on how geospatial technologies, such as satellites, can be applied in public health aspects of disaster management,” Professor Leggat added.
“Professor Leggat and I share a common research interest. While geospatial scientists continually improve the methods to provide timely critical information for disaster management, they are not fully aware of how the healthcare profession can use this information and can benefit from it,” said Dr Vu from UNMC.
“Mindset Scholars are high-achieving, global researchers from diverse fields and backgrounds, who spend up to three months on campus,” said Dr Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, Director of Mindset
Professor Leggat has been working at JCU for nearly 24 years and is based at the Townsville Campus. He is currently seconded as Dean of JCU’s College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences and is Dean of Education of the Australasian College of Aerospace Medicine.
JCU has one of the largest postgraduate programs in public health in Australia with more than 800 students enrolled. Courses include a popular disaster and humanitarian health specialisation at Graduate Certificate and Masters level and these courses have received national and international recognition.
Professor Leggat said that JCU has also had a long and proud tradition of undertaking applied disaster research, including in the public health field.
About Mindset
Mindset is an interdisciplinary environmental research center based at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. The aim of this center is to promote tropical environmental sustainability that aims to link environmental science and technology with the social sciences to have an impact on environmental policy and on society’s behavior overall.
One of Mindset’s key targets is to tackle tropical environmental sustainability by establishing bridges between sound environmental science, innovative technology, and the ability of the social sciences to change people’s mindsets to ensure a sustainable future.
UNMC's 15th Anniversary
One of the world's truly global universities, with campuses in Malaysia, the UK and China, 2015 marks the 15th year since setting up as UK's first full-fledged international campus in Malaysia and all three campuses continue to enrich the lives of students across the world through global education, ground-breaking research and community engagement.
(Article image caption: (from left to right) Dr Aini Hamid; Wong Yin Cheng, Biomedical Sciences student; Dr Tuong Thuy Vu and Professor Peter Leggat.
More information is available from Dr Tuong-Thuy Vu on Tuongthuy.Vu@nottingham.edu.my, Dr Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz on Ahimsa.Camposarceiz@nottingham.edu.my or Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager at UNMC, on+60 (3) 89248746, josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my.
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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 one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Research Project of the Year’ at the THE Awards 2014. It is ranked in the world’s top one per cent of universities by the QS World University Rankings, and 8th in the UK by research power according to REF 2014.
The University of Nottingham in Malaysia (UNMC) is holding events throughout 2015 to celebrate 15 years as a pioneer of transnational education. Based in Semenyih, UNMC was established as the UK's first overseas campus in Malaysia and one of the first world-wide
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 13th August 2015