The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) recently hosted leading researchers from the three international campuses of the University of Nottingham. Researchers from UNMC, the University of Nottingham, UK and The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, from diverse fields including History, Engineering, Finance, Computer Science and Biosciences attended the Nottingham Research Leaders Programme (NRLP) which is aimed to support the development and advancement of research leaders so that they are better placed to deliver excellent research with impact, in pursuance of the objectives of the University’s Strategic Plan.
“The research carried out at the University of Nottingham is world leading, and is having real impact on the most serious problems that face humanity today. Many of the research projects are interdisciplinary and are a collaborative effort between the University of Nottingham campuses in Malaysia, China and the UK.
The NRLP programme is a competitive program, which attracts high performance researchers who we believe have the potential to become world class research leaders in the near future. The year-long program provides a customised professional development opportunity which includes a week-long visit to one of our international campuses. Only a university with the breadth of research expertise such as Nottingham is able to offer such an initiative,” said Professor Graham Kendall, Vice Provost (Research and Knowledge Exchange) at UNMC.
During their visit to The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, the 19 NRLP delegates were invited to the Ministry of Education (MoE). This followed a recent visit by MoE to the University of Nottingham, UK where they met with the Vice Chancellor and the NRLP was discussed as part of a more general agenda. The NRLP delegates met with key ministry officials and also representatives from Malaysian public universities. They key item under discussion was around the NRLP, and whether it could be further developed in Malaysia. Other areas of discussion included collaborative research opportunities and joint PhD programs.
“We had very insightful discussions and we had the privilege of running into the Minister of Education, Datuk Seri Haji Idris Jusoh. This led to a photo opportunity, along with an impromptu lecture on the Malaysian Education landscape by the Minister. It was a delight that the Minister engaged with us and we are very grateful that he took the time to do so,” said Professor Maiken Umbach, Arts Faculty Director of Research and NRLP lead at the University of Nottingham, UK.
As a direct result of the meeting at MoE, the Nottingham delegation visited the University of Malaya the following day, where a range of exciting collaborative opportunities were discussed, which will be developed in the coming months.
“We also received encouraging response from officials at Universiti Putra Malaysia who are eager to collaborate with us, to run the NRLP for them,” said Professor Umbach.
Research at The University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham has an international reputation for world changing research, a reputation which extends across all of our campuses and rated No. 8 for research power in the latest Research Excellence Framework.
Research at UNMC has a particular focus on addressing the challenges facing Southeast Asia and countries in the Islamic world. Over the last few years, research capacity has developed rapidly and an increased number of research grants has been funded from various sources in Malaysia, the EU and the UK, with research funding totalling nearly RM13m in 2014.
At the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, research and innovation is a key mission in inspiring our students, informing our teaching and supporting economic growth in China. 2015 saw record research awards from Chinese and European sources including the first grants from Research Councils UK.
(Article image caption: Group photo with Datuk Seri Haji Idris Jusoh, Minister of Education(6th from the left)
(Thumbnail image: Meeting at Ministry of Education)
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More information is available from Professor Maiken Umbach on maiken.umbach@nottingham.ac.uk or Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus on +603 8924 8746, josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for three years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
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 5th May 2016