The theme for this year’s expo is “Progressing with research, innovation and commercialisation through academia and industry linkages”. This is in line with the university’s aspiration in becoming a research university.
The expo is divided into three different clusters namely pure sciences, technology and engineering, and social sciences/humanities. The exhibits include creative designs utilising recycled materials, environmental engineering, robotic technology, medical tools, information and communication technology, augmented reality systems and soft sciences.
The main objectives of the expo are to publicise research and development (R&D) products and findings among UNIMAS staff and students, and the public; and to select research projects to represent the university at national and international R&D expositions. It is also hoped that the expo will encourage its undergraduate students to pursue postgraduate studies upon completion of their undergraduate studies.
In 2011, UNIMAS won one gold, and seven bronze awards at the national level (Pecipta 2011). The university also bagged seven gold, two silver and three bronze medals at Seoul International Invention Fair 2011.
UNIMAS’ Faculty of Resource Science and Technology lecturer Associate Professor Dr Pang Suh Chem was awarded Advanced Materials Letters Scientist Award 2011, an international recognition for his notable and outstanding contribution in the advanced materials letters research, entitled, “Conversion of Cellulosic Waste Materials Into Nanostructured Ceramics and Nanocomposites”.
The university secured 41 projects under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Science Fund grant, with a total amount of RM7.15 million. A further RM6.58 million was secured from the Ministry of Higher Education for 125 research projects.
Its researchers have also obtained numerous international research grants from the Global Environment Foundation, Asia Pacific Tele-community, International fund for agricultural development, The Toyota Foundation, The Japan Foundation and the University of Southern Denmark.
Recently, UNIMAS has set up the Centre of Excellence in Disability study, headed by associate professor Dr Ling How Kee and two research institutes, namely, the Institute of Social Informatics and Technological Innovations and the Institute of Design and Innovation. With that, the university now has eight centres of excellence and five research institutes.
In an effort to establish a strong research culture, the Deputy Vice Chancellor’s (Research and Innovation) Office, together with the Research and Innovation Management Centre, has been conducting various research workshops and seminars for academic staff to enhance their research capabilities.
Therefore, the 5th UNIMAS R&D Expo 2012 is a step towards achieving excellence in research for the university. Its Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Khairuddin Ab Hamid will officiate at the opening ceremony on March 22.
Members of the public are invited to attend the expo to discover the wealth of research findings and innovative products generated by Unimas researchers.
extracted from the Borneo Post
