News and Opportunities
Inaugural visit by research universities a success
09 Jul 2012
A senior delegation from the Australian Innovation and Research Universities (IRU) made their inaugural visit to Malaysia recently, highlighting potential opportunities of Malaysia’s advancements in research and innovation, the growing numbers of postgraduate students and areas of research interest in individual universities, as well as funds that are allocated for these endeavours.
The visit confirmed the clear synergies between Australian and Malaysian research and education priorities and capabilities. It also laid the grounds for increased bilateral and research collaborations and active student and staff mobility. A total of six Memoranda of Understanding were signed between individual IRU institutions, covering broad areas of cooperation.
The visit garnered active engagement among the Malaysian research universities and other institutions of higher learning. IRU’s objective of encouraging foreign research collaborations and its niche areas of research strength align strongly with Malaysia’s Higher Education Strategic Plan. Broad themes include biomedical sciences; medical and health sciences with emphasis on tropical, rural and remote diseases; environmental sciences; social inclusion and indigenous research; and agricultural and veterinary sciences.
IRU’s collective sense of objectives for global research collaborations, which is part of the Australian government’s agenda for higher education, as well as the clearly defined niche areas of research strength of their individual member institutions, fits well with Malaysia’s own higher education aspirations. The Malaysian research universities have each identified their own strengths in line with the ministry’s overall strategic plan. This visit further highlighted Australia’s extensive and world class research capabilities and the benefits of sharing and combining regional expertise and skills. The current trends across transnational education in Malaysia and Singapore are to hand out macro messages of world class standards and global cooperation. It demonstrates setting aside individual competition for the more altruistic outcomes of learning and research for the common good.
The IRU visit to Malaysia is seen not just as an inaugural visit by a group of universities from Australia but also signifies an extension beyond direct recruitment of students to Australia.
The recognition and tracking of alumni in this endeavour was greatly appreciated especially within research and academic circles and this will be advantageous toward sustaining new and old relationships.
Austrade facilitated and project managed the five-day program, which involved a high-level meeting at the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education; a research leadership roundtable; an alumni reception; an innovation and research forum at the Australian High Commission and visits to five Malaysian research universities.
The delegation was led by IRU Chair Prof Ian O’Connor, Vice-Chancellor and President of Griffith University, Queensland. The other five universities included La Trobe University, James Cook University, Newcastle University, Murdoch University and Charles Darwin University.
Presentations from this visit are now available online:
VIPs and senior representatives at the Research and Innovation Forum hosted at the Australian High Commission on 12 June 2012.