Britain`s global university in Malaysia

The University of Nottingham
Malaysia Campus
Jalan Broga
43500 Semenyih
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
t: +603 8924 8000
f: +603 8924 8001
The University of Nottingham
Malaysia Campus
Annual Review
2014
www.nottingham.edu.my
Britain’s global university in Malaysia
Contents
3 Provost’s overview
4 Introduction
5 UNMC in numbers
6 Excellence in education
8 World-changing research and knowledge exchange
10 Global reach
12 Community engagement and social responsibility
14 Sustaining excellence
16 Campus life
18 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
20 Faculty of Engineering
22 Faculty of Science
24 Facts and figures
2
Provost’s overview
As “Britain’s global university in Malaysia”, UNMC offers
a distinctive student experience – one that reflects
the style associated with British higher education
and the heritage and traditions of The University of
Nottingham. A UNMC education is characterised by
an integrated approach involving curricular and cocurricular activity. It is student-centred, encouraging
creative, independent and critical thinking; teaching
and learning are informed by the latest research and led
by outstanding researchers and educators. We focus
on the development of graduates who have a clear
awareness of the challenges facing global society, their
broader responsibilities to their communities as well as
the knowledge and skills to develop successful careers.
The campus itself provides an outstanding learning and
living environment. In the past year, we have enhanced
the campus with refurbishment of library space,
enhancements to gym facilities and the installation of
new floodlights at the sports pitches. A new teaching
building is under construction and is scheduled for
completion in August 2015
Excellence is research is a distinctive characteristic of
UNMC as we strive to use our institutional capabilities
to “make a difference”, by creating new knowledge
and exploring that ways in which that knowledge can
be applied to improve economic, social and cultural
well-being. There is an increasing focus on working
with business and our wholly owned R&D company –
MyResearch – secured around RM2 million of research
contracts in its first of operation and UNMC has signed
a further RM1 million of business related contracts.
2014 was also a record year in terms of research
income and the quality of research outputs. and the
impact as measured by citations, continues to grow.
Financially, 2014 was a difficult year and the University
recorded a small loss as a consequence of a drop in
student numbers and some expected cost increases in
a number of areas. Our operating environment continues
to be dynamic and unpredictable; policy decisions can
and do impact significantly on our activity, competition is
always fierce (whether from new or existing competitors)
and our stakeholders are always demanding. But we
are a small, innovative and agile institution with very
significant strengths including the quality of our students
and graduates, the quality of our staff, the excellence of
our research and teaching and an outstanding campus
environment. We have a strong position within the
Malaysian HE sector and indeed globally, being part of
one of the top 1% of Universities worldwide.
We approach the coming year with optimism. 2015
marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of
UNMC and 10 years since the opening of the Semenyih
campus. We are looking forward to celebrating both of
these events in the coming months with our students
and staff (past and present) and with our friends in
Malaysia and worldwide.
Christine Ennew
3
Introduction
This annual review provides an opportunity to record and celebrate the
achievements at UNMC during 2014. During the course of the year,
guided by the academic and professional service communities, UNMC
management continues to progress in line with the longer-term vision
spelled out in the Strategic Roadmap 2013-2020 on the development of
the campus.
The main objectives and activities throughout 2014 include:
• Promoting public access to our campus and support appropriate use of our facilities by the public, schools and charitable/voluntary groups
• Sharing and exchange knowledge and skills with local communities
•
•
Being ‘good neighbours’ in Semenyih by fostering positive relationships with individuals and community groups in the immediate locality of the University-business
• Promoting and supporting education in any form possible
Contributing to key civic agendas especially in terms of social cohesion, neighbourhood management, business and the economy, sport and culture, early intervention and crime and safety
Subsequent sections will provide an overview of activity in relation to key
functional areas and key academic areas. While the main focus will be
on collective and institutional outcomes, this review will also provide an
opportunity to celebrate the achievements of key individuals across the
institution.
4
The University of Nottingham
Malaysia Campus in numbers
The total student body now numbers 4828. April and
July recorded 643 new students for the Foundation
programme and the majority of these students (typically
85-90%) will subsequently move to join the UG
programme in 2015. The September intake (dominantly
UG, Masters and PhD) added a further 750 students (in
addition to 563 progressing Foundation students).
Visa processing difficulties and delays have impacted
on the recruitment of international students and this
impact was most noticeable with the September 2014
intakes.
The composition of the student body is summarized in the tables below:
Student population by study level as at 31 December 2014
Study Level
Malaysian
International
Grand Total
Foundation
606
129
735
UG
2462
791
3253
PGR
224
141
365
PGT
206
152
358
117
117
1330
4828
Exchange
Grand Total
3498
Student population by origin as at 31 December 2014
Faculty
Malaysian
International
Grand
Total
Arts and Social
Science
1005
591
1596
Engineering
1495
467
1962
Science
998
272
1270
Grand Total
3498
1330
4828
Staff numbers have continued to grow. Academic staff numbers have increased from 255 at the
end of December 2013 to 276 at the end of 2014. Professional and Support Service staffing has
expanded from 322 at the end of 2013 to 377 reflecting a policy of active investment in this key
area. As a result UNMC reports highly favourable student-staff ratios, which improves from 18:1
at the end of 2013 to 17:1 at the end of December 2014.
Staff numbers as of end December 2014
Engineering
Arts and Social
Science
Science
Central
Total
Academic
101
96
79
-
255
SSR
19.1
16
15.8
Professional and
Support
61
25
37
254
377
Total
154
115
98
220
587
17.1
5
6
Excellence in Education
Our students continue to learn in a stimulating and
supportive environment and are benefiting from a
range of initiatives developed under the campus
Teaching and Learning Strategy as part of a broader
institution-wide Teaching Transformation Programme.
The impact of these and other school-level proposals
to enhance the learning experience, has been reflected
in a number of improvements in UNMC performance
in the Nottingham Student Barometer survey.
Work started early in preparation of the upcoming
reaccreditation exercise for UNMC’s Self-Accrediting
Status, which will take place in 2015. A three-day
Quality Assurance review was held in March of 2014
to assess the university’s provision with particular
reference in the teaching and learning aspect.
Chaired by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and
Learning, Professor Alan Ford and assisted by external
member Professor Nick Shaw from the University of
Queensland, the final report has identified a number
of helpful action points for the university in the coming
year.
UNMC continued to add to its portfolio of
programmes during 2014 by delivering a number of
our programmes overseas. This includes an MBA
programme and an MA in Special Needs in Singapore
and an MA in Education programme in Colombo, Sri
Lanka.
Every year, the University rewards staff for exceptional
contribution to enriching the learning experience of
students, by recognising them through the Dearing
Awards for Teaching and Learning. 2014 saw a
record number of UNMC nominations (26 out of 127)
for both academic and non-academic staff. The three
UNMC staff conferred with Dearing awards
in 2014 were Dr Joanne Lim (SMLC), Dr Winnie
Yap (Biosciences) and Sangeetha Veerasingam (SA
Administration).
For the first time in 2014, UNMC mirrored the UK
campus’ practice in recognising individual staff
effort by running its inaugural Staff Oscars with the
awards presented during the annual UNMC Ball on
11 April 2014. There were 13 recipients awarded
in 12 different categories, from Most Inspiring
Teacher to Best Personal Tutor and Best Support for
International Students. The Nottingham University
Business School (NUBS) won the coveted Best
School or Department Award.
One of the award categories focussed on innovation
in teaching, which is concurrent to UNMC’s recently
launched Peer Observation College under the
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS). It is
a trial project where academic staff can observe
one another in class to offer valid and constructive
criticism. In the same vein, UNMC is also developing
a programme for students (with proper training)
from various disciplines to sit in and observe staff
members in the classroom. The novel feature of this
initiative is that the scheme will involve observation
by students from one department of teaching in in
another.
The end of 2014 also marked a major revamp for
the library space to yield a more conducive study
environment. The main phase opened at the start of
2015 with further work planned as we continue to
work to create better and more flexible technologyenabled teaching and learning space.
7
World-changing research and
knowledge exchange
Research has always been a distinctive feature of the
University – research that is both excellent and has
impact. Knowledge Exchange is becoming increasingly
important, as universities seek to have more productive
and collaborative relationships with the business
community. The university seeks to develop and support
a robust, sponsored research culture for all faculty,
students and staff while assuring institutional integrity.
Figures 1 and 2 below outline the quality and quality of
research outputs at UNMC. As the University grows and
develops, the quantity of research output has grown, as
has its impact as demonstrated by the citations data.
Moreover, papers produced by UNMC are amongst the
most highly cited in Malaysia.
MyResearch Sdn. Bhd. is just one of the many ways the
Malaysia Campus is engaging with industry. As a MIDA
(Malaysia Investment Development Authority) Research
& Development (R&D) status company, MyResearch
was launched in November 2013 and it has since
signed research contracts valued at over RM 3.2 million.
This supports more traditional research income from
government agencies. In 2014, we secured total
research-funding of over RM 13 million. This figure
reflects our most successful year since the campus was
established in 2000. Figure 3 details the year-on-year
change.
At the end of 2014, our research grant portfolio stood at
RM 29.6 million.
We have also recently established four Research
Centres to focus on interdisciplinary activities across
various key areas concurrently. In 2015, we will consider
establishing other research centres to support our
strategic aims. The current four centres are:
• An Interdisciplinary Centre for Tropical Sustainability in the Anthropocene (Mindset)
• Centre for Islamic Business and Finance Research (CIBFR)
• Asia Aerospace City Research and Technology Centre (AACRTC)
• The Centre for Sustainable Palm Oil Research (CSPOR)
8
Another area of focus is the nurturing of post-doctoral
research culture here in Malaysia. The University of
Nottingham is currently leading MyMentor, an initiative
which enables early career post-doctoral researchers
in public universities to be mentored by experienced
researchers in private universities. Working alongside
the University of Southampton and Monash University
Malaysia, the project aims to mentor 230 post-doctoral
staff over a six-year period, and produce over 350
high quality research papers. This project is funded
by Malaysia’s Ministry of Education. The project team
greatly appreciates the support of the ministry.
Executive Education and Professional Development
are increasingly important activities. The Nottingham
University Business School in Malaysia, for example,
organised the Accelerated Development Programme
for Senior Managers (30 Nov to 6 Dec 2014). The
programme was designed to give participants a real
world, real learning experience. This programme
was attended by senior executives from both the
government and the private sector.
On the 13-17 Oct 2014, UNMC led a high level
delegation to China, visiting both Shanghai and UNNC
(our China campus). It provided a platform to learn
from the experiences of leading Chinese Universities
on how they have transformed themselves. It also
offered opportunities for networking and for enhanced
understanding of university-business engagement.
Throughout the year, our staff and students continue
to be internationally recognised for their contribution to
the global community. Below are some highlights:
• Two papers by Denny Ng and Dominic Foo are among the Top Cited Papers for 2011 and 2012 in Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy
• Andy Chan has been elected the Malaysian lead in the NASA-sponsored multinational 7-SEAS project, investigating haze problems in Southeast Asia
• Graham Kendall is the new (from Jan 2015) Editor-
in-Chief for the IEEE Transactions for Computational Intelligence and AI in Games
• Renu Geetha Bai (PhD student) won the best Shot-gun Presentation award at the Ultrasonic International Conference in Portugal
• Bhamini Bhujun emerged champion at the EURAXESS Science Slam ASEAN 2014 and will now represent ASEAN for the final in Europe
Figure 1: Record of UNMC
publications as recorded by Web of
Knowledge. The data was extracted
on 15 Jan 2014. The 2014 value will
increase over time.
250
230
205
Citations from UNMC publications
200
155
150
125
121
103
100
79
47
50
25
5
1
2
1
2000
2001
2002
0
12
8
2003 2004
2005
2006
2500
1601
1500
2010 2011 2012
2013
2014
1088
1000
825
561
500
289
11
0
2000
2001
2002
2003 2004
1
11
44
2005
2006
2007
Figure 3: The growth in research
funding is outlined in Figure 3. In
recent years, we have received
significant awards from Sime Darby,
the EU and the Crops for the
Future Research Centre. Ministry
of Education is investing in the
initiative.
118
2008 2009
2010 2011 2012
2013
2014
14,000,000
12,000,000
Government
Non-Government
10,000,000
Total
Research funding
Citations from UNMC publications
2008 2009
Figure 2: The impact that University
of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
research is having is evident from
the citations that our publications
are receiving (data retrieved on
15 Jan 2015). The citations in the
figure are extracted from Web of
Knowledge.
2004
2000
2007
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
9
Global reach
UNMC continues to be a highly international and
diverse community. The campus is currently home to
a community of international students from around 85
countries who make up over 30% of the student body.
Our students learn from a genuinely international
academic community. Some 25% of UNMC academic
staff are international and represent around 30
countries worldwide. Our students have mobility
opportunities to The University of Nottingham
campuses in the UK and China and a range of other
academic partners in Australia, Canada, Chile, France,
Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, UK and USA
10
For all three main intakes in 2014, international
student recruitment was negatively impacted by
the introduction of new visa processes which have
created additional complexity, added to costs and
lengthened the visa application process significantly.
The best available estimates suggest that this may
have reduced the student intake by 300 or more.
11
Community engagement and
Social Responsibility
Universities have a broad based social responsibility that goes beyond
their immediate responsibilities in relation to teaching, learning and
research. At UNMC, we educate our students about getting involved
in their community locally, nationally and globally. We empower them to
explore pertinent social, cultural and environmental issues as they learn
about themselves in the process.
Every year, our staff, and particularly our students, give back through
various events championing causes near and dear to them. Notable
examples in 2014 have included:
30-hour Famine Camp
Nature Club participated in this nationwide youth
movement aimed at creating awareness of famine, with
students fasting for 30 hours to raise funds in support of
World Vision Malaysia which provides relief for children
affected by hunger. The inaugural event successfully
raised more than RM7,500.
Jom Botak 2014: Shave Lah!
Inspired by National Cancer Council’s (MAKNA)
Jom Botak (Let’s go bald) event in 2012, this is the
second year ACE Society takes on this cause to raise
awareness and funds. UNMC students and staff
members boldly went bald to stand in solidarity with
cancer patients. The campaign collected an impressive
RM11,900.
Nottingham Charity Run
The 6th Annual Nottingham Charity Run organised
by ACE Society was in support of the Children’s
Development Fund by World Vision Malaysia. More than
800 participants registered for this year’s event in the 3
categories offered and RM36,000 was raised in funds.
Home Visits
A year long effort where ACE Society with the help of
volunteers spend the day with children at charity homes
and hospitals. In 2014, the volunteers brought joy to
Lotus Charity Care Centre, Cornerstone, Desa Amal
Jireh and University Malaya’s Pediatric Ward. Some of
the activities also involved raising funds to purchase
groceries and sundries for organisations in need.
12
Project FORWARD
An ongoing AIESEC initiative at UNMC, students
develop their leadership and management skills
by running a series of health-care and educational
workshops for the often marginalised indigenous
Malaysian children. From language to mathematics,
student spend up to 2 hours per session with the
children between the ages of 4 and 8 to better equip
them for mainstream education.
Project Share The Future
Another AIESEC initiative, this aims to nurture residents
of the Desa Amal Jired (DAJ) orphanage to become
successful in life. Those involved teach children and
teenagers aged 8 to 19 on school-related subjects, as
well as helping the latter in developing and improving
their IT skills.
Recycle Materials Exchange
An annual event by Nature Club, the event successfully
collected 183 kilogrammes of materials, with help from
the UKM Bangi Recycle Centre purchasing all the items.
Students and staff alike were eager to put their waste to
good use, while earning a small monetary token on top
of being eco-friendly.
UNMC’s very own Estate Office also collaborated
with Sin Ming SRJK(C), a local primary school in the
community in going green, where funds generated
will be used towards organising activities for teachers
and students. On top of this, the Estate Office is
active in coordinating used furniture to be delivered to
underprivileged schools and children in need.
Shoebox Project
To spread holiday cheer and making it a very
merry ACE-Mas, the year-end event welcomed
underprivileged children from various organisations for
an evening of fun, food and music at the University.
Water For Life
Dr Ting Kang Nee, Head of School of Biomedical
Sciences led fellow lecturers, 23 students and
NGOs into the remote forest of Sarawak and Brunei
to help the indigenous Penan community who were
in dire need of clean water, basic medical care and
education. The team also provided advice on waste
management solutions. The project, which received
£5000 by the University of Nottingham’s Cascade
Fund in the UK, further raised another RM30,000 to
facilitate access to clean water, improved pre-school
for children, new lavatories and medical supplies for
the marginalised community.
Charity Carnival
The University organised a Charity Carnival on
campus, in conjunction with our Open Day and raised
RM7,000 from selling used and baked items furnished
by university staff. Proceeds from this carnival were
then channelled to two homes, Rumah Kasih, a home
for underprivileged girls; and Rumah Ribuan Kasih, a
home for underprivileged children and elderly people.
Nottingham Life Cycle Malaysia
UNMC organised its inaugural charity bicycle ride
to raise awareness of autism to enhance quality of
life of the affected children and their families. Almost
1000 staff, families and alumni participated in the
Nottingham Life Cycle 2014. Participants were also
treated to face painting, interactive games for children,
tele-matches, jumble sales, and a workshop on autism.
To-date, more than RM40,000 has been raised.
Nottingham LifeCycle Malaysia 2014, the young rider
finished a 25km scenic ride around the campus.
13
Sustaining Excellence
As UNMC, we believe that the continued capability to
invest and make the most of our people, programmes
and infrastructure, will be the basis of our future
success. By providing an environment where people
can and do excel, we are recognised as a first choice
for employers while inviting the best talents to study at
the University.
Leading graduate employers include Accenture,
Alstom, Bank Negara Malaysia, Brunsfield,
CIMB, Deleum, Deloitte, Environmental Resource
Management, Ernst & Young, ExxonMobil, Freescale
Semiconductor, HSBC, Intel, KPMG, Maybank,
OCBC, Petronas, Public Bank, Sunway Construction,
Theta and University of Malaya. Our students’
employability is the greatest testament to our success.
UNMC’s active alumni network stays connected
through visits to the Malaysia and China campuses,
while sharing their experience with current students.
The annual alumni dinner in 2014 presented the
Special Excellence Award to alumnus Nagulendran
Kangayatkarasu for his work in biodiversity and
biosafety since graduating from UNMC in 2003; while
the Alumnus of the Year Award on the other hand was
presented to the founders of myBurgerLab, alumni
Teoh Wee Kiat and Chin Ren Yi.
Alumni often return to campus to speak to students
about their studies and career development. The
Alumni E-Mentoring scheme was established for
students to be mentored by alumni in their chosen
field of expertise. There is also the Developing Skills in
Public Relations Module for the Nottingham
14
Advantage Award which encourages student
involvement in engaging with the alumni, with the
latter being invited to be the facilitator and member
of the evaluation panel. Alumni engagement is further
sustained via activities such as Masterclasses and
Life Cycle Malaysia.
In collaboration with the Government of Malaysia
(through MyAlumni Cluster), UNMC has set-up My
Alumni Council in Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Myanmar and China to engage with the Malaysian
alumni in the respective countries.
Where do UNMC graduates go?
The Careers Advisory Service surveyed a target
population of almost 1000 UNMC graduates to
record their first destination within six months after
the graduation for February 2014 and July 2013
batches.
94% of our postgraduates and 87% of our
undergraduates are in employment, further study,
or attending skills enhancement programme.
91.8% of our postgraduates and 65.2% of our
undergraduates are in employment.
30.5% of our undergraduates and 6.2% of our
postgraduates are in further study.
The top five employment sectors are: Education,
Professional and Scientific /Technical Activities,
Manufacturing, Financial and Insurance/Takaful
Activities, and Information and Communication.
Surveyed 247 in Feb 2014 and 752 in July 2013) and received 726
responses.
15
Tri Campus Games 2014, The University of Nottingham
Ningbo China (UNNC) hosted more than 120 students
from the UK and Malaysia campuses.
16
•
•
Campus Life
UNMC aims to deliver guidance and provide both
social and personal development opportunities for our
students whilst they’re on campus. The past year has
unveiled many improvements to further enrich campus
life experience.
Since contracting Sodexo to manage the cafeteria
at the Student Association building, chain favourites
such as Subway and Secret Recipe have also
joined the F&B scene on campus to provide more
variety. The University is planning to set up a special
fund to contribute towards student-led charitable
work by sharing the surplus revenues generated by
the cafeteria. Managed by the Academic Services
Directorate, student societies can then bid for funding.
So when you dine at the cafeteria, you’re also helping
to keep the profits within the university.
The Student Services Centre is now fully operational
as the one-stop solution destination for our students
to ensure that their daily needs can be met. The
Childcare Centre currently helps to care for 15
children and fees for the new fiscal year remains
unchanged to ease the financial burden of staff
members.
The refurbishment work on the old residence halls
which commenced in 2014 will continue into 2015
to allow reprieve in disruption and also continued
maintenance.
Achievements:
Tri Campus Games 2014
• 6 Gold
• 5 Silver
• 5 Bronze
• Silver (Overall)
Higher Education Institution Football Tournament
(HEIFT)
• Champion
Bola Sepak Masiswa Peringkat Kelayakan Zon
Selangor 2014
• 2nd Runner Up
MAPCU Rugby Tournament 2014
• 1st Runner Up
INTI World Cup 2014- Male
• 2nd Runner Up
MAPCU-APU Taekwondo Championship 2014
• 2nd Runner Up
MASISWA- Nilai University Tennis Championship
2014
• Female Category- 1st Runner Up
• Mixed Category- 2nd Runner Up
With our students equally impressive on the field,
track and court as they are in the classroom, it has
been another illustrious year for UNMC’s various
sports teams, men and women alike.
17
18
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
FASS continues to consolidate its effort in the area of
teaching excellence, research and staff development. In
2014, one particular development came in the form of a
new Centre for Islamic Business and Finance Research
(CIBFR) at Nottingham University Business School
(NUBS) which was launched on 22 April 2014, by
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, former Senior Minister of the
State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).
The main aim of CIBFR is to produce world-class
research by attracting national and international Islamic
financial institutions and Halal product firms to collaborate
in research initiatives at the Centre. It has since hosted
several programmes including the “Distinguished Lecture
Series” featuring prominent scholars in the Islamic world.
School of Politics, History and International Relations
(PHIR) continues to develop its engagement with the
Malaysian policy and civil society community. The School
collaborated with the prominent think tank “The Institute
for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAs)” to run an
executive programme on political economy. PHIR has
also partnered with the Red Cross/Red Crescent in a
module that discusses aspects of the organizations work
in humanitarian emergencies. Students will be able to
experience simulation of a disaster, allowing hands-on
learning experience.
The School of Education, in a joint effort with the United
Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)
organised a workshop on refugee education in Malaysia.
The event was well-received and has resulted in a regular
working group on-campus, facilitated by UNHCR.
The School also hosted its first international summer
school for a group of 15 teachers from Sri Lanka. Other
mention-worthy events organised by the schools under
FASS include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
“Should the Subaltern Sing? On Culture, Power, and Globalisation in Flora Gomes’s ‘Nha Fala’” by The Centre for the study of Communications & Culture (CSCC) and SMLC
The 7th Globalisation and Economic Policy (GEP) Conference
The Politics of Civil Society: A Roundtable Discussion
In August 2014, the Head of School of Education, Dr. Ganakumaran, chaired the 12th International ASIA TEFL Conference in Kuching Sarawak.
The event was the largest ELT conference in Asia with 1500 delegates from 38 countries.
5.Is Islam a Religion of Peace?: A Roundtable Discussion
6.A three-day ‘Global Citizenship’ Conference, in partnership with Universitas 21
The Department of Applied Psychology is developing
the university’s first tri campus, cross-disciplinary,
e-learning undergraduate subsidiary module on Global
Psychology and Communications, together with the
School of Psychology (UNUK) and School of English
(UNNC) as a Teaching and Learning Board-funded
initiative. It is scheduled to welcome its first cohort
of students in February 2015. In 2014, the School of
Modern Languages and Cultures was recognised as an
international examination centre for French and Mandarin;
this offers internationally benchmarked language
qualifications in addition to the degree for our students.
In terms of staff movement, Professor Neville Wylie
stepped down from his role as the Faculty Dean. He
now serves as the Assistant Pro Vice Chancellor
International (Americas), University of Nottingham, UK.
During his term as the Dean, the Faculty made numerous
important strides both institutionally and pedagogically,
particularly for the School of Politics, History and
International Relations. As of 1 August 2014, the role
of Dean has been been assumed by Professor Ong Fon
Sim (Professor of Marketing). The Faculty now has 96
academic staff, compared to 88 in 2013.
FASS students have also been staying active throughout
the year. Some of the highlights include:
• The Mikado (comic opera) - by the School of Modern Languages and Cultures and School of English
• NUBS students crowned champions at the 2014 CIMB ASEAN Stock Challenge Competition and the Be D One (BDO) Challenge 2014. William Buck won the Best Speaker award in the BDO Challenge.
• Study Abroad Programmeme - organised by the School of Education where undergraduate students travelled to Bangkok to experience education for children with special needs.
Awards and grants further testify to the development in
research among FASS faculty with SMLC staff receiving
the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FGRS) while
a team comprising of UNMC and UNUK staff (School of
Education) was awarded with two research projects by
the International Baccalaureate Organisation.
19
Faculty of Engineering
2014 continues to be a year of pivotal achievements
for the Faculty of Engineering with our staff and
students alike clinching a host of international awards
and recognition. As a further testament to the quality
of the programmes we offer, all the programmes
reviewed in 2014 by the UK professional bodies gave
us another 5 years of accreditation. This compliments
the accreditation by the Board of Engineers Malaysia.
We will strive for continued excellence in ensuring that
our programmes are in-line with global practice, exceed
expectations and our graduates a valuable asset to any
organisation.
Meanwhile, the Electronic Systems and Applied Maths
(ESAM) division continues to flourish with a healthy
grant portfolio and 48 PhD students. Two members of
the Materials, Mechanics and Structures Division have
been asked to serve as panel committee in drafting the
Malaysia’s Graphene Action Plan 2014.
Research-oriented:
The faculty has been research-extensive throughout
the year in collaboration with MyResearch. Industrial
projects include harnessing energy from palm oil waste,
which has culminated in a campus-level research
centre. Similarly, our close working relationship with the
aerospace industry will materialise in the form of an onsite aerospace research centre here on campus.
Actively hands-on:
To increase exposure in professional practice, Dr Brian
Simpson OBE who is the director of Arup Geotechnics
spoke to students about how the new Eurocode 7 is
affecting the world of Geotechnical designs and its
impact on the civil engineering profession on the whole.
Always on the lookout for sustainability, the Energy
Fuel and Power Technology (EFPT) together with the
Manufacturing and Industry Processes division have
sealed number collaborations. One is a long-term
research grant ,funded by the Ministry of Education,
which focuses on the refinery of bio-fuels with an
allocation of close to RM1 million.
To expand on its global network and furthering the
exchange platform, the EFPT research division has
initiated cooperation with European establishments,
namely the Technical University of Denmark and the
Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy; as well as RollsRoyce Group (UK) under the University Technology
Centre (UTC) arrangement. The focus will be in areas
relating to diesel engine combustion, chemical kinetics
modelling and aircraft lubrication system. The division
has also started working with OYL Research and
Development Sdn Bhd (member of the Daikin Group) on
projects related to novel air-conditioning technologies,
as well as Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) on bio-oil
production from lignocellulosic biomass.
20
The Manufacturing and Industrial Processes division
signed five Memorandums of Agreement with select
institutions in Taiwan where Yuan Ze University, National
Cheng Kung University and National Taiwan University of
Science and Technology are now FOE’s latest partners.
To further advance our E&E students’ employability,
an Undergraduate Development Scheme (UDS) has
been developed with Motorola to allow students the
opportunity of earning real-world experience during
semester breaks.
Our IMechE student chapter organised EngNow
2014 competition which hosted two national-level
competitions, where UNMC students emerged
victorious and will now go on to represent Malaysia at
the South East Asia finals.
The Robotics Society ran two competitions focussing
on the Autonomous Hovercraft which attracted 20
teams from 11 different universities nationwide, as well
as participation from UNMC China Campus.
Student Accolades:
• Renu Geetha Bai (PhD student) won the best Shot-
gun Presentation award at the Ultrasonic International Conference in Portugal.
• Bhamini Bhujun emerged champion at the EURAXESS Science Slam ASEAN 2014 and will now represent ASEAN for the final in Europe.
• Nicole Ho Mui Yien (PhD student) won Best Presenter Award in the Asia Conference of Materials and Mechanical Engineering 2014 organised by South Asia Institute of Science and Engineering in Singapore.
• IChemE Food & Drink prize with final-year project entitled “Osmotic Dehydration of Tropical Fruits”. The project was also nominated for a national-level
competition organised by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Universiti Malaya (UM) on ‘Connected communities and Internet of Things’.
Staff Achievements:
• Professor Chong Mei Fong won the first prize for
the University of Nottingham’s International Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Award.
• 4 staff from Chemical Engineering Department won silver in the Research Invention and Innovation Competition for Private Institutions of Higher Learning, Malaysia (PERINTIS 2014).
• Professor Sivakumar Manickam received the prestigious Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) award from Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Welfare Society of India for his outstanding achievements and contributions.
21
Faculty of Science
In 2014, The Faculty of Science celebrates two
international firsts:
The Faculty of Science at UNMC has become the first
international department to be awarded an Athena
SWAN award by the UK’s Equality Challenge Unit. The
awards recognise commitment to advancing women’s
careers in science, technology, engineering, maths and
medicine in higher education and research. This Athena
SWAN Bronze award was announced at the same
time that UNMC launched its WinSET mentoring and
leadership programmes to promote career opportunities
and development for women in science, engineering and
technology.
The School of Psychology at UNMC became the first
psychology department outside of the UK to receive
accreditation by the British Psychological Society, which
included both of its undergraduate programmes. The
report commented on a significant number of areas of
good practice, including its close-knit and nurturing
learning community, the quality of the research facilities
offered to students for laboratory classes and projects,
the culture of research engagement across all levels of
its teaching programmes, and the involvement of staff
and students in public engagement activities that raise
the profile of the discipline.
Other award winners this year included Dr Winnie Yap,
who won a Dearing award for Teaching and Learning,
and Ms Carol D’Cruz, who won a Vice Chancellor’s
Achievement Award in recognition of her work in
community engagement.
22
Public and community engagement is a strength
across the Faculty of Science. This year saw the very
successful completion of the Water 4 Life Project,
led by Dr Ting Kang Nee, Head of the School of
Biomedical Sciences. A collaboration with Engineers
Without Borders-Malaysia, the project involved staff
and students from engineering and pharmacy. Dr
Ting developed the Water 4 Life project to help the
indigenous Penan community of Long Itam Village in
Sarawak to gain access to sustainable clean water,
sanitation, medical care and education. The project won
the Grand Prize of the inaugural PhAMA President’s
Community Impact and Awareness Award.
The Faculty’s research also continues to flourish. This
year saw a record high in terms of research grant
capture and success rate, with external grants to
the value of over RM10 million and a success rate
of around 36%, significantly higher than in previous
years. The Faculty also contributes strongly to UNMC’s
interdisciplinary research centres, leading in the new
Interdisciplinary Centre for Tropical Environmental
Studies (Mindset) and contributing to the new Centre of
Sustainable Palm Oil Research (CSPOR).
It also collaborates closely with the Crops For the Future
(CFF) and played a major role in co-organising and
contributing to a global forum on food and nutritional
security in the ASEAN region led by Dr Susan AzamAli and the CFF colleagues. This year also saw the first
cohort of PhD students registered on the joint UNMCCFF Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), co-directed by
Professor Festo Massawe (School of Biosciences) and
Dr Sean Mayes (CFF).
with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) involving
students from both institutions to Kuala Selangor
and Raja Musa Forest Reserve as part of the joint
Tropical Catchments Research Initiative (TROCARI).
TROCARI was also successful in attracting a number
of internationally-funded grants this year. Dr Ahimsa
Campos-Arceiz and other colleagues in the Faculty coorganised and hosted the 3rd Regional Conference of
the Society for Conservation Biology.
Both staff and student numbers have continued to grow
steadily with some changes in staffing, including senior
roles. Dr Elizabeth (Lizzy) Sheppard, Head of the School
of Psychology, left for Nottingham Trent University and
we welcomed her replacement as Head, Dr David
Keeble. The Dean of Science, Professor Peter Mitchell,
returned to the UK at the end of his very successful
secondment and we welcomed Professor Claire
O’Malley, also seconded from the UK, as the new Dean.
Professor Graham Kendall was appointed as editor-inchief of a leading international academic journal - IEEE
Transactions of Computational Intelligence and AI in
Games. Professor Claire O’Malley was appointed by
the Ministry of Education (MOE) to the external audit
panel for the University of Malaya High Impact Research
Programme. She was also appointed to the international
panel for the Portuguese government’s Foundation
for Science and Technology (FCT) commissioning of
national Research & Development Centres.
Engagement in national and international partnerships
and networks for both teaching and research continues
to strengthen. Dr Stephanie Evers led on a field course
23
Appendix 1: Student and staff data
Exhibit 1: Student population over time (Dec census for date)
Study Level
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Foundation
560
543
670
927
1079
1077
UG
2113
2349
2489
2740
2972
3195
PGR
429
501
455
495
433
404
PGT
140
201
238
263
285
325
Grand Total
3242
3603
3852
4425
4769
5001
Exhibit 2: Student numbers on foundation programmes
(May census date)
Subject area
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Engineering
17
32
35
52
44
35
Malaysian
5
7
13
14
13
10
International
12
25
22
38
31
25
Science
6
11
32
29
30
41
Malaysian
4
4
5
5
7
17
International
2
7
27
24
23
24
458
388
414
359
347
Subject area
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Arts & Social 406
Sciences
Engineering
326
352
391
439
443
423
Malaysian
236
279
237
255
220
206
International
170
179
151
159
139
141
Total
429
501
455
495
433
423
Malaysian
253
268
298
362
357
362
International
73
84
93
77
86
61
Science
53
54
92
193
288
327
Malaysian
245
290
255
274
240
233
International
184
211
200
221
193
190
Malaysian
31
45
74
162
259
316
International
22
9
18
31
29
11
Arts & Social 181
Sciences
137
187
295
348
327
Malaysian
111
98
122
188
245
255
International
70
39
65
107
103
72
Subject area
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Total
560
543
670
927
1079
1077
Engineering
67
110
116
124
137
141
Malaysian
395
411
494
712
861
933
Malaysian
60
91
91
90
95
89
International
165
132
176
215
218
144
International
7
19
25
34
42
52
Science
33
44
59
82
92
109
Malaysian
23
35
48
67
70
74
International
10
Exhibit 3: Student numbers on undergraduate programmes
(May census date)
24
Exhibit 4: Student numbers on masters programmes
(May census date)
Subject area
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Engineering
1248
1319
1342
1453
1534
1547
Malaysian
905
928
976
1051
1129
1176
International
343
391
366
402
405
371
Science
282
314
378
483
628
748
Malaysian
176
187
259
375
501
591
International
106
127
119
108
127
157
Arts & Social 583
Sciences
716
769
804
810
900
Malaysian
276
339
347
397
420
536
International
307
377
422
407
390
364
Total
2113
2349
2489
2740
2972
3195
Malaysian
1357
1454
1582
1823
2050
2303
International
756
895
907
917
922
892
Exhibit 5: Student numbers on PhD programmes
(May census date)
9
11
15
22
35
Arts & Social 40
Sciences
56
63
57
56
56
Malaysian
26
34
36
33
33
32
International
14
22
27
24
23
24
Total
140
210
238
263
285
306
Malaysian
109
160
175
190
198
195
International
31
50
63
73
87
111
Exhibit 6: Malaysian student population by ethnicity
Ethnicity
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Bumi
11
10
9
14
24
43
Chinese
1461
1593
1718
2065
2314
2587
Indian
206
233
252
260
261
254
Malay
402
453
488
617
701
728
Others
26
26
39
43
49
52
Total
2106
2315
2506
2999
3349
3664
Exhibit 7: Student numbers full-time vs part-time
(May census date)
2009
Subject area
2010
2011
2012
Exhibit 10: Academic staff numbers as of end of May
2013
2014
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
115
113
84
84
101
103
Science
30
45
31
54
61
74
Arts & Social
Sciences
52
48
73
73
85
89
Engineering
Faculty of
Engineering
1658
1813
1884
2068
2158
2146
Full-time
1645
1788
1855
2039
2133
2124
Part-time
13
25
29
29
25
22
Faculty of
Science
374
423
561
787
1038
1225
Full-time
371
417
555
779
1016
1211
Part-time
3
6
6
8
22
14
Faculty of
Arts &Social
1210
1360
1403
1570
1573
1630
Full-time
908
1018
1105
1265
1305
1386
Engineering
Part-time
302
342
298
305
268
244
Science
Total
3242
3596
3848
4425
4769
5001
Arts & Social
Sciences
Central
Total Academic
197
206
188
211
247
266
Total All
395
427
452
487
579
605
Grand Total
3242
3603
3852
4425
4769
4828
Exhibit 11: Non academic staff numbers as of end of May
2009
Exhibit 8: Applications by year of entry
3500
2847
3000
1984
1696
1634
2012
2013
2014
58
62
21
23
65
43
52
55
18
28
31
33
15
17
16
21
25
26
104
119
165
184
224
225
Total
198
221
264
276
332
339
3242
3603
3852
4425
4769
4828
2816
2942
1500
2011
Grand Total
Exhibit 12: SSRs over time
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Engineering
19.1
19.2
23
24.7
20
19.1
2500
2000
2010
1788
1998
1616
1742
Science
13
17.3
23.2
18.5
19.6
15
Arts & Social
Sciences
29.9
25.6
19.6
20.8
16.9
16.9
Overall
22.2
20.9
22.4
21.8
18.8
17.1
1000
Government
Exhibit 13: Benchmarking of academic staff with PhD with
education industry
Non-Government
500
Year
Institutions
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Academic
staff with
Phd
Total
academic
staff
% with PhD
2012-13
UNMC
192
257
75%
Exhibit 9: Registrations by year of entry
2012-13
Foreign Branch
Campuses
529
965
55%
2000
2012-13
IPTS (Private U in
Malaysia)
2147
10067
21%
2013
IPTA (Public U in
Malaysia)
12104
33137
37%
2013-14
UNMC
248
316
78.5%
657
1800
628
445
1600
444
1400
535
1200
1150
1000
1156
1189
794
800
Exhibit 14: Citations per publication
Overall
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
6.8
6.3
5.6
2.4
0.7
794
600
400
Government
Non-Government
200
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Notes:
• May provides a consistent measurement point immediately after the April Foundation and prior to July intake and graduation.
• Exhibit 11 & 12, year 2011 reflects a recatergorisation of research assistants from staff to students
• Exhibit 13, benchmarking of ‘staff’ with PhD with education industry (“Staff” refers to academic staff as returned in the Ministry of Education census, so presume that
to mean on-payroll FTE staff). The data is taken from the 2013 statistics dataset
supplied by Ministry of Education.
25
Exhibit 15: International students by country of origin
(Dec census for date)
Nationality
26
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Icelander
1
1
0
0
1
1
Algerian
2
1
2
2
2
2
Indian
77
87
100
93
107
101
American
7
5
8
16
16
7
Indonesian
54
47
53
40
51
48
Australian
0
1
2
3
3
4
Iranian
21
26
31
52
39
34
Austrian
0
0
1
1
1
0
Iraqi
7
9
10
17
12
10
Bahraini
5
5
5
6
8
14
Irish
0
1
1
1
2
1
Bangladeshi
23
33
37
50
54
49
Italian
0
0
0
0
0
1
Belarusian
0
0
0
0
0
1
Japanese
0
3
4
4
8
7
Belgian
0
0
0
0
1
1
Jordanian
3
4
6
6
4
5
Botswana
113
103
1
1
0
0
Kazakhstani
15
32
35
51
72
62
Brazilian
11
98
3
1
0
0
Kenyan
49
48
37
28
26
23
British
25
23
32
35
41
35
Korean
14
24
47
58
2
7
British-HK
1
2
2
1
0
0
Kuwaiti
0
0
0
0
0
2
Brunei PR
0
1
2
2
1
0
Kyrgyz
0
0
0
1
0
0
Bruneian
2
2
3
0
3
2
Kyrgyzstani
0
0
1
1
1
1
Burmese
0
0
0
0
1
1
Lebanese
1
0
1
1
0
1
Burundian
1
0
2
0
0
0
Libyan
2
1
1
1
0
2
Cambodian
0
0
1
1
0
0
Malagasy
1
1
0
1
2
2
Cameroonian
1
2
2
0
0
0
Malawian
1
1
2
2
2
1
Canadian
4
4
5
4
3
4
Maldivian
42
45
41
33
27
29
Chadian
0
0
1
1
2
2
Maltese
0
1
0
0
0
0
Chilean
1
0
1
0
0
0
Mauritian
24
28
44
57
73
64
Chinese
0
0
1
34
4
0
Mauritius
0
0
0
1
0
0
Chinese-China
48
41
39
38
62
78
Mexican
0
0
0
0
0
2
Chinese-HK
1
1
0
0
0
0
Moroccan
0
0
0
1
0
0
Chinese-Taiwan
4
4
5
1
0
0
Myanmar
5
4
7
12
10
9
Croatian
0
0
0
0
0
1
Namibian
0
0
0
0
0
1
Danish
0
0
0
0
0
1
Nepalese
0
1
1
2
3
3
Djiboutian
0
1
1
1
0
0
Netherlander
0
0
0
0
1
0
Dutch
3
2
1
1
1
0
New Zealander
0
0
0
2
2
2
Egyptian
4
10
14
18
36
52
Nigerian
142
142
80
57
54
42
Ethiopian
1
1
1
0
1
1
Norwegian
2
3
1
0
0
0
Emirian
0
0
0
0
0
1
Omani
2
31
16
3
3
18
Eritrean
0
0
0
0
0
1
Pakistani
125
182
214
240
216
196
Fijian
0
0
0
1
0
2
2
2
1
0
0
Filipino
2
4
7
7
5
Pakistani/
British
1
5
French
1
2
2
3
3
5
Palestinian
1
1
1
2
4
4
Gambian
0
0
0
0
1
0
Polish
0
1
0
1
1
1
German
3
4
3
4
2
3
Russian
3
4
8
5
3
2
Ghanaian
2
2
4
2
4
5
Rwandese
0
0
1
1
0
0
Saudi
0
0
2
0
0
0
Tanzanian
28
32
36
31
23
21
Seychellois
0
0
0
0
2
8
Thai
5
4
4
5
6
5
Singaporean
9
13
14
21
24
30
0
0
0
1
1
3
6
6
9
7
2
Trinidian/
Tobagoan
0
Somali
South African
0
0
1
1
1
2
Tunisian
0
1
2
2
1
1
South Korean
0
0
0
2
50
39
Turkmen
0
0
0
0
0
1
Spanish
0
1
0
0
0
0
Uganda
0
1
0
0
0
0
Sri Lankan
108
132
108
127
117
108
Ugandan
8
14
16
11
14
12
Sudanese
41
52
60
58
47
47
Ukrainian
2
1
0
0
0
0
Swedish
0
0
0
0
0
1
Uzbek
1
4
7
9
0
0
Swazi
1
0
0
0
0
0
Uzbekistani
0
0
0
2
7
4
Swiss
1
1
1
0
0
0
Vietnamese
63
51
53
65
78
64
Syrian
2
2
3
6
6
10
Yemeni
11
10
12
11
8
5
Taiwan
2
3
3
4
0
1
Yemenite
0
0
0
0
2
4
Taiwanese
0
0
0
0
4
2
Zambian
1
1
3
4
5
6
Tajikistani
0
1
3
3
2
1
Zimbabwean
2
1
1
2
3
3
Total
1136
1288
1346
1426
1420
1337
Appendix 2: Summary financial information
Consolidated financial statement (For the year ended 31 December)
Details
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
Gross Revenue
152,855
139,530
126,292
107,003
94,057
Scholarships awarded
(16,030)
(14,662)
(129,19)
(11,358)
(8,596)
Revenue
136,825
124,868
113,373
95,645
85,461
Rental Income
10,519
7,536
5,059
3,633
3,196
Staff Costs
(70,129)
(62,080)
(495,24)
(44,160)
(41,005)
Depreciation
(15,122)
(13,679)
(11,733)
(10,544)
(9,533)
Other operating expenses
(56,960)
(49,658)
(48,182)
(38,480)
(33,132)
Surplus from operations
5,132
6,986
8,994
6,093
4,987
Interest income
35
38
13
8
5
Finance costs
(5,787)
(4,757)
(3,862)
(4,220)
(4,421)
(Deficit) / Surplus before tax
(620)
2,268
5,145
1,881
571
Taxation
(460)
389
2,198
()
(2)
(Deficit)/surplus for the year,
(1,080)
2,657
7,343
1881
569
27