EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, 11 September 2019 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Vice-Chancellor, Professor Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail led a delegation comprising of Professor Ir. Dr. Abdul Rahman Mohamed (Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation), Professor Dr. Lee Keat Teong (Director of Research Creativity and Management Office) and Dr. Yung-Wey Chong (Lecturer from National Advanced IPv6 Centre) on an official visit to University of Edinburgh (UoE) in Scotland recently to discuss potential collaborations between USM and UoE.

UoE was represented by Professor James Smith (Vice-Principal), Professor Tom Bruce (International Dean College of Science and Engineering), Ms. Audrey Kon (Regional Director Southeast Asia and Australasia), Dr. Christopher Beckett (Lecturer, School of Engineering), Dr. Yuner Huang (Lecturer, School of Engineering) and Dr. Hwa Kian Chai (Lecturer, School of Engineering).

Both parties discussed on three main collaborations, namely the summer programme and mobility programme, a joint PhD programme, and a joint colloquium to establish linkage between researchers from USM and UoE.

Currently USM and UoE are working together in a project entitled “Informational Database for Sustainable and Energy Efficient Materials in sub-Saharan Africa (DEEMA)”, funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, which looks into building a database of construction materials and a connected life-cycle analysis tool that allow architects and engineers to consider embodied energy and embodied carbon dioxide during building design process.

The joint colloquium focuses on sustainable building development and it will be the first step towards many other collaborations between the two institutions. 

University of Edinburgh is ranked No. 20 in the world in the 2020 QS World University rankings and is ranked the 7th best university in Europe by Times Higher Education.

Both the USM Vice-Chancellor and UoE Vice-Principal agreed to establish a MoU in the near future to further strengthen the ties.