The 3rd Borneo Quality of Life Conference, themed "Quality of Life Across All Ages," will take place at Universiti Malaysia Sabah from May 23rd-26th, 2023. The conference will also be held partially online, allowing participants from across the globe to join.

The conference will bring together scholars, practitioners, and individuals passionate about quality of life and well-being to discuss ways to improve the quality of life in the region, with a particular focus on human rights. The conference aims to foster a community of scholars, individuals, and groups dedicated to improving the quality of life in the region.

The conference will cover a wide range of topics related to quality of life, including issues such as hunger, food security, sustainable agriculture, noncommunicable diseases, poverty, education, decent work, and economic growth. Discussions will also centre around sustainable living environments, promoting good health and well-being, human capital development, and decent work and economic growth.

With an impressive lineup of speakers including Professor Datuk ChM. Ts. Dr Taufiq Yap Yun Hin, Professor Dilip V. Jeste, and Dr Ravivarma Rao Panirselvam, this conference promises to be an enlightening and thought-provoking event for anyone interested in improving the quality of life and well-being in the region.

The conference also promises a wide range of interesting topics, including a keynote speech by Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival Director, Jude Day titled “Film in Sabah”, a symposium topic of statelessness, education, and quality of life that will feature many expert speakers on the matter, and another symposium entitled “Traditional Ritual Responses To The Covid-19 Pandemic In Sabah” which will have three esteemed speakers that cover the topic. 

This conference is a unique opportunity for scholars, practitioners, and individuals to come together to share their knowledge and experiences, collaborate on innovative solutions, and form a community dedicated to making a positive difference in the world.

Registration for the conference is open now. Don't miss this chance to be part of a community that is committed to improving the quality of life for all ages in the region.

For more information about the conference, please visit the conference website at https://bqolc.ums.edu.my/

Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin and his consort Toh Puan Norlidah R.M. Jasni spent time with the staff and students of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) during a fast breaking ceremony at the UMS Islamic Center on Saturday.

Juhar, who is also UMS Chancellor, together with UMS Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor had witnessed the presentation of zakat donation amounting to RM34,500 by the Sabah Islamic Religious Council (Muis) to UMS during the event.

The donation was presented by Muis senior assistant secretary of the zakat and fitrah division, Saffruddin Manshuruddin, to UMS board of directors chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

Juhar also witnessed the handing over of zakat wakala amounting to RM40,000 from Bank Islam Berhad to UMS, presented by Bank Islam Sabah director Baria Sarudin.

A total of 1,198 students and 24 UMS staff are eligible to receive the zakat distribution, with student zakat assistance for the asnaf group including selfsupport, study and dormitory fees as well as assistance to undergo industrial training.

Attendees at the event also listened to a Ramadan tazkirah session delivered by the State deputy mufti Datuk Abdul Manap Lakaribah before breaking of fast.

Juhar then performed Maghrib, Isyak and Tarawih prayers at the UMS mosque together with about 300 UMS staff and students.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is out to make its graduates more employable with China-based investors by increasing their Mandarin language fluency.

UMS Confucius Institute (Malaysia) director Professor Dr Chong Khin Phin said the university was signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kibing Group to teach its employees how to communicate fluently in Mandarin.

Kibing has reportedly sealed a RM2 billion silica sand processing and solar panel manufacturing project in Sabah.

The group, which aims to employ nearly 2,000 local workers, is expected to be fully operational in Sabah in November.

"With these investments, I believe our local graduates will have more job opportunities.

"What the institute is doing is providing locals with basic Mandarin conversation skills so they can speak and communicate well with their employers in the future," he said after awarding language course completion certificates to the first batch of 40 trainees at UMS here.

Chong added that there were some legal aspects to be finalised before the UMS-Kibing deal was signed.

He said the institute, established in 2019, offered up to Level 6 Mandarin language courses.

Present were Confucius Institute (China) director Deng Rong and UMS Registrar Luqman Ridha representing Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Kasim Mansur.

Karen Chong, 37, who received her certificate today after completing the language course, said she was satisfied after achieving a personal goal to finish the third level of the Mandarin course.

The legal adviser at a Sabah-based utility company said she signed up for the course in 2019 and paid RM100 for each level.

"Although I had some basic knowledge of the language, with proper learning, I can now speak with proper grammar and identify words more easily than before."

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) started developing a Living Lab in mid-2022 to inspire the university, community and industry in creating innovation.

Vice Chancellor, Professor Datuk Dr. Kasim Mansor said the Living Lab application was a collaborative approach to innovation that involved various stakeholders.

"Living Lab is often used in the fields of smart cities, healthcare, sustainability and education.

"Now, where we are is also a Living Lab that involves testing marine-based technology, products and services," he said while speaking during the UMS Living Lab launching ceremony.

According to Kasim, collaborative partnerships between academies, industry, government and the community were important to ensure sustainable growth of the innovation development ecosystem.

"Collaborative models across these various entities are the main support for the development and growth of the Living Lab at UMS.

"In this model, industry partners take advantage of academic capabilities to support their needs in producing more innovative and competitive products," he added.

He added that the government also intended to develop, establish and manage its own Living Lab to provide policy for administering the implementation of innovative skills.

At the international level, Living Lab is an open loop innovation ecosystem that focuses on users, integrated in the simultaneous research and innovation process.

"Our mission at UMS is to ensure that our Living Lab can be an inspiration to the university, community and industry in creating innovations that are beneficial to society and industry.

"This is in line with the theme of the university as the leader of the innovative community," he added.

He added that the Living Lab application could also be used as a platform that could solve and help promote economic models.

"This can focus on efforts to promote an economic model that is in line with environmental sustainability and social interests.

"Living Lab is also able to provide an Information Transfer Programme (KTP) to target communities to foster the sustainable use of marine natural resources." he said