Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) advanced its open science agenda during a recent seminar at Tampere University in Finland.

UMS delegation led by Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation), Prof. Ir. Dr. Rosalam Sarbatly, shared UMS journey in open science adoption, focusing on research data sharing and the related challenges.

Topics covered included open science policy, infrastructure, educational courses, and Open Science Shop 2.0.

Rosalam in a statement noted that, in Malaysia, particularly in the biodiversity-rich state of Sabah, open science is becoming increasingly vital for sustainable development.

“Making scientific research and data freely accessible fosters collaboration to preserve Sabah's unique ecosystems and promotes sustainable agriculture.

“This open approach encourages innovation by allowing researchers to develop solutions tailored to Malaysia’s environmental needs.

“Moreover, open science empowers policymakers to make informed decisions with current data, supporting effective strategies,” he said.

He added that, open science advocates Malaysia to push for robust policies that support data sharing while maintaining data integrity and privacy.

“The seminar, with participants from Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, India, and Malaysia, allowed UMS to outline its policies encouraging open science, covering intellectual property rights, copyright, and plagiarism prevention.

“Despite these policies, UMS recognizes the need for a stronger framework to ensure secure research data sharing,” said Rosalam.

Meanwhile, UMS Chief Digital Officer, Prof. Dr. Awang Asri Ag. Ibrahim, highlighted the significance of open science in fostering innovation and collaboration.

“UMS engaged with partner universities at the seminar, exploring best practices and policy frameworks for secure data sharing, addressing the gap between existing policies and their practical implementation.

“UMS's commitment to open science is evident through its active leadership in the seminar.

“While challenges remain, UMS is dedicated to advancing open science in the Asian region. Insights from the seminar will guide UMS's efforts to create a secure and collaborative research environment,” said Awang Asri.

The seminar also featured Dr. Farashazillah Yahya, the Director of the Data and Information Management Centre at UMS, further demonstrating UMS's commitment to open science and secure data sharing, which such involvement underscores the university's readiness to lead in this evolving field.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is committed to empowering the field of research and study, which includes enhancing and growing its network of relationships with a diverse range of higher education institutions and industry players.

UMS Vice Chancellor, Prof Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor, said the university would continue to explore and seek space and opportunities to expand the field of research, and that it is open to collaborating with others, particularly for research efforts and works, as well as exploring existing and new fields of knowledge.

“Today, we once again expand our efforts in the field of science by collaborating with the Nantong College of Science and Technology (NTST),” he said, adding that the focus is on pushing forward in the areas of research and education.

He said this during the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between UMS and the Nantong College of Science and Technology.

“Both UMS and the Nantong College of Science and Technology have its own capability and ability, thus with this collaboration, I am confident we can produce positive results and impact on the development of research and science,” he said.

He added that the collaboration aimed to improve the quality of field studies that satisfy the needs of the industry as a whole.

“We identified a variety of expertise that can be shared and used for mutual benefit through this MoU.

“In addition, the student exchange efforts can also form a community of students who are knowledgeable especially in terms of culture and understanding new things,” he added.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) was among eight international universities that involved in developing the Open Science Asia policy recently.

This is through a group of researchers from UMS led by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor Ir. Dr. Rosalam Hj. Sarbatly who attending a consortium meeting and forum for the development of the Open Science Asia policy at Mandal's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Mumbai, India.

Rosalam in a statement said, the collaborative project involves universities from Malaysia, India, Netherlands, Finland, and Slovenia, with funding support totaling EUR779,000 from the ERASMUS+ program of the European Union.

“The primary objective of the initiative is to formulate policies and implementation frameworks for Open Science, facilitating the global sharing of research and innovation knowledge.

"Open Science is in line with the five main priorities of the Ministry of Higher Education, especially in strengthening the research and innovation ecosystem, and is aligned with UMS's goal of enhancing the university's research skills on the international stage,” he said.

He added that, the main emphasis is on the development of policies for Open Science implementation and the provision of infrastructure and information structures to enable researchers to ethically share information, particularly from the perspective of sharing and using research data.

“This is expected to accelerate the process of generating new technologies and innovations for problem-solving.

“For example, the development of vaccines, which previously took years, can now be accomplished in a short period, as demonstrated in the development of the Covid-19 vaccine,” he said.

During this consortium meeting, a forum was also held as a step to raise awareness about Open Science within the community.

The event featured insights from several experts and industry leaders in the field, including a keynote address by Emeritus Prof Dr. Man Mohan Sharma from the Institute of Chemical Technology, India, and UMS Chief Digital Officer, Professor Dr. Ag. Asri bin Ag. Ibrahim.

The project implementation coordinator from UMS, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatimah Ahmedy, also attended as a representative along with several research partners from the Universiti Malaya and the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, who are also consortium project partners from Malaysia.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is set to improve its water supply, with a planned increase to approximately five million litres per day.

UMS vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor said this enhancement would involve a combination of external supply and internal resources.

Four million litres per day will be provided by Sabah Water Department, with the remaining one million litres per day expected from the completion of eight tube wells on campus.

The addition of the tube wells aims to complement the existing supply, addressing the needs of the 22,000 individuals on campus during the day, including residential students.

This information was shared during the UMS Premier Breaking of Fast event.

The move comes as a response to previous challenges in water supply, primarily from the Telibong Water Treatment Plant in Tuaran, which struggled to meet demand.

The situation has improved slightly with the completion of the Telibong 2 Phase Two project last year and subsequent pipeline works.

Kasim said six of the tube wells funded through a RM3 million grant announced by the prime minister last year are now operational.

Final installations and pipeline connections to the residential colleges were on schedule, with full completion expected by April.