FRIDAY, 20 APRIL – The Housewives and Women Staff Club Universiti Malaysia Sabah (KESUMBA) recently paid a courtesy call to Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) at Kuala Terengganu and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Dungun and Shah Alam branches respectively.

The 10 member delegation was headed by its President, Datin Roha Asmara, wife of the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Sabah,  Prof. Datuk Dr. D Kamarudin D Mudin.

On hand to greet them were Exco and members of the Women’s Association of UMT, MUTIARA.

The visit to UMT included the Transparent Fish Secrets Exhibition at the Research Gallery, Institute of Oceanography and Environment, and the Hatchery Complex under the Institute  of Tropical Aquaculture (AKUATROP).

The delegation was also greeted by the Vice-Chancellor of UMT, Prof. Dato’ Dr. Nor Aieni Haji Mokhtar who joined them for lunch whilst touching on the role of women and women empowerment in entrepreneurship.

The delegation then proceeded to UiTM Dungun in the afternoon and were received by the Exco and members of PEWANI, UiTM Dungun branch.

They were briefed on the future plans and activities of PEWANI where KESUMBA returned the same and shared fruitful discussions before heading to MyUFM, the campus radio station of UiTM Dungun.

The delegation also visited UiTM Shah Alam on the second day of their trip where they were welcomed by the Deputy President of PEWANI, Assoc. Prof. Datin Fadzilah Bt Azam Ahmad and other Exco members.

They were also briefed on PEWANI Shah Alam’s future plans and past activities before proceeding to its campus radio station, UFM where the President of KESUMBA was interviewed focussing on the club’s activities and plans.

The delegation ended their visit at UiTM by visiting GESTURZ (Galeri Seni Tuanku Nur Zahirah), a gallery that showcases various collections such as ceramics, paintings, sculpture, metal works, fashion, textiles, and jewelleries.

TUESDAY, 17 APRIL – Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) through the Malaysia Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Sabah branch office under the Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI) collaborates with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) as the CTI Focal Point in managing the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reef, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF).

Recently, CTI Sabah and UMS are pleased to host the 5^th CTI-CFF Climate Change Adaptation Working Group Regional Exchange (CCA REX) and Grant Writing Workshop.

The objective of this programme is to recall and review the priority outline in the REAP-CCA, both at the country and regional level, and also to discuss and assess the status of implementation in order to identify what needs to be done to achieve the REAP objectives.

Besides that, the program try to develop and finalise the draft Terms of Reference (TOR) for the establishment of the Regional COE on CCA, develop the course outline for Executive Course on CCA designed for local governments based on the LEAP Guide and also to enhance the skills of the participants in terms of proposal-writing to increase chances of winning grants to support the national CCA programmes and activities.

Deputy Secretary General MOSTI, Associate Profesor Dr. Ramzah Dambul said the programme was a good platform for CTI-CCA to discuss new opportunities in science, technology and innovation to contribute towards each of our country’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDCs).

“The approaches we recommend should also enable us to provide science-based input for policy making," he said when officiating the programme.

Meanwhile, in his welcome remarks, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) Prof. Dr. Shahril Yusof affirmed his full support and encouragement for university scientists to strengthen research collaboration not only within and among local universities and government agencies in Malaysia, but also within the Coral Triangle region in achieving the five CTI goals.

He also offered the programme participants a boat tour of the beautiful Kota Kinabalu city aboard UMS’ catamarans.

The programme was attended by a total of 39 participants and observers from the CTI-CFF six countries (CT6), which are Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.

Also present at the programme opening ceremony was the Chair of Technical Working Group Climate Change Adaptation (TWG CCA), MOSTI Dr. K. Nagulendran, and the Director of BMRI Profesor Dr. Rossita Shapawi.

THURSDAY, 8 FEBRUARY – Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Zunyi Medical University (ZMU), China, have now entered the second phase of the research collaboration since the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the two institutions on the establishment of The International Joint Laboratory for Ethnomedicine in 2016.

The second phase will see a significant expansion of research funding provided by the Government of China under the One Belt, One Road Initiative.

A courtesy visit to UMS by a delegation from ZMU, led by the President, Professor Dr. Jingshan Shi, was held to discuss the progress of The International Joint Laboratory for Ethnomedicine yesterday.

During the visit, UMS Vice-Chancellor, Professor Datuk Dr. D Kamarudin D Mudin, mentioned in his welcome address, that Sabah’s rich biodiversity and its array of ethnicities provide great opportunities for enhancing ethnomedical research.

Ethnomedicinal studies are fundamental for the discovery of new modern drugs through traditional knowledge.

Therefore, the coexistence of traditional medicine and biomedicine plays an important role in improving human health in today’s world.

The Vice-Chancellor believes that the ethnomedical research collaboration with ZMU, together with UMS’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation and Biotechnology Research Centre will lead to high impact scientific and commercial outcomes.

FRIDAY, 29 DECEMBER - A total of 20 UMS students attended the Leadership Workshop held recently at Beringgis Beach Resort and Spa, Papar.

The workshop which was organized by the American Corner, UMS Library in collaboration with the US Embassy of Kuala Lumpur, designed to empower students to increase and develop leadership skills in their lives.

This workshop is also a platform to develop a spirit of self-esteem for students to appreciate the nation and university. Additionally, this workshop discusses the noble values ​​of a leader in helping the nation's development.

The workshop is divided into 4 sessions namely Leadership style and characteristics, Gender and Leadership, Team and Leadership and Public Speaking.

The two-day workshop were facilitated by invitation speakers consist of, Senior Lecturer of UiTM Sabah Branch, Dr. Asri Salleh and assisted by two facilitators namely Rose Graves from English Language Fellow, UiTM Sabah Branch and Chief Assistant Director, State Security Management Section, National Security Council, State of Sabah, Syukri Hj. Sanali,