SIRC or Small Islands Research Centre was started by a group of researchers from the School of Science and Technology (now called the Faculty of Science and Natural Resource). At that time, these researchers were focused on studying the water quality of a number of small islands in the coastal waters of Sabah. Then, this research group was known as SIRG or Small Islands Research Group when it initiated studies on islands such as Layang - Layang, Sipadan, Selingaan, Mabul and Manukan in 2001. The studies were focused on the hydrochemical and geological aspects of these islands. In 2014 the SIRG was rebranded as the SIRC or Small Islands Research Centre to address the social-economic and tourism needs of the state of Sabah

RESEARCH CLUSTERS
This research is divided into two (2) clusters, that is, Science and Humanities that cover;

SCIENCE CLUSTER
• Marine Science
• Geology
• Environmental Science
• Biotechnology
• Conservation Biology
• Hydrology
• Water Quality
• Chemical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

HUMANITIES CLUSTER
• History
• Physical and Anthropological Geography
• Local Administration
• Economics
• Religion and Belief
• Arts and Culture
• Community
• Borders and Territorial
• Law and Legislation
• Issues and Inquiries
• Tourism
• Archaeology
• Safety and Security
• Education
• Migration
• Stateless People
• Illegal Immigrants
• Cross Border Terrorism