Publishing knowledge
LAUNCHING Sunway University Press as its own publishing department, Sunway University seeks to provide the public with a broader access to Sunway University’s intellectual properties.
These include its research, public lectures by global thought leaders, artworks and other outputs cultivated from within the university.
Sunway University’s Chancellor, and Founding Trustee of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO, said that the Sunway University Press was set up in 2016 in line with the university’s vision to be an Asian powerhouse for knowledge.
“The Sunway Education Group’s mission has always been to democratise access to knowledge so that we can create a society of lifelong learners for a sustainably inclusive and progressive society,” said Cheah.
“For decades, we have opened our halls to knowledge-seekers across ages through free public lectures and scholarship assistance to the deserving. The publishing department further reiterates our ambition to have quality knowledge within reach of more people.”
Along with the official launch, Sunway University Press presented its first two publications for the year, the books Great Thinkers, Great Minds – Sunway University Professorial Lecture Series and All About Derivatives – Mathematical Differentiation for College Students.
The former showcases a selection of 10 papers on fascinating, original research presented as public lectures by the university’s own preeminent academics, and the latter was co-authored by Sunway College’s own pre-university lecturer as a practical guide to help college students master the concept of mathematical differentiation.
Prof Graeme Wilkinson, vice-chancellor of Sunway University, hopes that the publishing department will aid the university’s dissemination of new knowledge generated from research to students and the general public.
“We are very keen to encourage our students to read more books and engage more with reading to gain in-depth knowledge, as I believe a book a week keeps the brain at its peak,” Wilkinson said.
Aside from encouraging and stimulating an intellectual environment of sharing, learning and building, Sunway University Press supports academicians by providing them guidance on intellectual property matters and the publishing process.
Wilkinson said they are looking to publish 10 to 20 non-fiction, educational books a year.
Also present at the launch were Sunway University and Sunway Education Group senior executive director Dr Elizabeth Lee and provost of Sunway University, Prof Peter Heard.