Smarter solutions for a smarter planet – an emphasis at UCSI
THE aspect of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) is much needed to address various firstworld problems ranging from the development of genetic engineering, pharmacology, fermentation technology, among others.
From researching local herbs to treat cancer, to using jellyfish toxins as therapeutic solutions, and the adoption of agricultural biotechnology to end world hunger – the application of science is needed and prevails in every aspect of life to create a sustainable environment.
The worldis surrounded by technology and the products of science every day.
Even public policy decisions that affect every aspect of lives stemmed from scientific evidence.
The need to be scientifically literate to succeed has become inevitable.
A case in point would be the way some nations have handled the Covid19 pandemic.
What started off as a problem in one nation that could have been curtailed with the right scientific measures has become a worldwide conundrum.
As such, finding solutions to advance the life of mankind is a necessity and must be a perpetual effort to ensure new scientific solutions are made available to address different sort of challenges that prevail today or may so tomorrow.
This is exactly what UCSI University’s Faculty of Applied Sciences (FOAS) stands for – to provide smarter solutions for a smarter planet.
At FOAS, students and staff drive innovation daily through various scientific research.
The dynamic culture of scientific discovery is driven by the faculty’s goal to develop effective biology-based technology for application in everyday life.
Nothing is ever taken for granted and each conjecture is thoroughly debated, assessed, tested and refined.
The faculty has made, and is making great strides in drug discovery, food and water safety, greater crop yield, and the cure of diseases, among other with no signs of stopping.
Research is a central theme at the faculty as most of the academics well experienced and with a proven academic track record with over 85 per cent of them having a PhD.
Over 80 per cent of the lecturers have also obtained the Post Graduate Diploma in Tertiary Teaching to ensure lessons delivered are engaging and effective.
On top of that, over 40 per cent of lecturers or guest speakers are appointed industry consultants, giving students the right exposure of life beyond classrooms.
FOAS’ lecturers are actively involved in publishing their work in international research journals while being fully committed to supervising their students. Many of them have worked overseas at leading companies, top research facilities, and worldclass universities, thus, making them invaluable assets in serving as the right launchpad in propelling global careers for UCSI’s students.
When Joel Phua began his research with Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard University hospital, in late 2019, he was over the moon because it was an opportunity of a lifetime to visit and study at the prestigious institution.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic hampered his chances of travelling. Despite such a predicament, the FOAS’ alumnus completed his computational genetics work from Malaysia.
His genomics project involved identifying genetic changes from treatment of clinical depression using alternative treatments. He was mentored by Dr Simmie Foster and Dr Kumar Veerapen.
Veerapen, also an alumnus of FOAS, is a research fellow at the Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit (ATGU) at Massachusetts General Hospital and a community engagement manager at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
Through the Star Trek programme at UCSI, students at FOAS are also selected to advance high impact research at Yale University.
Five out six programmes offered at FOAS achieved a 100 per cent graduate employability score in the Ministry of Higher Education’s Graduate Employability 2020 survey.
Cumulatively, 84 of the 87 UCSI’s programmes listed in the survey received a 100 per cent employability score. Averagely, all 87 programmes scored 99.8 per cent in the survey.
The survey is a testament of the quality of education offered by UCSI and FOAS.
For more details, visit www. ucsiuniversity.com.my or contact 039101 8882/011-3592 0893.
The University will be hosting its Info and eInfo day from NovemberDecember 2021.