Creating local and global impact
MONASH University is committed to research that matters and sets out to achieve results that will make a difference.
The six research platforms established by Monash University Malaysia are focused on addressing the challenges faced by the country, region and the world.
“These platforms help in the identification of new sources of growth so that the region can achieve sustainable economic development,” says Prof Mahendhiran Nair, deputy president of strategy at Monash University Malaysia.
The six identified research platforms include: Brain Research Institute Monash Sunway (BRIMS), South-East Asia Community Observatory (SEACO), Advanced Engineering, Halal Ecosystem, Tropical Medicine & Biology and Social & Economic Transformation in Asia (SETA).
Brain Research Institute Monash Sunway
A component of the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, BRIMS is an internationally recognised leader in neuroscience research.
It promotes research and innovation of medicinal and aromatic plants for commercial purposes.
“With a diversified tropical habitat, Malaysia has the potential to become a major player in the discovery of potential drugs to cure brain-related disorders and diseases,” says Prof Nair.
South-East Asia Community Observatory
A cross-disciplinary and multiinstitutional collaboration, SEACO is a generic research platform capable of supporting a wide range of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the clinical and biomedical sciences, the social sciences, economics, education and environmental sciences.
SEACO also studies how internal and external forces such as globalisation, trends, technology and diseases impact the different communities locally and internationally.
It provides a window into community development, which is essential for effective and relevant formulation of public policies.
Advanced engineering
Regional economies will continue to invest in top-ofthe-line technology, which creates a demand for advanced engineering, particularly in the areas of energy, resources and sustainable processes.
The multidisciplinary platform’s main research interests are solid-state lighting and organic electronics.
“For Malaysia to become globally competitive, it needs to move up in the innovation value chain. In this platform, researchers identify and develop basic research to be transformed into applied research, which will aid in the growth of the manufacturing sector,” says Prof Nair.
Halal Ecosystem
The Monash Halal Ecosystem platform is focused on examining ways to incorporate Islamic and halal thinking into a broad range of macro business issues of pressing national, regional and global importance.
The team of researchers at Monash looks into issues related to understanding Islamic philosophies and how they are incorporated into business development for businesses to have a better corporate governance system.
They also look at how it can remain globally competitive with new technology development, processes and systems, while still adhering to Islamic principles.
Tropical medicine and biology
With a biodiverse environment and varied human habitats, Malaysia provides good ground for investigations of diseases, agricultural production, food science, environmental management and evolutionary biology.
One of the main areas of research in the platform is in the area of genomics, which looks at gene sequencing in plants, animals and human.Using new generation sequencing and the rapidly developing field of bioinformatics, researchers are able to better understand and manage key resources effectively.
Social and economic transformation in Asia
With globalisation, societies in Malaysia and the region are changing rapidly, creating four forces of impact.
These forces of impact are: globalisation – causes a likelihood of the loss of national identity; liberalisation – industries must work harder to remain globally competitive as new markets arise; regionalisation – regional groups such as Asean and EastAsian Society impact social cohesion; and digitisation – the effective use of technology to inspire innovation, creativity and productivity.
One of the hallmarks of the Monash Higher Degree Research (HDR) programme is the multi disciplinary research approach that provides multi-dimensional views.
State-of-the-art facilities such as the Electron-Microscopy Unit (EMU), genomics laboratory and neurobusiness laboratory are made available to research students and other universities and industry representatives.
“With Monash being a global university with a global network, researchers and students of Monash University Malaysia will be able to leverage on the research infrastructure of Monash University Australia and top international institutions,” says Prof Nair.
For more information, visit www.monash.edu.my/research