A moment of academic partnership and achievement.

KUALA LUMPUR: Universiti Malaya and UCSI University have formalised a matching grant agreement that provides staff and students with high-impact research opportunities in multiple disciplines.

Under an MoA that will be in effect for three years, UM and UCSI will each commit up to RM150,000 annually, bringing the total research funding pool to around RM900,000.

The seed funding initiative has received an encouraging response. Over 120 applications - involving more than 240 UM and UCSI researchers - were received when the grant was opened last year. Five projects made the cut.

The five research projects focus on renewable energy fluctuations; femur drilling; AI-driven risk detection and sustainable finance; AI-driven green finance; as well as Malaysian heritage buildings.

To qualify for funding, researchers from both universities have to collaborate on 24-month research projects. Each endeavour must result in at least two joint publications and involve the co-supervision of one postgraduate student.

The selected researchers must also apply for a larger research grant at the end of their two-year endeavours.

Hailing the tie-up as a landmark example of public-private partnership, UM vice-chancellor Prof Dato’ Seri Dr Noor Azuan Abu Osman said that this collaboration reflects a practical and forward-looking step, where Universiti Malaya brings its established strengths in research, expertise and institutional capacity to support shared national priorities.

“As the nation’s leading research university, UM is committed to assisting and working alongside other institutions in strengthening the overall higher education and research ecosystem.

“This collaboration focuses on enabling a more effective pathway from discovery to application, where research outcomes can be translated into solutions that benefit industry and society.

Drawing on UM’s depth of experience and established multidisciplinary capabilities and expertise, such efforts contribute to building capacity across the system, particularly in priority areas such as AI, health sciences, sustainability and advanced technologies.”

He added that, it reflects UM’s role and obligation as a national anchor institution - supporting, guiding and partnering with others to elevate collective capability.

By sharing expertise, infrastructure and networks, UM aims to assist in aligning efforts across institutions towards common national goals, strengthening Malaysia’s long-term competitiveness and resilience.

UCSI president and vice-chancellor Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir said that the UM-UCSI research partnership showed that private universities like UCSI are playing an increasingly important role in Malaysia’s higher education landscape.

“In the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, Malaysian universities have 14 subjects in the world’s top 50. Together, UM and UCSI contributed seven subjects - 50% of the total,” she said.

“UM is the most represented Malaysian university with 40 ranked subjects, while UCSI is the Malaysian university with the most entries in the top 50 with four subjects.

“Through this alliance, two ambitious universities will pool their expertise and resources to achieve progress in science, technology and innovation. We want this initiative to yield consequential outcomes that will drive innovation and lead change.”

“I understand that this is the first institutional-level partnership UM has signed with a Malaysian private university. This partnership can serve as a precursor to further collaboration between both universities, and I would like to thank UM for their trust and support.”

The grant awards ceremony was held at UCSI’s Kuala Lumpur campus and witnessed by UCSI chancellor Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin Tuanku Muhriz, who described the alliance as a significant milestone that coincided with UCSI’s 40th anniversary.

UM was represented by deputy vice-chancellor (Research and Innovation) Prof Dr Kaharudin Dimyati. The Academy of Sciences Malaysia CEO Hazami Habib delivered a talk titled Asean Ahead: STI Ecosystem Foresight 2035 and Beyond.