R&D Colloquium 2014

Group photo of the participants

In line with the Strengthening of Cross Disciplinary Research Centres under the UTAR 10-year Strategic Plan, the Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research (IPSR) organised UTAR's maiden R&D Colloquium 2014 which was held at the Perak Campus on 31 May 2014.

Touted as a key initiative in providing continuous updates of research outcomes to the research centres, faculties, IPSR and Vice President's office for Research, Development and Commercialisation (VP RDC), the R&D Colloquium 2014 will also foster regular networking among the twenty-seven UTAR research centres, establishing cross research co-operation and enhancing bidding for local and international research fundings.

The R&D Colloquium was truly a meeting of minds and marked the inaugural gathering as an invaluable platform for the research participants to interact, present and share their research work. It brought together more than 120 participants comprising both local and foreign researchers from the UTAR research centres, lecturers, staff and postgraduate students.

In his opening address, UTAR Vice President for RDC Ir Prof Dr Lee Sze Wei elaborated on the role of R&D for the university and the competition for research funds. He added,"Today's R&D Colloquium will help to contribute to the dynamism of our R&D innnovative ecosystem as it creates exciting opportunities for collaboration and joint growth among researchers, attract support and active engagement in the evaluation and creation of multi-discplinary researches among our community of scholars." He also said that the presentations and dialogues among the researchers from the different research centres and disciplines would stimulate more quality research ideas within an integrated framework to address socio-economic issues that are increasingly more complex and interlinked.

The Chairman of the Organising Committee for the R&D Colloquium 2014 Prof Dr Faidz Bin Abd Rahman, who is also the Director of IPSR, said that the Colloquium is a complementary thrust to the culture of research excellence and that it would be held twice annually effective 2014.

There were two parallel sessions in the R&D Colloquium 2014; Session One with 13 presentations in Room LDK1 and Session Two with 12 presentations in Room LDK 2. The presentations at both sessions were well supported by powerpoint slides, photos, statistics and even graphics and successfully engaged participants in a comprehensive understanding of the research purpose and findings. Each presentation was followed by a question and answer session which proved to be a lively exchange of viewpoints, comments and ideas.

Some of the highlights were Dr Sharon Wilson's presentation on "Reporting MH370: Speculation vs Information" which examined the news sensation on the missing plane and Dr Kok Jin Kuan's presentation on " Youth Depression and Recovery: Cases from Malaysia" which threw light on the struggles of youth in today's society.

Wye Chung Khain,Kelvin who is a lecturer at the Faculty of Business and Finance (FBF) enthused," The R&D Colloquium 2014 is an excellent platform for networking and enhance my awareness of the wide-ranging research projects at the various campuses."

Zam Zuriyati and Dr M Krishna Moorthy who are also FBF lecturers agreed with Kelvin's view and both added that they have gained more knowledge and expectations about research work in addition to being more connected to the research community.

Another lecturer from Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS) Lau Xiao Shan said that the one-day Colloquium gave her a bird's eye view of the research topics and prompted her thoughts on ways and means to collaborate with the present research projects.

A PhD student from the Centre for Accounting,Business and Finance (CABF) who was also a presenter Theresa Wong Lai Har said that the Colloquium set the stage to evaluate her thesis. The comments from the floor assisted in gauging the strengths and weaknesses of her topic"Shift in International Currency Leadership and Financial Stability: A Conceptual Framework."

The R&D Colloquium 2014 ended with thunderous applause and cheers in response to Ir Prof Dr Lee's closing remarks on looking forward to the sprouting of new ideas, follow-ups and collaborative proposals.

Details of the schedule and topics are at www.utar.edu.my/colloquium2014/

Ir Prof Dr Lee delivering his welcome address

Thumbs-up by the foreign researchers at UTAR R&D Colloquium. From left to right with Prof Dr Faidz (seated third in the row); Dr Humaira Nisar (Pakistan), Dr Noor Zainal Habib (Pakistan),Dr Abdelhak Senadjki (Algeria),Dr Thaw Zin (China) and Prof Yasuo Tanaka (Japan)

Dr Lau Phooi Yee explaining a point in her presentation

Dr Ng Yen Kaow presenting his talk

Joint presenters on "Disaster Risk Reducation Management for SME. From left to right: Saraswathy a/p Thurairaj and Jayamalathi a/p Jayabalan

Theresa Wong Lai Har presenting her thesis