In a remarkable step toward enhancing regional academic excellence and advancing sustainable engineering practices, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Universitas Pembangunan Jaya (UPJ), Indonesia, have successfully completed a two-year strategic research collaboration under Matching Grant INF/F02/UPJ/86237/2023.
Spearheaded by Associate Professor Dr Norsuzailina Mohamed Sutan, the initiative brought together a multidisciplinary team from both institutions. UNIMAS contributors included Associate Professor Ir. Dr Norazzlina bt M. Sa’don, Associate Professor Ir. Dr Abdul Razak Abdul Karim, Dr Faisal Amsyar bin Redzuan, and Mdm. Nur Syuhada binti Ahmad Zauzi. They partnered with their counterparts from UPJ: Professor Dr.-Ing. Harianto Hardjasaputra, Associate Professor Ir. Dr. Agustinus Agus Setiawan, and Ir. Pratika Riris Putrianti.
The research focused on the development and evaluation of low-carbon concrete incorporating local clay and industrial waste; an innovation aligned with global sustainability goals.
Key highlights of the collaboration include:
- A successful academic visit to UPJ from 30 June to 3 July 2025,
- Delivery of guest lectures and publication coaching sessions,
- External examiner contributions, and
- Strategic dialogues on engineering programme accreditation frameworks in both Malaysia and Indonesia.
These bilateral discussions facilitated knowledge exchange in areas such as outcome-based education (OBE), continuous quality improvement (CQI), and best practices in preparation for accreditation by the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) and the Indonesian Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (IABEE).
Significant outcomes of the collaboration include:
- One article published in a Web of Science (WoS)/ISI-indexed journal and another currently under peer review in a Scopus-indexed journal,
- A copyright filed with MyIPO Malaysia, and
- The development of a potential joint micro-credential course titled “Sustainable Infrastructure Design”.
The collaboration will culminate in a joint research showcase at Borneo InTEX25, highlighting the project’s impact and scope.
This partnership serves as a robust model of international academic synergy, laying the groundwork for future matching grants, joint undergraduate and postgraduate supervisions, collaborative publications, global teaching and learning mobility initiatives, and curriculum innovation across the international engineering education landscape.
