Swinburne has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Government of Sarawak to strengthen research collaboration in areas strategically aligned with the digital economy agenda.
The MoU was today signed by Sarawak State Secretary the Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi bin Abdul Ghani and Swinburne Vice-Chancellor Professor Linda Kristjanson AO at Swinburne’s Factory of the Future.
Recognising the need to promote and strengthen the relations existing between the two parties, the MoU will see the Government of Sarawak continue to work with both Swinburne’s Sarawak and Australian campuses.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development), Professor Aleksandar Subic said it was an “exciting milestone” for Swinburne to cement a strategic research alliance with the Sarawak region.
“This partnership will see our world-class researchers work with industry leaders and government in Sarawak to achieve innovative research outcomes that will help transform the Sarawak industry and economy,” Professor Subic said.
Projects between Swinburne and Sarawak currently underway include:
- A riverine soil-structure interaction project to develop construction guidelines designed to minimise infrastructure failures in structures such as jetties, wharves and bridges;
- A centrifuge facility to be built at Swinburne’s Sarawak campus to enable high-end research in geotechnical engineering;
- Building Information Modelling (BIM) project to integrate planning, design, construction and maintenance into a BIM model;
- Geopolymer (green cement) technology project to develop ‘green cement’ using fly-ash;
- Sarawak Biodiversity Centre working with Swinburne to unlock medicinal properties of indigenous plants and translate the outcomes into a biotechnology industry;
- Advanced manufacturing technologies for the automotive supply chain in collaboration with Malaysia Automotive Institute.
Under the partnership, Sarawak will also engage with Swinburne’s Innovation Precinct to help expose students to a Swinburne innovation and entrepreneurship experience, improve the impact of research through innovation and translation in collaboration with industry and contribute to economic development through the creation and commercialisation of high value-add products, services and workforce.