It is with great pleasure that I pen the foreword for UTAR R&D Annual Report 2013. As UTAR forges ahead in the creation, preservation and dissemination of knowledge, it is heartening to note that the university continues to chart steady progress ever since obtaining Tier 5 (Excellent) status in SETARA 2011. The multiple attention-grabbing headlines on our staff and students’ achievements, especially in the realm of R&D and Commercialisation, reinforce the fact that UTAR has embarked on the right course to become a premier university of teaching and research excellence as envisaged.

The university has experienced rapid physical expansion and growth in student population since its inauguration in 2002. From an initial intake of 411 students, UTAR is now home to more than 24,000 students and an alumni base of more than 33,000. The high graduate employability rate of over 97% reinforces the fact that UTAR is an eminent choice among Malaysian populace and employers due to its high quality teaching and research.

Looking at this annual report, it is evident that the university continues to attain great heights which are propelled by its integrated approach to promote R&D and Commercialisation activities. Realising the importance of R&D in its mission to be a premier university, UTAR has initiated a comprehensive framework and infrastructure to aid the advancement of R&D output into eventual implementation and commercialisation stages.

I am delighted to provide the following highlights:

• The Centre for Research on Non-Communicable Diseases was added in 2013 making a total of 26 research centres.
  
• Cumulative internal research funds awarded totalled RM22.52 million as of 31 December 2013, an increase of 29 percent since 2012.
• Cumulative external research funds solicited as of 31 December 2013 amounted to RM25.76 million, an increase of 12% since 2012.
• Scholastic articles cited in Scopus rose from 1216 in 2012 to 1517 in 2013 and consequently the cumulative number of citations increased 2800 in 2012 to 4317 in 2013.
• The cumulative number of publications accepted by the Thomson Reuters Web of Science databases increased from 687 in 2012 to 860 in 2013.
• Citations in the Thomson Reuters Web of Science increased from 761 in 2012 to 962 in 2013.
• Awards received by staff in 2013 include:

• three Associate Professors who received the highest honour in the 2013 World Investor Award Festival,
• two lecturers who were awarded the Malaysia Toray Science Foundation research grants,
• a professor who received the Sim Mow Yu Teacher Award 2013,
• two researchers who received the KASS Best Invention Award (Gold) in the 24th International Invention, Innovation & Technology Exhibition (ITEX) 2013,
• a research team who received the Merit Award in MSC Malaysia Asia Pacific ICT Awards,
• a research team who received Best Paper Award at the Third Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference, and
• a faculty head who was awarded Top 100 Scientists of 2013 by International Biological Centre, Cambridge.

2013 was a fruitful year for UTAR especially in the areas of R&D and Commercialisation. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate every UTAR staff, especially our researchers, for a job well done. As we move forward to embrace the challenges of a brand new year, we must not be complacent but continue to strive harder to reach greater heights and render UTAR a top-rated university of teaching and research excellence.