R & D ANNUAL REPORT 2016

R&D Colloquium 2016

"In today's global world, it is essential for academics and industrial scholars to work together in research and development to generate new knowledge and turn them into new products and services. Academia's engagement with the industries is crucial to maintain and enhance competitiveness as well as to maximise the social and economic benefits of new ideas," said UTAR Vice-President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei in his welcome remarks at the opening ceremony of UTAR's R&D Colloquium (1.0) 2016 held in Kampar Campus on 28 May 2016.

Organised by the Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research (IPSR) for the fifth time, the biannual R&D Colloquium continued to strengthen and nurture regular communication between researchers from the 28 research centres in UTAR through establishing research collaborations and reinforcing cross disciplinary research. It also served as a platform for continuous updating on research outcomes to research centres, faculties, IPSR, and the Vice-President's office for R&D and Commercialisation.

Themed 'Social and Economic Wellbeing for Nation Building', the R&D Colloquium served to allow the research participants to network, present, and share their research efforts. It saw more than 150 participants comprising local and foreign researchers from UTAR research centres, lecturers, staff, and postgraduate students.

There were three sessions held concurrently with three different subthemes, namely 'Innovation and Sustainable Development in Health', 'Diversity, Sustainability and Nation Building', and 'Education for Tomorrow', chaired by Chairperson of Centre for Research on Non-Communicable Disease Prof Dr Shelly Soo; Chairperson of Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies Dr Chin Yee Mun represented by Faculty of Arts and Social Science Tutor Noew Hooi San for morning session, and Faculty of Business and Finance Lecturer Dr Abdelhak Senadjki for afternoon session; and Chairperson of Centre for Learning and Teaching Er Pek Hoon respectively. There were a total of 31 presentations at the R&D Colloquium (1.0) 2016. The topics included developments in the health system, stress management, tourism, communication and social behavior, leadership management, and the role of multimedia elements in teaching as well as nation-building.