Research Unit

SIRC or Small Islands Research Centre was started by a group of researchers from the School of Science and Technology (now called the Faculty of Science and Natural Resource). At that time, these researchers were focused on studying the water quality of a number of small islands in the coastal waters of Sabah. Then, this research group was known as SIRG or Small Islands Research Group when it initiated studies on islands such as Layang – Layang, Sipadan, Selingaan, Mabul and Manukan in 2001. The studies were focused on the hydrochemical and geological aspects of these islands. In 2014 the SIRG was rebranded as the SIRC or Small Islands Research Centre to address the social-economic and tourism needs of the state of Sabah. 

The geographical position of Sabah in the northern part of the Borneo Island makes it a state that is bordered by three countries; namely Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia. At the same time, it is also surrounded by the South China Sea in the north and west, the Sulu Sea to the north and the Celebes Sea to the east. With such a situation, there are many small islands (including some unexplored islands) in these waters. The presence of these islands is a natural resource advantage that has the potential for a variety of opportunity such as tourism, economy, education as well as safeguarding the borders and sovereignty of the country. Therefore, the SIRC was established as a research center that can serve as a collective platform of various disciplines to receive or disseminate information about the various aspects of the islands that are in the waters of Sabah.