Duta Besar Romania ke Malaysia dan Brunei Darussalam, Nineta Barbulescu berhasrat untuk meneroka potensi jalinan hubungan dua hala antara Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) dan universiti-universiti di Romania.

Katanya, beliau optimis bahawa kolaborasi antara universiti di Malaysia khususnya UMS bersama universiti yang terdapat di Romania mampu direalisasikan dengan mengambil kira wujud beberapa persamaan yang boleh dijadikan sebagai permulaan kepada hubungan yang bakal dibina.

“Sebagai contoh, di Romania kita ada sejenis skaf yang dipanggil batik, dan secara kebetulan, di Malaysia juga skaf ini diperbuat dari kain batik.

“Persamaan ini sungguh unik apabila saya pertama kali sampai ke Malaysia dan saya membeli dan memegang sendiri kain batik yang memang ada persamaannya,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian sempena sesi kunjungan Duta Besar Romania ke UMS. Nineta yang ditemani oleh suaminya, Dan Barbulescu disambut oleh Timbalan Naib Canselor Akademik dan Antarabangsa, Profesor Dr Shahril Yusof bersama-sama Dekan-Dekan Fakulti dan Pengarah-Pengarah Pusat UMS.

Nineta yang dilantik sebagai Duta Besar Romania pada bulan Mac 2021 turut memaklumkan bahawa UMS adalah universiti awam yang ke 16 dilawatinya.

“Ini merupakan lawatan kali kedua saya ke negeri Sabah, dan kali pertama ke UMS.

“Kesemua universiti awam di Malaysia yang saya lawati sememangnya mempersona dan memiliki keunikan yang tersendiri, termasuk UMS yang mempunyai kelainan yang ketara kerana merupakan satu-satunya universiti awam yang berpusat di Sabah,” katanya.

Beliau menambah, keindahan flora dan fauna, biodiversiti yang masih kukuh terpelihara dan sumber marinnya yang sangat kaya dan belum terusik menyebabkan beliau berminat untuk memadankan UMS dengan universiti-universiti di Romania.

“Bahasa Romania dan Bahasa Melayu juga dari segi linguistiknya adalah memiliki fonetik atau selok-belok bunyi bahasa yang hampir serupa, kerana bahasa Romania berasal dari rumpun bahasa Romawi.

“Terdapat beberapa lagi persamaan lain yang jika diteroka dengan lebih mendalam akan mewujudkan peluang yang baik untuk diselidik dengan lebih terperinci menerusi kolaborasi antara universiti yang bakal berlangsung kelak,” katanya.

Nineta turut menyatakan keyakinannya bahawa kolaborasi yang bakal dirintis itu juga akan membuka peluang kepada lebih ramai penyelidik tempatan khususnya dalam kalangan pelajar pascasiswazah untuk menimba ilmu merentasi benua Eropah.

“Antara aktiviti yang diusulkan adalah seperti mobiliti pertukaran pelajar, kajian penyelidikan, gabungan kepakaran antara UMS dan universiti di Romania, program pembelajaran secara atas talian dan lain-lain lagi,” ujar beliau.

Pada sesi kunjungan tersebut, Nineta diberikan taklimat ringkas berkenaan UMS yang disampaikan oleh Shahril, serta turut juga dibawa melawat sekitar UMS bagi menyaksikan sendiri keindahan panorama kampus UMS.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) spearheads bamboo tissue culture for the use in sustainable construction materials and climate change mitigation through bamboo tissue culture research.

This groundbreaking cultivation technique, led by Associate Professor Dr Wilson Yong from Biotechnology Research Institute (BRI) UMS, has the potential to transform the construction industry and promote environmental conservation.

According to the BRI director, Professor Dr. Lee Ping Chin, UMS has the capacity to produce 5000 tissue culture seedlings per month to meet the growing demand of the plantation industry.

“Dr. Wilson Yong and his dedicated research team have devoted significant efforts to perfecting the cultivation of giant timber bamboo species, notably Dendrocalamus asper (Betung Bamboo) and Gigantochloa levis (Poring Bamboo).

“These bamboo varieties possess exceptional strength, durability, and rapid growth rates, making them ideal candidates for sustainable construction materials and a promising alternative to timber and steel,” she said.

The widespread use of bamboo in the construction industry has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions associated with resource-intensive materials while simultaneously contributing to the preservation of forests.

“The Nagao Natural Environment Foundation also provided funding to the research team to identify potential endemic bamboo varieties using DNA barcoding as a foundation for bamboo germplasm conservation and long-term genetic diversity utilization.

“An inherent advantage of bamboo lies in its capacity to sequester carbon dioxide. As bamboo plants grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, acting as natural carbon sinks. Leveraging this unique attribute, the cultivation of bamboo holds immense potential for combatting climate change,” she added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research and Innovation of UMS, Professor Ir. Dr. Rosalam Sarbatly strongly support the collaborative efforts from all stakeholders and embraces the potential of bamboo tissue culture, realizing its capacity to revolutionize construction practices, combat climate change, and pave the way for a sustainable and prosperous future.

He further said, encouraging local governments to establish bamboo plantations could make substantial contributions to carbon dioxide mitigation efforts while generating valuable carbon credits.

“Such efforts would create a virtuous cycle of sustainable construction, carbon sequestration, and economic opportunities, aligning with international agreements' climate change objectives.

“Driving the transition from research to practical applications, the researchers have forged strong collaborations with local industry players, including Balung Plantation, KB Agro Tech, and Koperasi Wawasan Rakyat Sabah Berhad.

“These collaborations facilitate the seamless translation of research findings into large-scale cultivation and industrial production, making sustainable bamboo materials more accessible and commercially viable,” Rosalam said.

He said this in conjunction with the visit of the Minister of Higher Education, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin to UMS, recently. The minister emphasized the importance of seedling production, saying that planting the proper and enhanced bamboo species will help the society and the related industry.

Also present were the Deputy Secretary General, Ministry fo Higher Education (MOHE), Dato' Dr. Haji Megat Sany bin Megat Ahmad Supian; Director General of Higher Education, Prof. Dr. Azlinda Azman; Chairman of the UMS Board of Directors, Datuk Seri Panglima Abdul Rahman Dahlan and the Vice Chancellor of UMS, Prof. Datuk Dr. Kasim Hj. Mansor.

RMIT University has chosen Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) for its Study Tour to Borneo 2023 mobility programme this year that ended recently.

This study visit was sponsored by the Australian government under The New Colombo Plan, attracted 50 RMIT students from several disciplines.

The New Colombo Plan is a hallmark programme of the Australian Government that intends to increase knowledge of the Indo-Pacific region in Australia by assisting Australian students to study and intern throughout the region.

According to Centre for Internationalisation and Global Engagement of UMS, the mobility programme comprised a symposium, woodcutting workshop, cultural cookery courses, and an exhibition of student goods started off on May 29 to June 14.

“The itinerary includes a visit to KDCA for the Kaamatan festival as well as a stay at a local guesthouse in Kiulu. The highlight of the journey was a special mobility (academic exchange) programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UMS.

"The Australian students collaborated with first year students from the Sociology and Social Anthropology department who are doing a Religion and Society course,” it said.

The statement further said, the study tour director from RMIT, Associate Professor Dr. Olivia Guntarik, and UMS faculty coordinator Dr. Trixie Tangit have designed the special mobility programme so that both RMIT and UMS students can find ways to incorporate their ideas by taking at least one aspect or element from each other's project.

“These students spend time talking with one another and travelling to places of interest throughout Sabah to expand their knowledge and understanding. Their collaborative endeavours culminated in an exhibition of free form design and posters.

"The exhibition was a major success based on the originality, effort, and learning points that both RMIT and UMS students were able to create in such a short period of time," it added.

UMS students, particularly those nearing the conclusion of their first year, developed by leaps and bounds as they forced themselves to critically think through the principles of their projects.

Meanwhile, RMIT students benefited from the programme as well, as they learned to understand local culture other than their own and used their newfound knowledge on their show.

“RMIT students incorporated local music, artwork, language as well as natural elements such as leaves and flowers to bring their projects to life,” it said.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), and Yunus Emre Institute (YEI), Türkiye, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Bosphorus, Istanbul, recently.

The MoU was signed by UMS Vice-Chancellor, Professor Datuk Dr. Kasim Hj. Mansor and the President of YEI, Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Head of State for Sabah, who is also The Chancellor of UMS, Tun Haji Juhar Haji Mahiruddin.

According to Dr. Kasim, the MoU will benefit both parties, especially in areas involving education and research.

“More importantly, we sincerely look forward to a meaningful and long-term collaboration between YEI and UMS.

“We believe that through a close collaboration with our international partners, such as YEI, we can further enhance our commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and innovation,” he said in his speech.

Dr. Kasim informed that the main areas of the MoU, includes the exchange of student and staff to broaden academic, professional, and cultural cooperation between the two institutions.

“Besides that, UMS and YEI will collaborate in research and development activities, including the sharing of resources where possible.

“The MoU also covers any other areas of prospective collaboration or cooperation which are deemed necessary by either party that shall be mutually agreed upon by both parties.

“Hopefully, through this MoU, it will bring mutual benefit and cooperation to the two countries, Malaysia and Türkiye, and most importantly, improve our close cooperation in the field of culture and language,” Dr. Kasim added.

The signing of this MoU also marks the possibility of introducing the Turkish language as one of the language components under the Foreign Language Cluster for undergraduate students in UMS.

Also present during the event were Toh Puan Hajah Norlidah R.M Jasni; Consul General Consulate of Malaysia, Istanbul, Tengku Mohd Dzaraif Raja Abdul Kadir; Chairman Board of Directors (BOD) UMS, Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Member UMS BOD, Samasuddin Haji Yusop; and UMS Registrar, Luqman Ridha Anwar.

YEI is an established Turkish Cultural Centre that strives to promote Türkiye, its cultural heritage, Turkish language, culture, art, science, and academic research, in order to improve the friendship and cultural exchange between Türkiye and other countries