President Chi-Huey Wong signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Academic Cooperation (MOU) with the University of Malaya on April 16, 2012 during a visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was accompanied on the trip by several other scholars from Academia Sinica. The MOU aims to promote a cooperative relationship between Academia Sinica and the University of Malaya, including exchange of scholars and holding joint research projects on topics of mutual interest and concern.

Before signing the MOU, in the morning of April 16, President Wong delivered a lecture entitled “From Discovery Research to Translational Innovation” at the University of Malaya. Academia Sinica delegates visited the University’s Chemistry Department, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, and Institute of Research Management and Monitoring the same day. On April 17, the delegates visited members of the Faculty of Medicine and Health & Translational Medicine Research Cluster. During the meeting, opportunities for future cooperation in microbial diversity and applications in biotechnology, bio-informatics and bio-markers, infectious diseases, and climate change were discussed. In the future it is hoped that topics will be expanded into the humanities, maths, physical sciences, and other life science areas.

A panel discussion entitled “Translating Research to Societal Benefit: The Taiwan Experience” was held at the Academy of Sciences Malaysia on April 17, 2012 in which President Wong shared Taiwan’s experience of developing scientific research findings for social benefit.

The University of Malaya is the oldest and largest university in Malaysia. It was founded in 1949 as a public-funded tertiary institution. Today, it has more than 25,000 students and 2,400 faculty members with various expertise.

        The Academy of Sciences, Malaysia was established in 1995; the Academy is an independent body that has strong links with the government and ensures the effective implementation of science, engineering and technology policies.