Sunway University Hosts Universiti Malaysia Sabah Delegation for Strategic Knowledge Exchange

Sunway University hosted a high-level executive delegation from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) on 12 August 2026 to explore collaborative opportunities in strategic planning, global rankings, and institutional governance.

The visiting UMS delegation was led by Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Strategy) Prof. Dr Mohammad Saffree bin Jeffree, alongside Prof. Ir. Dr Nurmin bt Bolong (Director, Strategic Management Centre) and Ir. Mohd Roslee Mohd Ali Lee (CEO, UMS Investment Holdings). Sunway University host representatives included Mr Marcel Bandur, Director of Internationalisation, Global Engagement and Mobility, and Dr Tan Hsiao Wei, Director of Ranking, Impact and Analytics.

Key Focus Areas of Discussion

• Global Rankings & Reputation: Evaluating data-driven strategies to enhance performance across major international metrics, including QS and Times Higher Education (THE) rankings.

• Institutional Governance & Analytics: Sharing best practices in performance management, strategic analytics, and operational decision-making frameworks.

• Research Excellence & Sustainability: Identifying synergistic research areas, industry collaboration opportunities, and green campus initiatives supported by UMS's Ecocampus division and Sunway's sustainability ecosystem.

• Global Mobility & Capacity Building: Conceptualising joint academic engagement models, staff knowledge exchange programmes, and student mobility initiatives.

Strengthening Ties via Proposed MoU Partnership

Building on the discussions, both institutions agreed to work toward establishing a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The proposed partnership aims to create a long-term framework for joint research publications, shared sustainability projects, collaborative teaching and learning, and institutional capacity building, further strengthening the higher education landscape in Malaysia.