By Mohammad Syukran Afifie Mohd Nor Shokri, Innovation and Commercialization Centre

To recognise the contributions of its researchers who have shown strong commitment in elevating the university’s research stature at both national and international levels, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) has recently organised a special event, the Research and Innovation Appreciation Ceremony (MAPI) 2025. 

A total of 786 research and innovation awards were presented to 406 outstanding researchers. The awards covered four main categories: Research Grant Awards, Publication Awards, Innovation Awards, and Best Awards for each category. Recipients were selected based on their achievements throughout 2023 and 2024.

In his officiating speech, UMT Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ts. Dr. Mohd Zamri Ibrahim expressed his pride in the university’s recent achievement of having been ranked for the first time in the 801–850 band of the world’s best universities under the QS World University Rankings (QSWUR) 2026.

Even more impressively, UMT attained an outstanding position in its field of expertise, being listed among the top 100 universities in the world and top 20 in Asia for Marine and Freshwater Biology, according to The Best Global Universities Subject Rankings by U.S. News & World Report. This achievement clearly highlights UMT’s excellence in marine and aquatic resources, in line with the university’s identity and core strength, Prof. Zamri said.

In line with the national agenda that emphasises R-D-I-C-E (Research, Development, Innovation, Commercialisation and Economy), UMT has taken proactive steps by allocating a Special Fund amounting to between RM1.5 million and RM3 million annually under the Research and Innovation Core Pillar. The fund is aimed at strengthening research and innovation activities through various internal grant schemes such as the Strategic Research Grant (SRG), TAPE-RG, IPRG, PPRG, RIGS, Matching Grant 1+3, as well as ICE Incubator and ICE XCelleration grants.

UMT has also expressed its full support for the seven key focus areas and ten transformation agendas announced by the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) in the 2025 Ministerial Address. This includes the implementation of signature programmes such as Industry on Campus, industry sabbaticals, edutourism, and green campus initiatives. UMT will continue to play an active role in realising this transformation, in line with efforts to make higher education more sustainable, resilient, and impactful.

With the organisation of MAPI 2025, it can clearly be seen that UMT has further reinforced its commitment to cultivating high-impact research, relevant innovations, and knowledge-based commercialisation among its community of researchers, which will greatly contribute to knowledge-driven national development.