SERDANG, January - The challenging economic situation is having an impact on the availability and acquisition of research grants for university researchers. Grant sponsors are more interested in research outputs that show promise. To address this issue, the ION2 Research Committee organized a workshop on proposal planning of research grants offered by domestic and foreign agencies. The workshop, held on 3 and 4 January 2023, had 30 participants including associate researchers, research fellows and research officers.

On the first day of the workshop, participants discussed grant applications through the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI). MOHE is expected to open applications for FRGS and other grants in February, while MOSTI-sponsored grants are available throughout the year. Researchers were also provided with tips on applying for MOSTI grants that focus on commercialization.

The second day of the workshop focused on international grants, particularly the Tubitak-MIGHT grants which are currently accepting applications. Each laboratory group discussed potential research proposals in collaboration with the Turkish side, and a collaborator from Turkey was arranged by the Director for more detailed discussions. As a result, ION2 put together three Tubitak-MIGHT grant proposals, while several researchers are preparing proposal papers for the FRGS grant (MOHE) and the TED2 grant (MOSTI).

The outcome of the workshop discussions will hopefully help in the production of high-impact proposal papers and ultimately secure grant approval. This will contribute to improving the performance of ION2 and UPM.

Reported by,
Ts. Dr. Intan Helina Hasan
Research Officer, FNDL

Date of Input: 29/03/2023 | Updated: 31/03/2023 | roslina_ar