Press Release

Minister of Higher Education YB Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University of Cambridge and Sunway University, through the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF), on 26 May 2022, at the University of Cambridge, UK, to formalise their joint commitment towards strengthening educational and research collaboration between Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

The MoU was signed by Professor Dr Stephen Toope, Vice Chancellor, University of Cambridge and Professor Elizabeth Lee, Chief Executive Officer, Sunway Education Group. Also present at the signing ceremony were Prof Dato’ Dr. Husaini Omar, Director General of Higher Education Malaysia; Professor David Cardwell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Strategy and Planning, University of Cambridge; Professor Sibrandes Poppema, President, Sunway University and Professor Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam, Provost, Sunway University.

“Educational institutions have a crucial role to play in building a brighter future for the generations to come. Therefore, the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia is truly committed to supporting the growth, sustainability and excellence of higher education institutions in Malaysia,” said Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad, Minister of Higher Education Malaysia. “Partnerships between renowned institutions and Malaysian entities, such as the one we are witnessing here, are crucial for Malaysia to achieve its goal of building a sustainable future for our citizens.”

The MoU expands on the existing partnership between JCF and Cambridge University, which has resulted in many significant research opportunities, producing various strategic successes for Malaysia, such as the appointment of Sunway Medical Centre as the Cambridge University Clinical Research Centre Regional Site Partner, the ASEAN Emerging Researchers Conference organised by Sunway University and Wolfson College, Cambridge University, and the Cambridge-Oxford-Sunway Biomedical Symposium.

A major highlight of this partnership is the recent establishment of the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centerpiece of one of the largest biotech clusters in the world, which was set up in 2019. The centre has contributed towards the advancement of biomedical knowledge and research and has enabled scientists to explore cutting-edge research to tackle some of the world’s major health challenges, such as COVID-19.

Professor Dr David Cardwell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, highlighted his enthusiasm to continue working with likeminded and visionary institutions passionate about being at the forefront of medical research. “The deepening of this collaboration between two world-class institutions is truly exciting. Our work together so far has produced significant results that can address real-world issues, and we are confident that this partnership will lead to breakthroughs in science and medicine in the coming years,” he said.

Upon the completion of the MoU signing, Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad, Minister of Higher Education of Malaysia, and all VIPs in attendance proceeded to tour the state-of-the-art Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Among the delegation were Professor Dr Serena Nik-Zainal, a Malaysian Professor of Genomic Medicine and Bioinformatics at the University of Cambridge who has made outstanding contributions to breakthrough efforts in cancer research; and Professor Ken Smith, Director of the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, who led the tour.

“The Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, which owns and governs Sunway University is fully committed towards nation-building and supporting Malaysia’s goal to become a strategic transnational education and research hub in Southeast Asia. This partnership with the University of Cambridge is one crucial step we are taking to realise that goal,” said Professor Elizabeth Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Sunway Education Group.

Launched in 2010, JCF was established by Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO, founder and chairman of the Sunway Group. JCF is the largest education-focused social enterprise in Malaysia, owning and governing all institutions and entities under the Sunway Education Group, which includes Sunway University. The foundation has disbursed more than RM600 million in scholarships to date, and it is Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah’s personal goal to award RM1 billion worth of scholarships in his lifetime.

For more information on the nation-building efforts through quality education and world-class research by the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, please visit https://jeffreycheah.foundation/