KUCHING: Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus (Swinburne Sarawak) has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Singapore-based Quatini Pte Ltd and South Korea’s YRY Pacific Co Ltd to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-focused PhD scholarships and collaborative research initiatives.
The LOI signing on Monday (Jan 26) was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof, underscoring national-level support for advanced doctoral research and international academic collaboration.
Under the initiative, Malaysian doctoral candidates with priority given to Sarawakians, will be supported to undertake interdisciplinary research combining AI, humanities and environmental science, with Swinburne Sarawak serving as the academic host.
The collaboration brings together private-sector partners from Singapore and South Korea to drive cross-border research aligned with regional and global challenges.
Swinburne Sarawak Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer, Ir Professor Lau Hieng Ho said the integration of digital humanities, environmental science and AI would enable complex research to be translated into practical insights for policy, education and knowledge development.
“Swinburne Sarawak is committed to providing rigorous supervision, research infrastructure and global networks to develop the next generation of research leaders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Quatini investor Gerald Leong said the partnership aims to build sustainable AI capacity within ASEAN and Sarawak through a regional Australian university platform.
“We want to build this through an Australian university based in the region, working on digital humanities research in Korea and planetary boundaries research in Borneo,” he said.
YRY Pacific’s research focus will centre on AI applications in digital humanities, including computational artist recognition in South Korean contemporary art, curatorial network analysis and AI-assisted frameworks for cultural visibility studies.
Quatini will lead research in AI-driven environmental science, particularly in Sarawak and Southeast Asia, covering areas such as natural capital accounting, computational modelling of Borneo’s ecosystems, biodiversity intelligence systems, climate data integration and digital twin architectures for ecological governance.
The research outcomes are expected to contribute to global knowledge while strengthening Sarawak’s environmental knowledge systems and Southeast Asia’s cultural research capacity.
The LOI formalises the parties’ intention to move towards a definitive agreement, reinforcing Swinburne Sarawak’s role as a regional hub for interdisciplinary research linking culture, ecology and AI.
Also present at the signing were Director of the Centre for Innovative Society, Ir Associate Professor Dr Choo Chung Siung and Director of the School of Research, Ir Professor Basil Wong.
