Last week, I was one of the speakers at the ASEAN Emerging Researchers Conference 2019 which aims to create a platform for researchers from the Region and the ASEAN research diaspora to drive research excellence here.
The ASEAN Emerging Researchers Conference is a flagship programme of the ASEAN Young Scientists Network, the official platform for young researchers in the region.
The specific objectives of the ASEAN Emerging Researchers Conference include: to enhance interdisciplinary knowledge sharing, learning and collaboration between scientists from the ASEAN region and its research diaspora; identify emerging research niche areas that the ASEAN research community should champion to address local needs and global challenge; develop strategies to enhance the capacity and access to resources to harness the potential of the ASEAN research community; and promote sustainable research leadership amongst emerging researchers in the ASEAN region.
I was honored to have shared the panel with notable scientists including Cambridge University President Dr. Jane Clarke, an accomplished biochemist.
Our panel tackled diversity and inclusion in academia which is a topic close to my heart. Much of my professional life was done abroad, and issues such as these were my own and my friends’ as well.
I am fortunate to have had a supportive circle, my tribe of a mixed group of people from all over the world who saw my potential, and who saw not only a young woman from a developing country needing assistance but, more importantly, a budding scientist and development worker who could contribute equally in the field.
As the world becomes increasingly globalized, there is a need to discuss and find common grounds in the topic of diversity, and create an enabling ecosystem for all, regardless of background, to flourish.
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The host universities of the conference, Sunway University and Cambridge University, are proud of the many nationalities represented in their campuses. Silliman University has almost 60 countries represented, and we are very proud of our dynamic international community. Our international students not only thrive but lead in Silliman. The former Student Government president is from the US, also the Miss Silliman and our HiSaw is composed of incredible young people who are driven to build a better understanding of the world.
Diversity is the path for a more engaged world that values different thoughts and strategies, beliefs and customs and identity, etc.
Just like the ASEAN which is a very diverse group of nations bonded together by a common purpose.
There is much to gain from having a diversity agenda on the campus and in the City. We can do more, be more, and do better if we engage more our expat community in the City.
I hope that we can organize more activities that foster this exchange and intercultural learning.
In the same conference, I was honored to have met and listened to Jeffrey Cheah, founder of Sunway City, which is a good example of a smart city and sustainable development. The city is located on what was once a large, disused mining area and completely barren land. There weren’t even earthworms in the soil, exclaims Cheah.
His Sunway Group rehabilitated the wasteland, and turned it into an integrated green city with a vibrant and thriving community.
Today, Sunway City and its confines are interspersed with 25,000 trees, and are home to about 150 species of flora and fauna, and is a certified First Sustainable Township of Malaysia. He is also a great patron of Sunway University which just launched the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development, a regional center of excellence that advances the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, tackling the sustainability agenda through education, training, research and policy advisory. Launched in December 2016, the Center operates under the supervision of Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs, one of the world’s leading experts in sustainable development.
And by the way, he wanted us to share that they will be offering full scholarships for a Masters degree in Sustainable Development.
In closing, Dr. Cheah shared his own motto which we can all definitely learn from: “I aspire to inspire before I expire.”
And what an excellent motto to live by that is.
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Author’s email: [email protected]
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