UK-Malaysia University Consortium and ASEAN +3 Partnership Catalyst Grant

Deadline: 29-Oct-21

The British Council in Malaysia is inviting UK universities to join the UK-Malaysia University Consortium which is designed to be a flagship initiative that promotes strategic engagement and bilateral cooperation in higher education between its partner universities in the UK and in Malaysia.

The Consortium will be an alliance made up of 10 to 15 UK universities and up to 20 Malaysian higher education institutions from the public sector.

The aim of this initiative is to increase commitment and strategic partnerships between UK and Malaysian universities to support excellence, capability and internationalisation in teaching and learning, research and innovation as well as student mobility and employability.

Programs

• UK-Malaysia University Consortium: The overarching aim of the Consortium is to increase commitment and strategic partnerships between UK and Malaysian universities to support excellence, capability and internationalisation in teaching and learning, research and innovation as well as student mobility and employability, whilst ensuring the provision of a more equal, inclusive and international tertiary education. It is expected that the Consortium could include collaboration in student and staff mobility, joint research, innovative curriculum development and digitalisation, transnational education including Master’s and PhD, doctoral training, developing industry links and enhancing graduate employability.
• UK – Malaysia – ASEAN +3 Partnership: Catalyst Grant for Enhancing Graduate Employability: This Catalyst Grant will focus on collaborative higher education projects that aim to enhance the employability of graduates and graduate competency through the delivery of innovative interventions across research, teaching and learning as well as student outcomes/experience.

Objectives

• UK-Malaysia University Consortium: The objectives of the Consortium are as follows:
  • to build a mechanism to increase commitment and strategic partnerships to address shared priorities between universities in the UK and Malaysia.
  • to support the advancement of quality teaching, learning, research and university systems through people development with shared expertise between the UK and Malaysia.
  • to identify and facilitate innovative UK-Malaysia collaborative programmes and knowledge exchange in higher education for mutual benefit and HE internationalisation.
• UK – Malaysia – ASEAN +3 Partnership: Catalyst Grant for Enhancing Graduate Employability: The objectives of this Catalyst Grant are to enable higher education institutions in the UK, Malaysia and ASEAN +3 countries to pool their expertise and resources to address a broad range of issues related to graduate employability and internationalisation, including but not limited to:
  • upskilling students to develop workplace competencies
  • transforming curricula to include experiential learning aligned with labour market needs
  • boosting higher education institution linkages with industry and community organisations
  • enabling digital internships and apprenticeships
  • reducing the skills mismatch between graduates and industry
  • assessing the quality of current career guidance services in universities
  • fostering social innovation and entrepreneurship
  • providing professional development for academics in digitalisation and experiential learning
  • promoting global graduates through mobility

Fundig Information

• UK-Malaysia University Consortium: The funding for the Consortium is subject to final confirmation but is expected to be approximately £100,000 of project funding from the British Council. The funding is intended to support the Consortium’s start-up costs associated with the setting up of the partnerships, liaison with member universities, administration, planning and delivery of Consortium activities between January 2022 and March 2024.
• UK – Malaysia – ASEAN +3 Partnership: Catalyst Grant for Enhancing Graduate Employability: The British Council has allocated a total amount of £250,000 for the Catalyst Grant. For each project, funding of up to £50,000 will be awarded covering the whole project duration. The funding is expected to start in January 2022 and will run for a maximum of 2 years until December 2023. The funding is for the duration of the project and not per annum.

Eligibility Criteria

• UK-Malaysia University Consortium
  • Formal applications are invited from all UK universities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to:
    • Apply to become a member of the inaugural UK-Malaysia University Consortium
    • Submit an application to be selected as the Consortium Secretariat.
  • Given the short timeframe, applications are welcomed from individual institutions or small groups of universities (up to a maximum of 3 Co-applicants + 1 Lead Applicant) that would seek to join others in this Consortium.
• UK – Malaysia – ASEAN +3 Partnership: Catalyst Grant for Enhancing Graduate Employability
  • The lead UK university must be one of the members of the UK-Malaysia University Consortium.
  • The Malaysian partner institution(s) must be from the Public Universities in Malaysia.
  • The proposal must be submitted as a joint UK, Malaysia and ASEAN +3 collaboration, with the lead applicant identified from the UK university.
  • The joint proposal may include other partner institutions/organisations from the UK, Malaysia or other countries which are not part of the Consortium.
  • The lead UK university will be responsible for disbursing the grant to the Malaysian and ASEAN +3 partner institution for activities delivered in-country.
  • The lead institution is accredited by the UK higher education qualification bodies/agencies,
  • The partner institutions are accredited by their respective in-country higher education qualification bodies/agencies.
  • Letters of support from the lead UK university and partner institutions are attached to the proposal. The letters are signed by the relevant authority within the university (e.g. Dean or Head of School).
  • The lead UK university must have the capacity to administer the grant.
  • The lead UK university and partner applicants must have the capacity to execute the project activities.
  • All applicants must submit the following documents with their application form:
  • Legal registration documents of the UK university
  • Tax registration document (if any)
  • Bank details completed on the template provided and printed on the letterhead of the institution
  • Bank Account Certificate (including IBAN and SWIFT Code)

For more information, visit https://www.britishcouncil.my/call-applications-uk-malaysia-university-consortium?_ga=2.135441073.1445482189.1634925983-77569502.1633975294