GMSN@KITA announces first cohort of Virtual Post-Doctoral Fellowship Programme

BANGI: The Global Malaysian Studies Network (GMSN) announces a list of successful candidates selected for the inaugural GMSN Post-Doctoral Fellowship Programme. The three fellows are being mentored by a senior scholar from three of GMSN's partners universities i.e., the University of Pennsylvania (UPENN), Goethe University Frankfurt (Goethe) and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) for a 3-month period.

We received support of researchers from universities all over Malaysia representing various disciplines applying for the programme. GMSN's Fellowship Programme will be held virtually to promote scholarly research and cooperation on Malaysian Studies. The goal is to provide opportunities to strengthen the field with research contributions from researchers globally; sharing their resources together.

“The programme is to support young researchers with guidance from senior academics globally”, said Distinguished Prof. Datuk Dr. Shamsul AB, the project leader of GMSN. "We hope the collaboration will increase the understanding of Malaysia, bringing Malaysia Studies to the next level".

Prof. Arndt Graf of Goethe University Frankfurt, a partner university with GMSN finds this programme timely. “During the past decades, Malaysian Studies have become increasingly global and diverse. More and more scholars from around the world are interested in Malaysia. Internationalisation and international cooperation have become important themes for Malaysian Higher Education.”

The successful candidates are:

● Dr. Nicholas anak Gani of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak - Archaeology.

● Dr. Izawati Wook of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia - Law.

● Dr. Muhamad Nadzri Mohd Noor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia - Political and International Studies.

Dr Nicholas looks at the changing meanings of megalithic monuments in the Upper Baram area in Sarawak, while Dr. Izawati’s research focuses on orang asli’s rights in Peninsular Malaysia. Dr. Muhamad Nadzri applies class analysis on nation building in Malaysia and Singapore.

Dr. Andrew Carruthers of the University of Pennsylvania noted, “In the spirit of global kerjasama, the GMSN is re-conceptualizing the study of Malaysia and the Malay-speaking archipelago in radically new and important ways. Rather than motivating insular or inward-looking accounts, this important new endeavour from the National University of Malaysia motivates a truly archipelagic and diverse understanding of what Malaysian studies might be in the 21st century.”

The fellows are expected to publish a book from their Ph.D thesis with guidance from the mentors at the end of the fellowship. They will also be presenting their research at GMSN's inaugural conference later this year.