Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)

The Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS or in English, the University of Malaysia, Sarawak) took in its first 118 students in 1993, to become Malaysia's eighth and Sarawak’s first public university. It began with just a faculty of social sciences and faculty of resource science and technology and now has eight faculties, 14,000 undergraduate students and 1,400 postgraduate students.

UNIMAS was the first university to be inaugurated as part of Wawasan 2020, a national plan to achieve Malaysia’s status as a fully industrialised and developed nation. It is located in Sarawak on the island of Borneo, meaning it is well placed to benefit from research opportunities into the challenges of geography and geology, as well as the diversity of its biology and ethnicity. It is particularly strong in the following research areas: biodiversity and environmental conservation, emerging tropical infectious diseases, ICT development, renewable and green energy and industrial design.

Subject areas at UNIMAS include applied and creative arts, cognitive sciences and human development, computer science and information technology, economics and business, medicine and health sciences, resource science and technology and social sciences.

There is a football field, tennis courts, fields for archery, softball, basketball, sepak takraw (Malaysian kick volleyball) and netball, plus a bowling alley, gymnasium and squash courts.

Sarawak, where the university is located, stretches along Borneo’s northwest coast, featuring many beaches on the South China Sea. It is also known for its rugged, dense rainforest, much of which is protected parkland. The capital, Kuching, is a bustling city set on the Sarawak River.