Transational Research Grant (TRG) - Cohort 2
SDEC Transational Research Grant aim to accelerate the translation and commercialization of research outputs to support the new economy through the creation of deep-tech companies in Sarawak.
Introductions:
The Translational Research Grant (TRG) supports novel, scientifically robust applied research undertaken collaboratively between University Partners of the Centre of Excellence for Digital Economy (CoE) and industry. The grant targets sectoral or industry-defined challenges, ensuring that research outcomes are supported by evidence-based validation that advances technology maturity and strengthens pathways to real-world use.
Projects must demonstrate new knowledge creation that contributes to state-of-the-art advancements while progressing technologies toward relevance for Sarawak.
Grant Objectives:
- Promote high-quality, novel applied research that addresses sectoral challenges through clearly defined research questions and validation goals.
- Drive technology innovation through research-industry collaboration, generating new insights validated for functionality and performance improvements in relevant settings.
- Enable measurable TRL progression supported by scientific evidence, ensuring that technologies are strengthened through rigorous validation rather than execution-only activities.
- Build research and translational capability through postgraduate training or postdoctoral involvement in industry-engaged investigations.
- Strengthen Sarawak’s innovation pipeline by producing protectable intellectual property, comparative performance evidence, and credible prototypes that support future commercial pathways.
Intended Outcomes:
- Evidence of TRL advancement through validation data, experimental findings, functional prototypes, or benchmark results produced during the project.
- Applied research outputs that contribute to PCDS 2030 and SDE 2030 priorities, demonstrating relevance to key sectors and communities in Sarawak.
- Sustained industry-research partnerships that co-define problems, co-validate solutions, and strengthen adoption readiness within the ecosystem.
- Capability development through postgraduate or postdoctoral involvement that builds competencies in research validation and translation.
Transational Research Grant (TRG) - Cohort 2 Details:
Project Duration
- Minimum project duration is 2 years
- Maximum project duration is 3 years
Grant Amount
- The maximum grant amount is RM250,000.00
- The projects funded by TRG intend to be collaboratively funded. This means that all partners are required to contribute towards the project, whether in cash and/or in-kind contribution.
Application Period
- Opening Date : 19 December 2024
- Closing Date : 16 February 2025, 11:59 PM
Focused Reseach Domains
- The grant supports collaborative research involving any of the following digital technology focus area:
- Cybersecurity
- Artificial Intelligence/ Computer Vision
- Automation and Robotics
- Communications and Technologies
- Data Analytics
- Immersive Technologies
- Space Tech; and
- any other technologies deemed relevant.
- Research use cases must align with at least one of the following strategic research clusters:
- Cybersecurity
- Digital Health
- Advanced Manufacturing/Semiconductor
- Smart City
- Green Energy/Energy Transition
- Advanced Mobility
- Food Security
- Future Society; and
- Space
Principal Investigator (PI) / Co-PI Eligibility Criteria:
- The PI must be a full-time academic or researcher affiliated with one of the following CoE University Partners:
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Sarawak
University of Technology Sarawak (UTS)
Curtin University Malaysia
Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus
i-CATS University College
University Malaya (UM)
National University of Singapore (NUS)
University of Melbourne
A Co-PI may be appointed where the project scope requires significant complementary expertise or responsibilities.
If the PI is from an external CoE University Partner, a Co-PI from a Sarawak-based CoE University Partner is mandatory to uptake grant management responsibilities, institutional reporting and operational coordination in Sarawak.
The PI must have a minimum of one (1) year remaining in his or her employment contract from the closing date of the TRG application.
If the PI resigns or ceases employment before the application result is announced, the university’s Research Management Centre (RMC) must notify SDEC at its earliest.
PIs who currently have more than two (2) active research grants recognised in their academic workload are not eligible to apply for this call.
A PI may only submit a maximum of two (2) project applications.
Requirements
- Each project will include and maintain, throughout its duration, a Co-Investigator(s) from at least one other university partner of the CoE.
- Other Co-Investigator(s) from universities which are not a University Partner of the CoE are also acceptable, provided the above minimum conditions of project members are met.
- The PI is strongly encouraged to collaborate with relevant Industry/Agencies to implement the research project. Supporting documentation, such as a letter of intent and other relevant documents, should be provided.
- Industry or end user involvement is strongly encouraged at proposal stage and expected to be actively demonstrated before validation activities commence.
- Role of the industry partner:
- The industry partner acts as a “Lighthouse Partner”, committing to piloting or implementing the solution as an early adopter, facilitating real-world testing and validation of its utility and impact.
- The industry partner will collaborate with the research team to identify and define the industry-specific problem, ensuring that the project addresses practical, real-world needs.
- The industry partner will provide insights, data, infrastructure or other resources to support the research, development and testing of the solution.
- Requirements for industry partner:
- The industry partners must meet the following requirements:
- The industry partners must be able to contribute towards the development of innovative core technologies with demonstrable use cases.
- Industry partners involved in the proposal must declare any existing support received from SDEC programmes and confirm that they have good standing with no conflict of interest with SDEC. These disclosures are required solely for transparency and conflict-assessment purposes and will not influence the scoring of the proposal.
- Able to commit to the project by providing an industry Co-Investigator who will provide technical input, facilitate access to relevant facilities, data or validation environments and collaborate with the research team throughout the project and willing to cooperate with the research team.
- The Co-Investigator is expected to be present for a minimum of one meeting session every quarter of the year throughout the duration of the project.
- Additional requirement for contribution:
- All partners must make cash and/or in-kind contributions to the project. All proposed cash and in-kind contributions are treated equally for the purposes of calculating the total eligible project value.
- While either form is acceptable, cash contributions from industry partners are strongly encouraged to demonstrate shared commitment to project success.
- University Partners of the CoE are expected to provide, at a minimum, 100% tuition fee waivers for Graduate Research Assistants (where applicable), along with other in-kind contributions.
- For full project requirements, please refer to the Application Form in Appendix B.
- Problem Statement:
- Work on problem statement(s) identified or acknowledged by the industry which defines the research agenda to develop a product, service or process, thereby delivering tangible outcomes.
- When an industry partner is involved, the problem statement must address a specific challenge identified by the partner, aligning with their strategic needs. A template is available for the submission of supporting documentation from an industry partner.
- In the absence of an industry partner, the research must address a common problem with specific implications for the sector, contributing to solutions with the potential for wide-reaching impact. The problem statement must focus on a well-defined, significant, and unresolved challenge that affects the broader industry.
- Project Duration:
- The minimum project duration is 2 years.
- The maximum project duration is 3 years.
- Project Activities and Location:
- Eligible activities must directly relate to the project. Examples of eligible project activities include, but not limited to:
- Exploratory research activities
- Proof of concept activities (including experimental validation activities)
- Lab-scale Prototype development or integration
- Testbed-based performance evaluation
- Data acquisition for TRL evidence
- Forums/ workshops
- Other knowledge transfer initiatives related to collaborative research
- The main location of the research project must be in Sarawak. However, certain research activities may be conducted outside of Sarawak where necessary for the achievement of research objectives and substantial justification must be provided.
- Utilisation of Facilities, Research Infrastructure and Data from SDEC:
- SDEC has several facilities and testbeds which can be utilised for project activities. This includes our CoE Openlab, IR4.0 Prototyping Lab, Digital Innovation Hubs, Digital Testbeds such as the 5G Smart City and Precision and Discipline Agriculture Facility.
- In addition, SDEC has a vast amount of data collected across different parameters from its digital testbeds which may be useful for the project.
- SDEC also offers cloud computing infrastructure which may be beneficial for projects requiring big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) features.
- Projects proposing real-world validation (using TRL6 as an indicator) are strongly encouraged to utilise SEC’s testbeds and data assets for performance validation.
Expected Research Output:
Research output under this category may include supported Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs), or a combination of GRAs and postdoctoral researchers, provided they contribute directly to the delivery of project outcomes.
i. Graduate Research Assistant (GRA)
- Acceptable duration of candidature is as follows:
- PhD in full-time mode for 3 years
- Master in full-time mode for 2 years
- For projects of 2-year duration, it is expected that one (1) Master graduate will be produced.
- For projects of 3-year duration, it is expected that one (1) PhD graduate will be produced.
- The Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) should ideally be enrolled and supervised by the PI at the PI’s university. However, if the research topic is better aligned with a programme offered at another CoE University Partner (e.g. Co-Investigator’s university), the GRA may instead be enrolled there with appropriate supervision arrangements.
ii. Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- This grant allows for the appointment of one (1) Postdoctoral Research Fellow per research project to undertake project activities.
- Minimum duration of appointment of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is 6 months.
i. At least two publications in relevant reputable indexed journals are expected.
ii. Acknowledgements must be attributed to the Translational Research Grant 2025 funded by SDEC.
iii. Academics are allowed to affiliate their appointments to the Centre of Excellence for Digital Economy, Sarawak.
- Each project must produce at least one new IP
- All potential IP resulting from the project must be explicitly identified in the application.
- All project IP will be co-owned by SDEC and the participating CoE university partner(s). The distribution of ownership will be determined according to the funding levels and contributions of each party. This arrangement ensures that both SDEC and university partners retain the flexibility needed to advance commercialisation and broader deployment in line with Sarawak’s strategic objectives.
- Industry partners will not hold ownership of project IP but will gain early access to the technology and contribute to shaping its development as validation and adoption partners. SDEC encourages active involvement from industry collaborators, and where an industry partner provides a significant cash contribution, SDEC may consider a negotiated ownership arrangement on a case-by-case basis to ensure fairness and alignment with project objectives.
- In consideration of grant funding from SDEC, the project partner(s) grant SDEC the first right of refusal to exploit, commercially or otherwise, any IP resulting from the project.
- All project IP management (including the filing process) will be initiated by SDEC unless advised otherwise by SDEC.
- Public Disclosure of Information related to the Project:
- Publications and presentations are potential avenues for public disclosure of information pertaining to an invention. It is important that this invention is carefully protected through mechanisms such as non-disclosure agreements or appropriate IP rights prior to any public disclosure.
- All submissions for publication need to be approved by SDEC or funding partner(s) prior to disclosure at the earliest opportunity.
- Any intention to present whether in a restricted or open environment must be communicated to SDEC before presentation.
- All commercialisation arrangements must be mutually agreed to by SDEC and all parties formally written in the contract.
Queries
If you have any questions. please complete the following form:
FAQ Responses:
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FAQ Responses:
How to Apply?
General Eligibility & Project Criteria Checking
- Review the general eligibility and project criteria outlined in the TRG Guidelines.
- Read through the TRG Instructions to Applicants to understand how to properly complete the Application Form.
Application Submission
- By Applicant:
- Complete all required forms and submit at https://bit.ly/TRG-Cohort2-Application
- Upon submission, the applicant will receive a summary of the application via email.
- By Research Management Centre (RMC):
- The RMC will also receive an email containing the application summary.
- The email will include a link to the Research Proposal Endorsement Form, which the RMC of the PI’s university must complete and submit to SDEC as part of the final application submission within the application period.
