Kuala Lumpur, 11 April 2016 – Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) in collaboration with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) is offering scholarships for postgraduate studies in Sustainable Development under the RM15 million endowment programme: UKM-YSD Chair for Sustainable Development: Zero Waste Technology for the Palm Oil Industry.

The research project with Malaysia’s leading national university, UKM, aims to convert palm oil mills into green factories that are not only carbon neutral, but also leave a negative carbon footprint with zero waste from the production of palm oil being dispensed in the air, ground and water. Malaysia is the world’s second largest palm oil producer and Sime Darby is the world’s largest producer of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO).

Besides focusing on research outcomes, the Chair also places great importance on capacity building of homegrown researchers and scientists with expertise and specialised skills in zero waste technology for the palm oil industry.

The “Sustainable Development” postgraduate scholarships worth RM1.68 million provide an opportunity to Malaysian postgraduates and final year undergraduate students with a minimum CGPA of 3.2 from any recognised local and overseas universities to apply for Master’s degree and Ph.D. in the areas of bio-sciences.

Successful applicants will receive a full scholarship package covering tuition fees, monthly stipend (between RM2,000 to RM2,500), book and thesis allowances. They will also be attached to the Office of the UKM-YSD Chair for Sustainable Development at the university as ‘Research Assistants’ to carry out fieldwork and data analysis while completing their postgraduate studies.

To date, YSD has awarded scholarships to six outstanding Malaysians since the commencement of the programme in 2014.

Scholarship applications will commence from 9 until 6 May 2016 and all applications must be submitted online at www.yayasansimedarby.com.

Other capacity building initiatives by YSD under its Environment pillar include postgraduate scholarships for other projects namely Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) Project, Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) project and Management and Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME) project.