Annual Review 2018 | Page 47

Malaysia Toray Science Foundation Grant Global Leadership and Advanced Research Program Chin Jia May, a PhD student from the School of Science, was awarded the Science and Technology Research Grant from the Malaysia Toray Science Foundation to continue her work on seed biopriming as a strategy to increase tolerance against abiotic stress. The technique is expected to enhance the survival of vegetable seeds such as bok choy, lettuce, maize and chilli in undesirable conditions. Chin is one of 12 award recipients selected from more than 500 applications nationwide. This program is a prestigious, externally-funded, invitation-only winter semester intensive unit aimed at high-achieving students with an interest in research in both industry and academia. This year, 14 of our students enrolled in this program. They spent three weeks working in small, multidisciplinary research teams to construct a research grant proposal. Six groups successfully received funding to execute their projects, including Yong Xin Lim and her team members. ICAEW Regional Business Challenge & Southeast Asia Business Challenge Team Orca with members Ho Zi Hui, Lee Kwan Yee, Shailesh Nathan, Thean Li Ren, Koh Su Yen and Chan Xin Yi from the School of Business was one of the champions in the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Regional Business Challenge. They went on to represent Malaysia in the Southeast Asia Business Challenge finals held in Jakarta, Indonesia. CAS SciFinder Future Leaders Unilever Future Leaders' League Monash’s Team Orca beat more than 120 teams from 35 universities nationwide to secure first place in the Unilever Future Leaders' League. Their proposed marketing campaign for the ice-cream brand Cornetto was a resounding success with the judges. Team members Andrea Varsha Rabindran, Ho Zi Hui and Chan Xin Yi will head to Unilever’s headquarters in London next year to represent Malaysia in the global round. Felicia Lim Phei Lin from the School of Pharmacy was the only Malaysian representative selected to participate in the exclusive Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) SciFinder Future Leaders program, receiving an all-expenses-paid visit to the CAS headquarters in Columbus. The program provides PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from around the world an opportunity to collaborate on exciting new initiatives that support the scientific community. CRS Young Scientist Travel Award Postgraduate students Leanne De Silva and Doryn Tan Meam Yee from the School of Pharmacy won the Controlled Release Society (CRS) Young Scientist Travel Award to attend and present at the CRS Annual Meeting in New York, USA. This marks the first time that Malaysian students have received this award. 46