Research Platforms' Performance Reports GA21 2015-2017 | Page 13

Science, Technology and Society
to establish and critically interrogate research themes that
explore Asia’s economic, social and political emergence on
the global platform.
GA21 works in partnership with the Malaysian
Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC), a not-for-profit
organisation dedicated to building public understanding of
biotechnology, to initiate, organise, and lead events and
projects that are pertinent to moving Asia towards the 21st
century in advent of emerging technologies and Industrial
Revolution 4.0.
Associate Professor Kumaran Narayanan
Research Cluster Members
Associate Professor Kumaran Narayanan
(Cluster Leader)
Dr Julian Hopkins
Dr Chan Chang Tik
Dr Vanlal Thanzami
Science and technology interact with and shape society in
a complex, dynamic manner and enable corporations, social
groups and individuals to connect with and create novel
and transformative experiences. Advances in science and
technology increasingly define the nature of life, work and play.
Researchers in this cluster explore transformative changes
taking place across a vast range of arenas, from mundane
automation of daily chores to complete re-imagination of
social spaces, economic activity and life. The core expertise
and capabilities of the cluster are the following: social networks
and media communications; technology, science and health;
industry transformation through advanced technologies; and
technology and economic development.
The platform supports diverse research clusters where
communities of multidisciplinary scholars come together
Current initiatives include:
1. Asian short course on Agribiotechnology, Biosafety
Regulations and Communications. This pilot project
aims to build an institutional memory based at Monash
University and MABIC to serve the Asian region on
capacity building related to agribiotechnology and
biosafety regulations. Supported by US Grains Council
and CropLife Asia, this course is intended to be
held annually.
2. Asian workshop on matters related to the COP-MOP to
prepare country delegates for the COPMOP meetings.
COPMOP (Conference of the Parties serving as the
meeting of the Parties to the Protocol) is an international
meeting under the purview of Convention of Biological
Diversity and United Nations Environmental Programme
related to LMOs. Funded by the US Department of
Agriculture, this is a yearly event that aspires to rotate
hosting among different Asian countries, enabling
Monash to showcase its research capabilities in Asia.
3. Training courses on communicating research. This
course aims to support Monash researchers and
postgraduate students to get their research into mass
media and to showcase Monash research capabilities.
4.
Gamification of STEM. Activities will be through
workshops aimed at school students, including
developing board games that could be copyrighted
and commercialised. This initiative, conducted
collaboratively with the Institute of Visual Informatics,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, is aimed at future-
proofing children to develop the 21st century
skills required for IR 4.0. Findings on the impact of
gamification on students’ knowledge will provide
insights to develop new pedagogical methods for
instilling interest in the STEM field.
12