KUCHING, Universiti Teknoligi Swinburne Sarawak Campus will set up a research and development (RandD) centre focused on renewable energy and high-tech avionics. Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the site for the new research centre will be identified, and this initiative will allow the university to focus on researching new methods for energy distribution. The Sarawak Public Communications Unit (UKAS) quoted him in a statement as saying that the federal government has identified Sarawak as a location for satellite launches. "So, with this coming to the campus, we are looking at raw materials used in aviation such as drones, aircraft components and other parts that must be strong and lightweight, including composites," he said. During his official visit to Melbourne, Australia, the Sarawak government will collaborate with the main campus of Swinburne University of Technology in Hawthorn, Australia, to source lecturers for the research centre in Kuching to become operational, he added. ' Teaching staff are available at the main campus, which we can share with educational institutions in Sarawak through knowledge-sharing programmes. From an aerospace perspective, we might also engage with NASA in the United States,' he said. Abang Johari added that Universiti Teknologi Swinburne Sarawak Campus and its main campus will establish a student exchange programme at the PhD level for 18 months, with half of the programme conducted in Kuching and the remainder in Australia. He added that this new knowledge-sharing initiative is crucial because Sarawak has the advantage in terms of renewable energy for producing new materials and its students need to be proficient in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to master these new technologies. Source: BERNAMA News Agency