KUCHING: The new Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre (SIDC) will collaborate with Imperial College London on research and human development programmes.
Sarawak Education, Innovation and Talent Development Ministry said SIDC would partner with the college on a proposed project to set up a real-time disease surveillance programme.
Both parties also agreed in principle to collaborate on student and staff exchange programmes with a duration of six to 12 months.
"This will start based on projects, which will eventually evolve into a long-term human capital development programme for the centre," the ministry said in a statement on Friday (July 15).
The proposed collaboration resulted from a meeting between a delegation led by state Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Datuk Roland Sagah and a team from Imperial College in London recently.
They also discussed topics on infectious diseases, particularly disease surveillance, data analytics, molecular diagnostics and therapeutic development.
The RM200mil SIDC is currently under construction on a 16ha site next to the Sarawak Heart Centre in Kota Samarahan. It is expected to be completed in 2024.
Sagah also held meetings with the Raspberry Pi Foundation in Cambridge and a team from the Science Museum in London during his working visit to Britain.
The ministry and Raspberry Pi Foundation will hold further discussions on conducting suitable programmes for students and teachers in Sarawak and collaborating on setting up a Raspberry Pi research centre in the upcoming Sarawak Science Centre.
The ministry will also explore areas of collaboration with the Science Museum on exhibits, content and programmes for the Sarawak Science Centre.
