Senior Assistant Professor Merlin F. Franco of the Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam presented a TEDx Talk on “The Beauty of Local Plants and Animal Names.”In this engaging talk, Dr. Franco explains that although there are scientific names for plant and animal species, local names provide us with important insights and should be conserved as they are condensed forms of local knowledge and are a cultural heritage of immense relevance in contemporary times.Dr. Franco has been collaborating with various local communities in Brunei, India, Indonesia and Malaysia on research projects related to local ecological calendars, cultural landscapes,…

Senior Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies Koh Sin Yee participated in the Asia Regional Learning Workshop held on 26-27 July 2023 at Monash University Malaysia.The workshop is part of the Women RISE Initiative, a Canadian initiative launched in March 2022 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council SSHRC), to address the impacts of COVID-19.The workshop, co-organised by the Women RISE initiative, the Health Population Research Organization (HPRO) and Monash University Malaysia, aimed at encouraging knowledge exchange,…

IAS would like to congratulate Dr Chang-Yau Hoon’s promotion to Professor with effect from 03 December 2022. Professor Hoon joined IAS on 26 June 2016 as Associate Professor of Anthropology.Professor Hoon was the Director of Centre for Advanced Research from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2022. He is currently also a Visiting Senior Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia.Dr. Hoon has held visiting positions at Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Copehagen (2008), Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta (2003 & 2010), Fudan University, Shanghai (2017), Guangxi University for Nationalities,…