UTS Wallace Institute
From living systems to future systems.
Kuching · Sarawak · Borneo
Point at a glowing region to explore a research domain
ENTER THE NEXUSWallace studied the systems of the natural world. The Wallace Institute studies and builds the systems of the future.
A research institute of University of Technology Sarawak, based in Kuching. We work where intelligence, biology and energy meet, and we carry findings all the way from observation to something people can use.
Three domains, studied as one system.
★Featured programme
Research in Sarawak. Enterprise in Glasgow.
A Master in Computing by Research, delivered with the University of Strathclyde, with four weeks in the Glasgow City Innovation District and a Certificate in Translational Research & Enterprise.
- Award
- MCom by Research, awarded by UTS
- With
- University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
- In Glasgow
- 4 weeks each September
- Designed length
- About 1.5 years
Where would you like to go?
Six ways into the Institute. Each opens as its own section.
Foreword from the Vice-Chancellor
A flagship for research and innovation at UTS.
When University of Technology Sarawak asked what kind of research institute Sarawak will need in the decades ahead, the Wallace Institute was our answer. It stands as one of the flagships of research and innovation at UTS.
Alfred Russel Wallace came to Sarawak to understand how living systems connect. The Institute brings that same curiosity to the technologies that will shape our state and our region: intelligent machines, translational biotechnology and resilient energy. These are not separate ambitions. They meet in the challenges Sarawak faces, from a growing digital economy to the stewardship of our extraordinary biodiversity and the move to cleaner, more dependable energy.
As a university of technology, we believe research must travel beyond the page. The Institute is built to carry ideas from discovery to deployment, working with industry, government and communities at home, and with international partners such as the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.
I invite researchers, students, industry and government to join us. Sarawak’s future will be built by people who observe deeply, think in systems and act with purpose. The Wallace Institute is where that work begins.
Rooted in a campus built for what comes next.
The Institute grows from University of Technology Sarawak, a university created to advance technology for Sarawak and its people.
- Established
- 2013, as the first university owned by the Sarawak state government
- Campuses
- Main campus in Sibu, with a second campus in Mukah
- Focus
- Technical and engineering education, training and research
Wallace came to Borneo to understand complex living systems.
Alfred Russel Wallace arrived in Sarawak in 1854 and spent more than a year here collecting, recording and comparing what he found.
In 1855, at Santubong near Kuching, he wrote the paper now known as the Sarawak Law, an early step toward the theory of evolution by natural selection.
The Institute carries that spirit into a new technological age: studying the systems that shape our world, and building the ones that will shape what comes next.
The Wallace Principle
- 1Observe deeply.
- 2Understand systems.
- 3Discover relationships.
- 4Translate knowledge.
- 5Change the world.
Three domains, one nexus.
Intelligence, biology and energy are usually studied apart. Here they are treated as one system, where progress in each depends on the others.
The questions we are asking.
Research headings describe a field. Questions describe what is at stake.
From discovery to deployment.
Publishing is one step, not the finish line. Every project is planned to travel the whole path.
Impact raises new things to observe, and the path begins again.
The Institute in action.
Five ways the Institute works with researchers, students, industry and government.
★Featured programme
Joint programme with the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom
Research in Sarawak. Enterprise in Glasgow.
Master in Computing (MCom) by Research with Certificate in Translational Research & Enterprise
A jointly delivered Master by Research in Computing, offered by UTS through the Wallace Institute in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde. The programme puts translational research and enterprise impact first: turning research into real-world applications.
- 1Sarawak
Research at the Wallace Institute
You are matched with a highly experienced supervisor who gives close guidance on research quality and early completion.
- 2Glasgow, September
Four weeks of immersion
Spend September at the Glasgow City Innovation District, working alongside researchers, entrepreneurs and industry partners.
- 3Glasgow
Short thesis and certificate
Prepare a short thesis and leave with a Certificate in Translational Research & Enterprise.
- 4Sarawak
Complete your MCom
The programme is designed for completion in about 1.5 years, with Strathclyde credit shown on your transcript.
Sarawak to Glasgow is a journey of roughly 11,000 km, and the programme is built to make it count.
Why Strathclyde
- UK University of the Year 2026
- #251 in the worldQS World University Rankings 2026
- Anchor of the Glasgow City Innovation DistrictScotland’s first innovation district
- A fast-growing tech economyDriven by the innovation district, Glasgow’s tech economy is now the largest in Scotland and among the UK’s fastest-growing hubs for venture capital.
Four weeks in Scotland, with the Highlands a short journey from the city.
At a glance
- Award
- MCom by Research, with Certificate in Translational Research & Enterprise
- Delivered by
- UTS, through the Wallace Institute, with the University of Strathclyde
- Designed length
- About 1.5 years
- In Glasgow
- 4 weeks each September
- Strathclyde credit
- Equivalent to 10 credit hours of research impact training, shown on your MCom transcript
Programme highlights
- Research training at the Wallace Institute, supplemented by the innovation and enterprise practice Strathclyde is known for.
- A clear focus on translating research into real-world applications.
- Close supervision from experienced supervisors, aimed at early completion and strong research quality.
- Designed for interaction, self-directed learning and immersion in a supportive innovation ecosystem.
Graduates leave ready to apply research skills and create measurable impact, bridging computing research with innovation, enterprise and policy.
More international programmes.
Degrees taught in Sarawak, with a focused period of study abroad at a partner institution.
Short courses you can use on Monday.
Two-day programmes for educators, trainers, managers and teams. Run at the Institute, or for one organisation at its own site.
Who teaches them.
Practitioners who research how people learn, and who still teach.
WallaceForesight
Ideas shaping the next decade.
A continuing series of conversations between academia, industry and government, building toward a biennial summit. Each session becomes a lasting record: the question, the evidence and what it means for Sarawak.
Proposed series. Dates and speakers will be announced.
People of the nexus.
A network rather than a department. Senior academics join by invitation, and every role connects across all three domains.
Meet the team
The first members of the network, based in Kuching.
Professor Wallace Wong
Partner
Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Alan Ting Huong Yong
Partner
Associate Professor Hugh Leong
Principal
Associate Professor Gabriel Wee
Principal
Dr Diana Choo
Associate
Bella Liu
Siti Jaquita Jakataruna
The world, connected to Borneo.
A gateway between Sarawak and international research: academic pathways, a global expert pool, international grants and networks.
Partner institutions
Wallace Intelligence.
A public library of insight on technology in Sarawak, Borneo and beyond. Somewhere to come back to, not just read about us.
Where to find us
Under a glass dome in the heart of Kuching.
The Wallace Institute is based at Wisma STA, where a circular atrium rises floor by floor to a geodesic glass roof. A fitting home for an institute built around connected systems.
- Building
- Wisma STA
- Address
- 26 Jalan Datuk Abang Abdul Rahim
93450 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia - University
- University of Technology Sarawak, main campus in Sibu
Join the nexus.
Tell us who you are and we will point you to the right way in.