Research Institutes, Centres and Units - Universiti Sains Malaysia

Centre for Policy Research and
International Studies (CenPRIS)
CenPRIS is a research centre, serving as the focus of the University’s efforts in
applied social research, consultancy services and post-graduate supervision related to
public policy and international studies. The Centre was established in 2007 from the
amalgamation of two existing Centres of Excellence of the University: the Centre for
Policy Research (CPR), which was established in 1974, and the Centre for International
Studies (CIS), which was established in 2004. With the amalgamation, in the context
of increasing globalisation and Malaysia being a highly open economy, the public policy
aspect of the Centre’s activities now has an international dimension to it. Nation
building, which is the key research theme of the Centre, will have both domestic and
international perspectives.
Research focus areas at CenPRIS are (in the area of public policy): public private sector
collaboration policies, social sustainability policies, urban growth and rural modernisation
policies, science and technology policies, ethnic and cultural policies; and (in the area of
international studies): globalisation and regionalism, global political reform, international
political economy and international relations. Two highly celebrated institutions are housed
in CenPRIS – The Noordin Sopiee Chair in Global Studies and the Right Livelihood
College. The Noordin Sopiee Chair in Global Studies, established in 2007, has as its
current theme, “The Role of Religion in a Globalising World”, thus giving CenPRIS an
additional research focus area. The Right Livelihood College was officially established
in January 2009 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between USM
and the Right Livelihood Awards Foundation of Sweden (RLAF).
The Centre’s post-graduate studies program prepares candidates for scholarly and
leadership roles in government, universities, research organisations, and other settings
where knowledge and research skills in public policy and international studies are needed.
The Centre is committed to accomplishing this mission by creating an intellectually
vibrant atmosphere for scholarship involving an active faculty from a broad spectrum
of academic disciplines and extensive interaction with government agencies
and community groups.