New Transport Innovation Centre opens at Swinburne

Transportation, energy storage and personal mobility will be the focus of a new $5 million Transport Innovation Centre that has opened at Swinburne’s Malaysian campus today. 

The centre, which will host a range of projects, is the result of a partnership with Swinburne and the Malaysian Automotive Institute. 

Malaysia has the potential to become the hub of automotive related manufacturing and innovation, according to Dato' Mohamad Madani Sahari, the CEO of Malaysia Automotive Institute.

A new approach to the transportation industry

One of the first priorities of the centre will be to assess the feasibility of setting up a re-manufacturing plant in Sarawak, Malaysia with the view to make it a hub for the South East Asian region. 

This will involve analysing how the industry can reuse, recycle, remanufacture, repair, service and provide spare parts. 

The research hopes to identify current practices of the industry in this region, the market demand for these categories and consumer perception. The research findings will allow the centre to advise on best practice and policy. 

A strong, successful partnership 

“Swinburne and the MAI have collaborated successfully in the past for transportation research projects including the development of the first electric bus to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia,” Professor Ajay Kapoor, Swinburne Pro Vice-Chancellor (International Research Engagement and Development) says. 

“We expect that the creation of this new research centre will allow us to build on current research and look for new ways that we can innovate.” 

The research centre will be housed at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus and will have an affiliate office at Swinburne Sarawak. 

Professor Aleksandar Subic, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Development, says the Transport Innovation Centre aspires to become the leading collaborative transport research and innovation organisation in Malaysia and Australia.

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