DAAD Research Ambassador Malaysia

Research Ambassadors are senior academicians and scientists who have a long-standing relationship with Germany. As DAAD or Germany alumni, they have studied or carried out research in Germany and know the German higher education system through their own experience. Since we started the program in 2022, DAAD now has two Ambassadors in Malaysia.

Associate Professor Dr. Low Cheng Yee

Low Cheng Yee studied mechanical engineering at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and mechatronics at King’s College London. In 2009, he received his Ph.D. degree from University of Paderborn in Germany in the field of design methodology for advanced mechatronic systems. He is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and a Professional Engineer (Ir.) registered with the Board of Engineers Malaysia. He is an alumni of the DIES University Leadership and Management Training Programme (UNILEAD).

In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechatronic Systems Design in Germany, he co-founded a joint innovation lab (innovationlabs.my) at UTHM in 2019. The aim is to establish the Fraunhofer model for applied research in Malaysia by promoting the transfer of knowledge and technology between research and industry and the emergence of innovations at universities. He also manages the cooperation between UTHM and Hochschule Osnabrueck, Hochschule Heilbronn and Hochschule Nordhausen.

His research focuses on the cross-disciplinary development of intelligent mechatronic systems, particularly for use cases in smart factories and smart health.

Associate Professor Dr. Goh Hong Ching

Hong Ching Goh is an alumna of Bonn University, where she completed her doctoral studies at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) and the Institute of Geography from 2004 to 2007. Currently, she serves as an associate professor at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya, where she also chairs the Social Advancement and Happiness Research Cluster. She is a registered member of the Board of Town Planners Malaysia.

Initially focusing on urban planning and nature-based tourism, her research approach has evolved to encompass sustainability, relevance, inclusion, and impact of scales. Her research, with wide-ranging applications in urbanized environments, resource-rich regions, and protected areas, has led to her interdisciplinary coastal research in Southeast Asia.

She is a past recipient of the DAAD Doctoral Scholarship Award and the MIT-UTM Malaysian Sustainable Cities Program Fellowship, and an alumna of the ASEAN Science Leadership Program and the Global Young Academy.

Hong Ching has been actively engaged in the ForUm, a DAAD-funded network for Urban Futures in Southeast Asia connecting SEA and German experts (https://forum-urban-future.uni-koeln.de/) since 2010. Official Curriculum Vitae: https://umexpert.um.edu.my/gohhc.html