What is MyRA?

‘MyRA’ is an acronym for the Malaysian Research Assessment Instrument. It is a comprehensive system developed to assess the research capacity and performance of all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia. Development in 2006 it’s first objective was to meet the Malaysian Research University (MRU) agenda of the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) and that was to identify 5 universities in Malaysia for award of the MRU status. Today, the MRU agenda is well enshrined in the National Higher Education Strategic Plan (PSPTN) 2007-2020, which is to elevate the standing of public HEIs to attain world-class status and to create differentiated higher education scenarios to meet the socio-economic aspirations of the country while being cognizant of the limited resources available to pursue such goals. Thus MyRA was used to accreditate and monitor the research performance of public universities, but beginning in 2014, all HEIs in the country were mandated to participate in the annual assessment exercise to coincide with the opening up of MoHE research grants to all universities (public or private) in the country. MyRA now includes a 6-Star rating system and all participating HEIs are Document-audited and Site-audited by a panel of trained auditors.