Universiti Malaya, or UM, Malaysia's oldest university, is situated on a 750 acre (309 hectare) campus in the southwest of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. It was established in April 1949 in Singapore with the merger of the King Edward VII College of Medicine (founded in 1905) and Raffles College (founded in 1928).

The University of Malaya derives its name from the term 'Malaya' as the country was then known. The Carr-Saunders Commission, which recommended the setting up of the university, noted in its Report in 1948: "The University of Malaya would provide for the first time a common centre where varieties of race, religion and economic interest could mingle in joint endeavour ... For a University of Malaya must inevitably realise that it is a university for Malaya."

he growth of the University was very rapid during the first decade of its establishment and this resulted in the setting up of two autonomous Divisions in 1959, one located in Singapore and the other in Kuala Lumpur. In 1960, the government of the two territories indicated their desire to change the status of the Divisions into that of a national university. Legislation was passed in 1961 and the University of Malaya was established on 1st January 1962.

On June 16th 1962, University of Malaya celebrated the installation of its first Chancellor, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, who was also the country's first prime minister. The first Vice-Chancellor was Professor Oppenheim, a world-renowned Mathematician.

UM garnered 2 golds, 3 silvers and 1 bronze at the Seoul Invention Fair (SIIF 2012)

UM researchers received the highest number of successful applications in the "Research Cooperation" category of the United Kingdom Prime Minister's Initiative for International Education (PMI-2) Connect Scheme with seven successful grants totalling GBP 230,385.

The University of Malaya has been, and remains, at the forefront of landmark scientific and medical discoveries as evidenced by the numerous awards that have been won both locally and internationally. For example, the work conducted at the Faculty of Medicine was recognised with the Mahathir Science Award 2006 for outstanding contribution to the understanding and treatment of Nipah Encephalitis. This work has also received the 2008 Merdeka Award.

In addition, UM researchers received the highest number of successful applications in the "Research Cooperation" category of the United Kingdom Prime Minister's Initiative for International Education (PMI-2) Connect Scheme with seven successful grants totalling GBP 230,385. The awards were given in the fields of photonics, plasma laser physics, halocarbons and climate change, group theory and mathematical cryptography, air-conditioning and refrigeration engineering, molecular microbiology and biotechnology.

UM Symphony Orchestra performance

The University was founded in 1949 as a public-funded tertiary institution. Today, it has more than 2,500 faculty members of various expertise. In 2012, UM was granted autonomy status by the Ministry of Higher Education.

In 2011, UM is ranked at 401 to 500 in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's 2011 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). And the THE - QS World University Rankings has ranked UM in the top 200 universities of the world.