JOHOR BAHRU, 20 August 2018 – The Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has received a sum of RM 200,000.00 from the Japanese software development company, OK Blockchain Centre Sdn. Bhd. (OBC) to collaborate in the development of Blockchain technology.
The amount includes the RM150,000.00 for the setup of a blockchain lab in UTM School of Computing, and another sum of RM50,000.00 digital currency fund called Wowbit (WWB) to be used in blockchain case studies.
The donation was handed by the OBC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gen Matsuda to the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Development), Prof. Datuk Dr. Ahmad Fauzi Ismail after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony held at Medini Iskandar Malaysia.
Also atttending the ceremony were the Chairman of School of Computing UTM, Prof. Dr. Abd. Samad Haji Ismail, the CEO of OKWAVE (parent company of OBC), Kaneto Kenomoto and also Medini Iskandar Malaysia CEO, Dr. James Tee.
Speaking in his welcoming address, Prof. Fauzi said that Blockchain is a technology created to prevent digital transaction scams and proven to be safe because it uses distributed data systems and requires verification from each peer as well as having a unique keyword for each chain, thus making it extremely difficult to be modified by internet hackers.
“One of the benefits of this blockchain technology is the use of cryptocurrencies as it is increasingly acceptable by the public because of its safety, and it has become new phenomenon in today’s world economy.
“By using the cryptocurrency system, two entities can perform transactions without a third entity such as the bank. Without the bank as the third entity, there will be no additional charges charged because only one transaction has been made,” said Prof. Fauzi.
Some examples of services using cryptocurrencies are cryptocurrency transfer, cryptocurrency exchanges, digital wallets and so on.
“Society today is still unclear about cryptocurrency technology. Therefore, besides conducting the research and development of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, UTM will also hold awareness campaigns on this technology by holding a series of talks to the surrounding communities.
“The aim is to maximize the benefits to the society, thus supporting the aspiration of establishing the Cryptobay Centre in Johor. Therefore, the UTM-OBC cooperation is very on point and important for the future of the digital economy,” he said.
Prof. Fauzi also said that the first project to be undertaken through this collaboration is the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) Project.
“This is an attempt to show blockchain affinity in the Islamic region. With the existence of Syariah-compliant ICO, the Muslim community can use this cryptocurrency without any doubt on legal issues from Islamic point of view.
“In fact, it will also provide an experience and new knowledge in the context of a whole new Islamic world economy,” said Prof. Fauzi.

UTM Advanced Division is moving forward to the next frontier of promoting the endowment spirit and the culture of corporate giving among the industry, by fostering close collaboration with the industry players in playing the role to provide a greater support to expand the talent development and potential of the human capital, underpinned with academic innovation and scholastic excellence.

Industries can play their parts to invest in the university endowment to enable the university to offer the best possible educational opportunities to students from disadvantaged background to get access to education.

For more information on the benefits of giving to UTM, kindly click HERE

Source : Sinar Harian – 12 August 2018

KUALA LUMPUR, 8 August 2018 – Rebecca Loo Wen Ching, the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) former student was selected as the reciepient of the British Government’s prestigious Chevening Scholarship for the 2018/2019 academic session.
Rebecca Loo Wen Ching graduated with a Bachelor in Computer Science (Software Engineering) in 2013, was one of the reciepients of this scholarship among Forty-five other Malaysians who are about to pursue their postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom in 2018 with the same scholarship.
British High Commissioner to Malaysia Vicki Treadell said Malaysia’s growing appetite for higher education in the UK was reflected in the increase in Chevening Scholarship applications.
“We received 754 applications for the 2018/19 academic session compared to 701 applications received last year.
“For the 2019/2020 session, we are expecting to receive up to 800 applications. As for the 2018/2019 session, from 754 applications, only 45 were selected,” she said.
Vicky was saying that after the certificate handing ceremony to the 45 selected reciepients of the Chevening Scholarship for 2018/2019 academic session held at British High Commissioner Residence, Jalan Langgak Golf, Kuala Lumpur.
She said Malaysia received one of the highest number of Chevening Scholarships per capita in the world.
“Three scholarships have been awarded to individuals who will be studying climate change/sustainable development and the environment — essential subjects for the future wellbeing of our world.”
There are about 19,000 Malaysians studying in the UK and another 79,000 students studying for a UK qualification in Malaysia.
Rebecca who was born in Ipoh, Perak is currently serving as a Senior Technology Consultant at a digital agency based in Kuala Lumpur. During her time as UTM student, she joined two societies namely Ikatan Kristian UTM and AIESEC UTM.

4^th August 2018, Kuala Lumpur – In conjunction with the UNESCO International Friendship Day, the International Student Society (ISS) led by Mdm. Intisar Ibrahim, PhD candidate along with Mr. Morro Krubally, DBA candidate in Azman Hashim International Business School (AHIBS) had successfully conducted a networking event called Student Circle 1.0 at the Banquet Room, Jumaah Hall, UTM Kuala Lumpur. The purpose of the event was to bring together international students from faculties in UTM Kuala Lumpur to Share Experiences, Build Networking and also to find means of solving their individual challenges.

A major component of the event was a Public Speaking training conducted by Mr. Morro Krubally.  The purpose of this training is to encourage the students to be more confident as good presenters and also to share tips on how to prepare themselves for the presentation.  As part of the problem-solving aspect of the program, the circle started with a training program. A training program shall henceforth be a hallmark of the Circle. In the sharing session, the students shared their experiences and several issues have been identified based on the needs and challenges that students found difficult to share and communicate for solutions.  These issues include the academic and other related matters.  The Circle is intended to provide the needed platform which will allow student to discuss their experiences and seek solutions together.

As an outcome of the meeting, all students have given their views on areas needed for intervention or for problem identification, and solutions which will be brought to the attention of the related party and will be used as an outline for the next circle scheduled in October 2018.   Overall, the event was a success.  The ISS committee thanked the administration for facilitating and financing the program.

Kuala Lumpur, 10 August 2018 – UTM Kuala Lumpur received a courtesy visit from The Consortium of Universities in Osaka involving (7) universities namely Osaka City University, Osaka University of Economy, Osaka Jogakuin University, Setsunan University, Aomori Chuo Gakuin University, International Christian University and Ehime University. This consortium consists of 42 members from 55 universities in Osaka. Their arrival was also in conjunction with the 16th Asia Pacific Student Services Association International Conference 2018 at UTM Kuala Lumpur.

Delegates were presented with the slide presentations from Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics by Assoc.Prof. Dr. Nor Zairah; Assistant Dean of External Relations and Global, Dr. Norhayati Abdullah; International Coordinator from Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) and Azman Hashim International Business School by Dr. Suzilawati Kamarudin. Also present was Mr. Alvin Tan from UTM SPACE.

The discussions had touched on academic matters, recent developments in the consortium, and differences of work culture among staff, students exchange, staff attachment and partnership. UTM also expressed interest in joining this consortium if given the opportunity.

At the end of the visit, the delegations were taken to visit the Advance Robotics lab located at Level 6 of MJIIT Building.

SULAIMANIYAH (IRAQ), 13 August 2018 – As part of its Transnational Education (TNE) initiatives, the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) starts to offer its degree programs abroad in collaboration with Qaiwan University (QU), Kurdistan Iraq which was officially launched on 12 August 2018.
Among dignitaries present were Deputy Prime Minister of Kurdistan Regional Government, Mr.Qubad Talabani and Deputy Minister, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Iraq, Prof.Dr. Salam Khoshnaw.
Among UTM delegates were Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and Internationalization), Prof.Ir.Dr.Zainuddin Abdul Manan; Chairman of UTM School of Professional and Continuing Education (UTMSPACE) & UTM Board Member, Datuk Abu Bakar Mohd Nor and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UTMSPACE, Prof.Ir.Dr.Mohd Azraai Kassim.
“This University will be the centre for international students and cultural and civil exchange,” Sheikh Fakhir Tayib, Chairman of Qaiwan University Board of Trustees said during the inauguration ceremony on Sunday.
Qaiwan Group is a Sulaimani-based group of companies which is involved in education, construction, trading, retail, refinery, energy and hospitality.
Deputy Prime Minister of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Qubad Talbani stated that improving the standard of local universities to the level of international universities is not the work of one or two days, instead, it is an ongoing process.”
QU franchises four UTM programs across three faculties: the School of Computing, the Azman Hashim International Business School, and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
In his speech, Prof. Zainuddin said that UTM and Malaysia are very proud of the establishment of Qaiwan University UTM branch campus in the Kurdistan Regional Government.
“Through synergy of higher purpose, quality focused, innovation and differentiation, striving along TRIC nexus, and by immortalizing its inventions, Qaiwan University will be a globally reputable and highly ranked university,” said Prof. Zainuddin.

JOHOR BAHRU, 16 August 2018 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) will collaborate with Weathernews Inc (WNI), a private Japanese weather service corporation to conduct research and training on weather related disasters in Malaysia.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development), Prof. Dr. Azlan Abd. Rahman in his welcoming speech said that WNI is a private weather service corporation established and existing under the Law of Japan, having its principal office at Chiba-shi, Chiba, Japan.

“WNI offers a wide range of services at international level covering airline industries, mobile computing markets, fuel operations; ship routing, media, retail markets, disaster management and disaster management support for countries that are subject to weather risks.

“The ultimate goal of the collaboration is to mitigate the negative impact of severe weather and extreme natural hazards on the life of people as well as business activities and to enhance the sustainable development of Malaysia,” said. Prof. Azlan.

Prof. Azlan said that through this collaboration WNI will provide weather data measured by WITH Radar that is worth RM 200,000 per year to UTM.

“WITH Radar was developed using aviation Doppler radar with the latest meteorological technology in order to capture rapidly developing cumulonimbus clouds that often bring damage in the form of sudden torrential thunderstorms, wind gusts and tornados.

“The WITH Radar makes a complete scan of a 50km2 area every 6 seconds and captures precipitation intensity, and the direction and speed of movement of the storm cell in the lower troposphere to capture clouds forming even lower than 2km,” he said.

The scans are also three-dimensional allowing the capture of the development of the clouds as well.

“Data captured by WITH Radar will be used to produce more accurate predictions of weather related disasters such as floods in Malaysia.
This forecast will then be used in various risk communication services and support operations of the nation in taking direct actions to minimize potential weather risk,” he said.
Both UTM and WNI will collaborate to conduct workshops/seminars to private companies and public institutions to utilise the data for disaster mitigation in Malaysia. The data and results will also be used for teaching purposes in UTM.

This Memorandum shall remain in force for 5 years and shall continue to remain in force by mutual agreement between WNI and UTM.

The overall implementation of the project shall be headed by Mr.Yuta Seto or his successor from WNI whereas, the substantive research and development aspects of the Project shall be headed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kasturi Devi Kanniah from UTM or her successor.

The MoU document was signed by UTM’s Vice Chancellor (Development), Prof. Dr. Azlan Abdul Rahman and Mr. Yasushi Shiga, Senior Manager Director & Chief Revenue Officer (Japan & Asia) of WeatherNews Inc. (WNI), Japan.

The ceremony was held at the Faculty of Built Environment & Surveying, UTM Johor Bahru on August 16th, 2018.

Date: 13 August 2018 (Monday)

Location: (9.00 a.m.) Convention Hall, AHIBS; (2.00 p.m.) Meeting Room, ICC

As one of the most prestigious universities in Malaysia, UTM once again accelerates to full throttle in promoting entrepreneurship among its members. Therefore, on 13th August 2018, UTM XCITE in collaboration with the Embassy of the United States of America in Malaysia, has collaborated with Azman Hashim International Business School (AHIBS) in organising the ‘Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship Forum: An experience from Silicon Valley’. Seven illustrious women technology entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley were specially invited as speakers of the forum. The event which was held at the newly officiated building of AHIBS had attracted a number of audiences from diverse backgrounds including lecturers as well as students.

The forum, which was intended to promote technology and social entrepreneurship among the UTM community, was divided into two sessions. The first session delved into the colourful journey as technology entrepreneurs of the invited speakers. The speakers for the first session were Diana Macias (Twitter Inc), Bianca Liederer (Genentech Inc) and Sandra Chen (Facebook Inc). In the second session, the audiences were given the opportunity to listen to three other speakers Rekha Pai Kamath (Fast Forward), Maile Smith (Northgate Enviromental Management) and Erin Keely (Techwomen) discussing on the topic about social entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley from their point of views. At the end of each session, the audiences were allotted times to ask questions. Some of the questions asked by the audiences were about topics ranging from work-and-life balance as  career women, to working experiences in big multinational companies in Silicon Valley.

Both of the sessions were moderated by Dr Aliyu Isah Chikaji. The forum was officiated by Dr Suresh Ramakrishnan, Deputy Dean for Research and Innovation of Azman Hashim International Business School. Tokens of appreciation were presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr Mohd Zaidi Abd Rozan, Director of UTM XCITE accompanied by Dr Ungku Nurul Kamar, Director of Business Admin (AHIBS), to the moderator and invited speakers, marking the end of the forum.

In the afternoon, the guests were invited to a half-day event ‘Science Meets Business’, which was organised by the Innovation and Commercialisation Centre (ICC). Investors, entrepreneurs and researchers as well as lecturers were given opportunities to meet the featured guests, presented their ideas and ventures and to get information and immediate assessment on their products.

The event also comprised the networking session between the participants and the guests before it ended with a short tour around ICC to showcase some of the products commercialised by ICC.

UTM XCITE would like to take this opportunity to thank the Embassy of the United States of America in Malaysia, Azman Hashim International Business School and ICC for their cooperation and support.

Kuala Lumpur, 14 August 2018 – UTM Kuala Lumpur received a courtesy visit from Scientific Counsellor & Director of Iranian Students in Malaysia, East Asia & Australia; Prof. Dr. Abdolhossein Fereidoon and his assistant, Dr. Ali Mirenayat.

His arrival was greeted by Pro-Vice- Chancellor (UTM Kuala Lumpur); Prof. Dr. Shamsul Sahibuddin and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abd Rahman Abdul Rahim from UTM International Kuala Lumpur. Also present were Associate Prof. Dr. Nor Zairah Ab Rahim from Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, while AHIBS and MJIIT were represented by Dr. Suzilawati Kamarudin and Dr. Nor Ruwaida Jamian.

Acting as a representative to the Iran Embassy, Prof. Fereidoon is ever willing to offer a helping hand to see the cooperation between UTM and the Iranian universities materialise. He would like to take this opportunity to collaborate together with UTM which has increasingly known internationally and annually ranks up.

Prof. Shamsul proposed if there is a way to link up between Iran and Japan through MJIIT so that UTM can have a diversity and interaction in academic linkages. He proposed to connect all TNE Assistant Deans to the Iran Embassy.

Delegates were also informed about APAIE 2019 and they requested the materials to be provided for promotional in Iran. It is hoped that UTM will receive and explore more opportunities for cooperation with universities in Iran.

Prof. Dr. Normah, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Haslinda and Assoc. Prof Dr Nazri from FKM ACER RG, UTM, together with Professor Idrus Al-Hamid and Assoc Prof Dr Nasruddin from Universitas Indonesia (UI) were in Japan Air Conditioning and Testing Laboratory (JATL), observing the setting up and test operations of a Daikin heat pump during the week of 6th-11th August 2018.
Except for Prof Haslinda, the participants of the visit were sponsored by Waseda University (WU).  JATL is the first  independent testing  certification laboratory for air conditioners in Japan (ISO/IEC 17025). Currently, JATL does performance tests for air conditioners/heat pumps devices, A/C manufacturer’s testing facilities audit, testing facilities maintenance, overseas training support and research activities.

The heat pump project is the one that Daikin has with Waseda University (WU) Tokyo where WU is now in the process of getting MoAs each between WU and UTM, and UI (also KMUTT Bangkok and University of Philippines) to deliver a heat pump for site tests.

Waseda has graduated many notable alumni, including seven Prime Ministers of Japan, numerous important figures of Japanese literature, including Haruki Murakami, and many CEOs, including Tadashi Yanai, the CEO of UNIQLO, Nobuyuki Idei, the former CEO of Sony, Takeo Fukui, the former President and CEO of Honda, Norio Sasaki, the former CEO of Toshiba, Lee Kun-hee, the Chairman of Samsung Group, Mikio Sasaki, the former Chairman of Mitsubishi, and Hiroshi Yamauchi and Shuntaro Furukawa, former and current Presidents of Nintendo respectively.

If the MoA is settled, a Daikin heat pump will be delivered to UTM by early 2019 and UTM researchers (particularly from Faculty of Engineering) will be able to study the performance among other parameters. At the end of the project, the Daikin heat pump will stay at UTM.

JOHOR BAHRU, 12 August 2018 – About 19 representatives from the Vietnam government agencies, media and universities have visited Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) yesterday.

The delegation was greeted by Pro-Vice Chancellor (International), Prof. Dr. Nordin Yahaya accompanied by Associate Director (Global Strategy and Engagement), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Ismid Mohd Said at the Main Meeting Room, Sultan Ibrahim Chancellery Building.

The visit was arranged and led by Education Malaysia in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The Education Malaysia Familiarization Trip 2018 is the first program arranged to UTM to get to know universities in Malaysia especially UTM as one of the research universities in Malaysia.

The Manager for International Relation, Siti Rahimah Mohd Yusop said that Prof. Dr. Nordin Yahaya considered that this visit is significant in introducing and increasing contact between universities in Malaysia and Vietnam.

“At present,  collaborations between Vietnam Universities and agencies with UTM are already in place and enrollment of Vietnamese students in undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Malaysia has shown a promising number” said Prof. Nordin.

“In this familiarization trip, UTM strengths are showcased and opportunities for more collaborations are offered,” said Siti Rahimah.

The meeting was also attended by the Director of UTM Quality and Risk Management Unit (QRiM) Prof. Dr. Yahaya Md Sam, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamad Kasim Abdul Jalil, Director of Student Recruitment and Admission Division (SRAD), Associate Director (Global Strategy & Engagement), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Ismid Md Said, and Manager (Partnership), UTM International, Dr. Farhana Diana Deris.

6 August 2018: More than 50 students from countries including China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia participated in a training programme by Asia Technological University Network (ATU-Net). In support of the student’s conference of the 16th Asia Pacific Student Services Association International Conference 2018 (APSSA2018) that took place in UTM Kuala Lumpur from 6-10 August 2018, the training programme which was conducted on the first day, provided students opportunities for self-expression and online socialisation to form relationships and create real connections. In the 5-hour training programme, students were exposed to strategies to communicate across cultures on cyberspace, with an emphasis on creating a social media footprint. The programme introduced to the students how technology and language can be integrated to express themselves, create online identity, and project social presence that are necessary for the development of personal branding and engagement in the online context. Working with team members from other countries, the students created a storyboard, outlined their speech script, and rehearsed, recorded and edited their video to express their thoughts and views on global culture online.

Group Photo of ATU-Net Young Talents

The programme was delivered by Dr Nurbiha A Shukor, Manager of Creative Multimedia and Learning Technologies, UTMLead, and Dr Farhana Diana Deris, Manager of Partnership, UTM International, with strong support from staff and lecturers of UTMSPACE, undergraduates and postgraduates from UTM ACES Toastmasters Club and UTM Toastmasters Club, and postgraduates from Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT). For more information about activities by ATU-Net, visit http://www.utm.my/atu-net/

As part of UTM Transnational National Education (TNE) initiative, 12 August 2018 marks the launching of the first UTM Franchise campus abroad. The Qaiwan University-UTM Franchise located at Slemani City of Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

QU is offering four programs within three faculties School of Computing, Azman Hashim International Business School and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The four programs are :
· Bachelor of Computer Science (Software Engineering)
· Bachelor of Computer Science (Computer Network and Security)
· Bachelor of Management (Management Technology)
· Bachelor of Science (Human Resource Development)

QAIWAN UNIVERSITY-UTM FRANCHISE

Lt Col (CD) Mohamad Fazli Sardi, Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics UTM KL postgraduate student, under the supervision of Dr Khamarrul Azahari Razak attended a disaster management conference, “2018 ASEAN Conference and Exposition on Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation (ACEDRMCCA 2018)” from July 25-27, 2018 at Batangas State University, Batangas City, Philippines.

This conference gathered experts and disaster manager partners from Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and also from Philippines.

The delegates from Malaysia were lead by:

(1) Prof Dr Zulkifli Yusof, Dean of Research (Resource Sustainability) UTM JB;

(2) Prof Dr Azlan Adnan, Head of Research Group, Structural Earthquake Engineering Research (SEER) UTM JB;

(3) Dr Nor Eliza Alias,  Senior Lecturer Department of Hydraulics and Hydrology, Faculty of Engineering, Climate Change Research Group UTM JB; and

(4) Lt Col (CD) Mohamad Fazli Sardi, Malaysia Civil Defence Force (MCDF), Geohazard Research Lab Group, UTM Faculty of Technology & Informatics UTM KL.

Malaysia delegates presented topics related to DRM/CCA and further discussed on the conference theme “Converging with the ASEAN Community in Managing Disaster Risks and Climate Change for a Resilient Community”.

We sincerely hope that this international partnership will be useful at the ASEAN level in managing disaster. Part of the concept of Civil Defence Emergency Response Team (CDERT) was presented as well by Lt Col (CD) Mohamad Fazli Sardi.

UTM organized a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Day program on 7 August 2018 to promote benefits of the lifelong learning to the students in Johor. By exposing students to STEM and giving the students opportunities to explore STEM-related activities, they will develop a passion for it and pursue studies in a STEM field. The program was organized in conjunction with the Iskandar Learning Festival 2018 and was attended by the Chairman of the Johor Islamic Affairs and Education Committee, Aminolhuda Hassan and Dean of the UTM Faculty of Science, Prof. Dr. Abdull Rahim bin Hj. Mohd Yusoff.

For more information on STEM programmes, kindly access to website of the Faculty of Science