Adopt a Kampung: STEAM Fun Learning Toy Library

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

August 12, 2018 by 

Dabong, 30 July 2018 – USR Razak: Adopt a Kampung Team had a follow up session with STEAM Fun Learning Toy Library (FLTL) first cohort of pre-school students.  This First FLTL was successfully set-up on 26 February 2016 and handed over to the school principal of Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Geris, Dabong, Kelantan.  Every year the team made a follow-up visit to the school to collect feedback, assess impact and monitor the implementation of the FLTL. This year the team is fortunate to get sponsors for two visits to the premise. The most recent visit was on 30 July 2018, whereby USR Razak: Adopt a Kampung Team was able to kill two birds with one stone – data collection at FLTL and motivation session with Primary 6 UPSR candidates.

To follow-up on the products of our first FLTL, we gathered 7 of the first cohort of young kids who are now in Primary 2. The session with them included a parallel focus group discussion; a male and a female group.  The team also meet up with the 2018 batch of pre-school students from two classes and collected data via interview with the teachers and teachers’ observation checklist. Concurrently, our annual motivation session for Primary 6 UPSR students was carried out in the primary school classroom.

This follow up program involved 4 pre-school teachers, 49 pre-school students, 62 year 6 students, and 7 members of USR Razak: Adopt a Kampung Team from Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics. The half-day program that was conducted at this school was headed by Dr. Habibah @ Norehan Hj. Haron. Meanwhile, the motivation for year 6 students was given by Dr. Rasheed Mohamed Kutty.

Tracking back the origin of this USR team, it started from the catastrophic flood that struck Kelantan in late December 2014. The team selected Kuala Geris as the starting venue for its USR work because of its location in the rural area and the least attention  that they were able to get from other groups to help them face the trauma and repair the damages at the school. Observations and reports given by the headmaster indicated a high number of absentees especially among pre-school students due to the  trauma as a result of the flood.  Therefore, the USR Razak: Adopt a Kampung Team built a fun learning environment, i.e the fun learning  toy library, at the pre-school (2 classrooms) to motivate them to attend school and to inculcate interest in STEM education.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Forum “Is Islamic Finance Relevant?: From Basic To Crypto World”

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

August 12, 2018 by 

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 August 2018: – The financial industry today, including Islamic finance is confronted with a new normal – rapid advances in technology, including digital currency or better known as crypto currency. Significantly, fintech is driving financial services innovation and reshaping consumers’ expectations of financial services. However, the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies has triggered debate among Muslim scholars over its permissibility. In fact, many governments seem ambivalent, worried about the potential for instability.

UTM Azman Hashim International Business School (AHIBS) has invited three prominent speakers in Islamic finance who are Datuk Dr Mohd Daud Bakar from Amanie Advisors, Haji Razli Ramli from Islamic Banking & Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM), and Prof Dr Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman from Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) to share their knowledge and view on Islamic finance and cryptocurrencies. The forum, which entitled “Is Islamic finance relevant?: from basic to crypto world” was held at Dewan Utama, Menara Razak, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Campus on August 4, 2018 at 8.30am.

Other than offering participants with the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of current issues in Islamic Finance such as cryptocurrency and fintech, this forum was part of the UTM Azman Hashim International Business School (AHIBS) initiative to promote and support transfer of knowledge and technology through teaching and research activities especially in the context of business and finance, within the scope of the university. It was also one of the initiatives to promote Master in Business Administration with concentration in Islamic Finance offered by the faculty.

Poster presentation of research findings also took place whereby winners were selected by the panelists and they were awarded with cash prizes and certificate of participation.

UTM fully supports the various initiatives and programs planned with the hope that this program is envisaged to further strengthen and facilitate various other activities between the academia and the industry, particularly in the area of academic and research activities. It would certainly enhance the level of knowledge and skills of all stakeholders involved, and would further elevate the position of Malaysian Universities in general, and UTM in particular, at the global arena.

This program was launched by UTM AHIBS Dean, Prof Dr Nur Naha Abu Mansor and attended by UTM Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Shamsul Shahibuddin, all UTM citizens – lecturers, researchers, staffs, students, as well as industry associates and other IPT staff.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Going from Good to Great

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

August 11, 2018 by 

Since its establishment as a technical school in 1904 and finally a full-fledged university in 1972, UTM has played a pivotal role over the years as the nation’s largest contributor of technical and professional workforce for the local industry, government agencies as well as multinational companies.

Its mission is to be a leader in the development of holistic talents and innovative technologies for universal well-being and prosperity.

UTM is now regarded as Malaysia’s premier institution in engineering, science and technology, and ranked in the top 100 league in the World University Rankings in the field of engineering and technology.

Join us today. Click here for more information

 

Source : FMT News

Filed Under: Uncategorized

UTM praised by the Education Minister

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

August 9, 2018 by 

JOHOR BAHRU, 5 August 2018 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) was praised by the Malaysia Minister of Education, Yang Berhormat (YB) Dr. Maszlee Malik during his official visit to this university for becoming the first public university (UA) to present a comprehensive information to the minister.
According to UTM Rapporteur Dr. Helen Tan Sui Hong, YB Dr. Maszlee in his address said that UTM presentation was unique and it contains information about the university’s achievement.
“YB Dr. Maszlee also stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity, raising the standards and determine our own future based on the autonomy given.

YB Dr. Maszlee Malik (standing in the centre) with Vice Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid Omar and UTM top management.

Dr. Helen Tan said that the minister was also proud of UTM for the achievements of its research and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) collaboration with international partners.
“Besides praising UTM for its research and development (R&D) achievements, Dr Maszlee also applauded this university for its internationalization policy and its ability to branch out internationally to Kurdistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka, among other countries.
“UTM was also encouraged to create an ecosystem of vibrant knowledge generation for this country and also share its experience with others,” said Dr. Helen.
Dr. Maszlee has also expressed his hope that UTM excellent culture can benefit other education providers and together we can produce knowledgeable generation and that UTM can take lead in the reform of Malaysian higher education and also work hand in hand with other universities.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

UTM Town Planning Expert: Environmentally Sustainable Cities? Get the Basics Right!

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

August 3, 2018 by 

Kuala Lumpur, 29 July – UTM Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying (FBES) Senior Lecturer, TPr. Chau Loon Wai, stressed to a 188-strong audience of town planning professionals the importance of getting the basics right if we were to make real progress in building environmentally sustainable cities in Malaysia.  The well received point was made at the PLANMalaysia Expert Talk 2018, themed “Environmentally Sustainable Cities”, which was held on 27 July 2018 at Wisma Tun Sambanthan, Kuala Lumpur.

TPr. Chau appeared as an invited speaker representing the town planning academia alongside three other practising town planners in the expert talk, which was part of a series organised by PLANMalaysia (previously known as the Federal Town and Country Planning Department, JPBDSM), the highest authority overseeing the town and country planning activities in Malaysia.

The expert talk was officiated by the PLANMalaysia Director General, Y.Bhg. Dato’ TPr. Hjh. Rokibah Abdul Latif and attended by 188 town planners from the Federal and State level PLANMalaysia offices, local authorities, private practices as well as the academia.

In his 30-minute sharing entitled “Environmentally Sustainable Cities? Getting there means getting the basics right!”, TPr. Chau got the audience to take a hard look at the actual current state of (un)sustainability of Malaysian cities despite countless well-intent efforts spanning at least two-and-half decades by town planners.  He then asserted that environmental sustainability is not only about having the right intention and proposing big concepts but is importantly about getting back to the basics, of dealing with issues in real places involving real people.  He stressed the need to go beyond “sustainababble” and begin implementing small, direct actions in places that would yield real positive impacts on people’s quality of life, for example of delivering urban environments that are friendly to children, the elderly, women and people with disability (PWD).

The talk was concluded with the highlighting of the importance of urban design in advancing environmental sustainability; of integrating planning and design across the national, state and local levels; as well as of involving in a deep way the people for and with whom we plan.

As Co-Director of the UTM-Low Carbon Asia Research Centre (UTM-LCARC) and Associate Research Fellow of the Centre for Innovative Planning and Development (CIPD), Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, TPr. Chau also took the opportunity to briefly share with the audience major accomplished and on-going research works of the centres and stated UTM’s commitment to continuously collaborating with PLANMalaysia and the Malaysian planning profession towards contributing to better urban and regional planning.

  

Filed Under: Uncategorized

More business supportive ecosystem to produce successful entrepreneurial graduates

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

August 3, 2018 by 

JOHOR BAHRU, 22 July 2018 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) is committed to produce more successful entrepreneurs. Some of the startups that were founded by either UTM staff or students that have made it to the news including international exposure recently are DF Automation & Robotics, Rundcloud, Charby and a few others.
However, there is still a big gap to produce sufficient successful companies in this region. Thus, UTM should provide a more supportive business ecosystem if it wants to produce more successful entrepreneurs from its graduates.

Commenting on this matter, researchers, academicians and UTM robotics entrepreneurs, Dr. Yeong Chee Fai said in order to ensure the success of this agenda, UTM must be brave to take bold steps and make major changes to several matters.
Dr Yeong who was met at his office today has highlighted five steps namely to publish the past graduate entrepreneurs success stories, reduce focus to pursue the international university rating systems, brush up new talent, simplify the policy of product commercialization and to work more closely with industrial partners.

Dr. Yeong said that the international university rating system might be unrealistic as it is based on the quantity of research and publications that sometimes do not meet local requirements.

“In order to gain a special position in the international rating system, there are a lot of things to be prepared and looked into by the participating universities such as research and publications.

“What’s the point of having so many research and publications while at the same time you cannot use your research findings to solve local problems and producing positive impact on Malaysians in general,” he said.

As a result of this policy practised earlier, many research projects final reports usually end up in the form of paperwork as well as compilation of adverse reports and being stored in the library for reference and viewing purposes.

“We cannot deny the importance of fundamental research for mankind but we should also put our resources on the application of research. There must be a balance between fundamental and applied research.

UTM should also begin to start polishing existing talents as well as intensifying efforts to find and train new talents in this entrepreneurial field.

“More entrepreneurial competitions and seminars should be organized to identify and groom as many new talents as possible” said Dr. Yeong.

Mentioning about the commercialization of the research product, Dr. Yeong said that it is essential for the products to be pushed for commercialization as some of them may worth millions of ringgit.

“For the sake of commercialization, I suggest that the university should not be too rigid with the commercialization policy. By loosening this policy and not relying heavily on the practice of patenting the product, more win-win situations can be created to provide more spaces to the industry in going for product commercialization, “he said.

He also pointed out that the industrial relation should be strengthened as only those parties are aware of current demand for products in the market.

“Collaboration with the industry is also needed not only in our efforts to commercialize our products but also to guide UTM students who will become successful entrepreneurs.

“To make this agenda a reality, I see that UTM needs to have an entrepreneurial entity or committee consisting of industry players, researchers and professional instructors,” he said.

This is to enable the future development of prospective entrepreneurs from UTM to be carried out more effectively and in line with the current needs of the local industry while maintaining the scholarly values of a university.

Apart from serving as a senior lecturer at the School of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Yeong is also engaged in manufacturing and installing robots for industrial use.

Dr. Yeong with his team from DF Automation
Filed Under: Uncategorized

UTMLead was selected as one of the mentors for Open Education for Better World project by UNESCO

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

August 3, 2018 by 

Slovenia, 2 July 2018 – Dr. Nurbiha A Shukor, the UTM Open Education Resource Manager from UTMLead has volunteered to be one of the mentors and was selected among 12 other mentors for the Open Education for Better World Project (OE4BW). The OE4BW is initiated by UNESCO to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 4 which is to provide Quality Education for better world.

This project gathers applicants who want to develop open education resources and who need mentors to assist the development of OER. UTM is the only representative from Malaysia to be the volunteered mentor for the project. Among other countries in the project include Brazil, China, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, India, Nigeria, Malawi, Mauritius, Netherlands, Peru, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Canada, Fiji, India, Italy, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, USA and Uzbekistan. The project ran from January until July 2018. During this period, the mentees and mentors met online through Skype to discuss the proposed project that the mentees would like to develop. Dr Nurbiha’s project was about developing Open Education Resources for Statistics and Probability for Asia Pacific with her mentee Bibhya Sharma from Fiji.

More information about the project can be accessed at: http://unesco.ijs.si/project/open-education-resources-oer-for-statistic-and-probability-in-pacific/

Moreover, on 2nd until 7th July 2018, all the mentees and mentors were invited and gathered for the first time to meet face-to-face  at University of Nova Gorica, Vipava, Slovenia and undergone a series of workshop on developing OER and to present their proposed project to the organizing committee and all the project members. The same project will open another round of application in 2019 which aims at inviting more applicants and more OER projects to support SDG 4 of UNESCO.

Third from left, Dr Nurbiha A. Shukor, the UTM Open Education Resource Manager
from UTMLead receiving certificate from OE4BW, UNESCO

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Dynamic Collaboration with Ilam University in the Horizon

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

July 31, 2018 by 

From left: Dr Parviz Bagheri, Prof Dr Kamaruzaman Yusoff, AP Dr Siavash Yari, Dr Mansoureh Ebrahimi and Dr Abdullah Mohd Nawi
A delegation from the Literature & Humanities Faculty from Iran’s Ilam University paid a courtesy visit to the UTM’s Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH) yesterday. The delegation comprised of Associate Prof. Dr. Siavash Yari, the Dean of the faculty, and Dr. Parviz Bagheri, Assistant Prof. for the faculty and legal advisor for Ilam University, with the UTM’s Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities represented by Dr. Abdullah Mohd Nawi, Assistant Dean for External and Global Engagement, along with Prof. Dr. Kamaruzaman Yusoff and Dr Mansoureh Ebrahimi from FSSH’s Islamic Civilisation Academy.
In the discussion, the preliminary details of an MOU between Ilam University and UTM were discussed, with some of the potential collaboration being the areas of research, inbound and outbound staff mobility, and the sharing of expertise. This collaboration between the two universities signifies a significant step in the academic collegiality between Malaysia and the enigmatic Persian nation.
The visit comes at an opportune time when the faculty, in line with the UTM’s direction in the its Global Plan, is actively looking to expand its network and opportunities for collaboration with industry and global education players.
UTM, and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities invites any university or company to pay us a visit and discuss any avenue where we can affect positive mutually beneficial change.
For more enquiries with regard to the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, please contact Dr Abdullah Mohd Nawi, Assistant Dean (External & Global Engagement) at: abdullahmnawi@utm.my.
Note: The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities is the result of a merger between five faculties and centres in what is called the Synergy 4.0 restructuring of the university. These faculties are now schools within the central faculty, and they are the i) School of Education; ii) School of Human Resource and Psychology (SHARP); iii) Islamic Civilisation Academy; iv) Language Academy; and v) Centre for Advanced Studies on Islam, Science and Civilisation (CASIS). The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities is headed by Dean Prof Dr Muhammad Sukri bin Saud.
Filed Under: Uncategorized

United States Naval Academy (USNA) Visit Coastal and Offshore Engineering Institute (COEI) and Ocean Thermal Energy Centre (OTEC)

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

July 30, 2018 by 

Kuala Lumpur, 12 July 2018 – UTM Kuala Lumpur received a courtesy visit from Prof Dr. Brad Barret with his (4) midshipmen from United States Naval Academy (USNA). In conjunction for their Language, Regional Expertise and study tour in Malaysia, they took the opportunity to visit UTM Kuala Lumpur. Delegates were accompanied by Ms. Fiona Teo from U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

In the meeting, USNA was brought to COEI headed by Dr. Zulkifli Ismail as Director, Prof. Ahmad Khairi Abd Wahab and PM Ir. Dr. Mohd Fadhil Md Din and OTEC were represented by Dr. Sathiabama Thirugnana and Dr. Rahayu Tasnim.

They shared information on consultancy projects that they are heading, the research facilities available, latest development on coastal engineering, marine sustainability in Malaysia and opportunity for students to do internship related to oceanography.

UTM Kuala Lumpur hoped that the meeting will be the starting point for future cooperation.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Newton Fund (UK-SEA-NUOF) Progress: Visit to University of York, UK

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

July 29, 2018 by 

A research team from UTM under the sponsorship of Newton Fund, led by Dr. Chong Chun Shiong (Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science), visited the Centre for Novel and Agricultural Products (CNAP), Department of Biology, University of York, UK from 30th June to 6th July 2018.

The purpose of this visit was to update the progress of research between Malaysia and the UK side, to visit the recent advance technology facilities in biotechnology and to build up a long term relationship for future collaboration.

The previous progress of Newton Fund was updated in May 2018 too (https://news.utm.my/2018/05/newton-fund-uk-sea-nuof-progress-a-workshop-between-university-of-york-uk-and-utm/)

The visit was warmly hosted by Professor Neil Bruce, the Principal Investigator of the project from the UK side, as well as all the researchers involved in this project.

The visit was divided into 2 parts: research progress workshop and visit to Technology Facility of Biology Department as well as Biorenewable Development Centre (BDC) of University of York.

 

Photo 1: A total of 21 researchers gathered under one roof. UK team – Prof. Neil Bruce (York), Prof. Simon McQueen-Mason (York), Prof. Lindsay Stringer (Leeds), Dr. Nicola Oates (York), Dr. Susannah Bird (York), Dr. Leonardo Gomez (York), Mr. Daniel Leadbeater (York), Ms. Juliana Sanchez (York), Dr. Deborah Rathbone (BDC), Dr. Joseph Bennett (BDC) and Mr. Alex Setchfield (BDC). Malaysian team (UTM) – Dr. Chong Chun Shiong, Dr. Adibah Yahya, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Madihah Md Salleh, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zainura Zainon Noor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Goh Kian Mau, Prof. Dr. Zaharah Ibrahim, Mr. Lam Ming Quan, Ms. Nurshafika Abd Khalid, Ms. Sharvini Siva Raman and Mr. Kevin Jaffery.

 

During the research progress workshop, all the UK researchers, UTM researchers and students involved in this project were required to present their progress.

As this project is mainly aimed to build up the capacity and capabilities of Malaysians in terms of research, Malaysian students are working collectively with the UK research team.

For instance, Mr. Lam Ming Quan (Supervisor: Dr. Chong Chun Shiong), came a few weeks earlier for his data analysis before the visit, and they are working together with Dr. Nicola Oates and Dr. Susannah Bird, co-supervised by Prof. Neil Bruce from University of York.

Besides, Ms. Sharvini Siva Raman (Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zainura Zainon Noor) are guided by Prof. Lindsay Stringer (University of Leeds, UK).

The discussion during the workshop was fruitful and potentially benefit the Malaysian team in terms of scientific knowledge and waste management.

 

Photo 2: Dr. Chong Chun Shiong introduced the project overview and current progress.

 

After the workshop, the Malaysian team had explored the working environment in the department and was introduced to advance facilities in Technology Facility of Department of Biology, including Illumina sequencer for -omics studies, various microscopes, bioreactors and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

Just a day before the Malaysian team leave, they were brought to Biorenewable Development Centre (BDC) (http://www.biorenewables.org/), a company with an open-access R&D centre, based at the University of York, working at the interface between academia and industry to convert plants, microbes and biowastes into profitable biorenewable products.

BDC is the link between the industry and the university, and it functions to fulfil the needs of both sides, and this is what lacking in Malaysia.

Experience sharing from BDC provides new insights to the Malaysian team.

 

Photo 3: Visit to Technology Facility, Department of Biology, University of York.

 

The visit ended successfully, and the relationship built is not going to end here; instead, a new chance might arise from this project.

The Newton Fund research team would like to express their gratitude to all the parties involved for allowing this visit to be held smoothly.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

UTM’s participation in the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

July 23, 2018 by 

Two UTM faculty members of the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Centre (DPPC) of the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), Professor Dr. Aminaton Binti Marto and Dr. Faizah Che Ros, accompanied by JICA Expert and Associate Professor Dr. Shohei Matsuura, participated in the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia as members of the Malaysian government delegation.

AMCDRR, organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) from 3rdto 6th July 2018, has brought together over 3,000 high-level officials, researchers and practitioners in the field of disaster risk reduction (DRR) from the Asia-Pacific region to discuss the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR: 2015-2030), the global agenda for DRR.

During the conference, Dr. Faizah Che Ros presented on MJIIT’s disaster program and how its education/professional training, research and field activity programs have been contributing in building disaster resilience in the Malaysian societies in close cooperation with government agencies including the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA), Malaysia Civil Defense Force (APM) and Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID).

Professor Aminaton and Dr. Faizah also made a courtesy call to Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia during the conference in Ulaanbaatar. The Deputy Prime Minister expressed strong interest in the Master of Disaster Risk Management (MDRM) and Certified Professional Training (CPT) programs and acknowledging the benefits of strong partnership with Japanese universities for human capacity building for DRR in Malaysia.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

MJIIT receives a visit from Japanese Foreign Affairs Ministry

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

July 22, 2018 by 

KUALA LUMPUR, 11 July 2018 – The Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has received a courtesy visit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
The visiting team was headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, His Excellency (HE) Mr. Taro Kono and accompanied by Ambassador of Japan to Malaysia, HE Dr. Makio Miyagawa.

The International Liaison Coordinator of MJIIT, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhayati Abdullah said that Mr. Kono met with the Dean of MJIIT, Prof. Dr. Ali Selamat to have some discussion about close cooperation between the two parties.
“Both of them have met and discussed close cooperation in Japanese-oriented education following the meeting between the Malaysian and Japanese Prime Ministers on 12 June 2018 in the capital of Japan, Tokyo.

“They briefly discussed the distinctive working culture and holistic Japanese-oriented engineering education approach in programme offerings at MJIIT which Prof. Ali has expressed heartiest gratitude to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the assistance rendered in ensuring successful and sustainable growth of MJIIT since its establishment in 2010,” she said.

HE Kono was pleased to be informed that MJIIT receives collegial suport from 29 well- established Japanese Universities Consortium (JUC) as well as other international universities fostering greater cooperation in high-impact research and academic endeavors.
“It is the desire of MJIIT to produce knowledgeable human capital towards the advancement and development of state-of-the-art technology and processes while safeguarding the environment which was reflected in the Second Phase of the G-to-G project between both governments respectively,” she said.

In his presentation, Prof. Ali elaborated on the First Phase of the G-to-G project between the Governments of Malaysia and Japan, which was initiated for the period of 2010 until 2017 whilst the Second Phase of the Project will continue from 2018 until 2023.
The Second Phase Project aims to strengthen the Japanese-oriented Engineering Education and research at MJIIT through cooperation with Japanese Universities and industrial partners.

In this regards, MJIIT hopes to develop human resources and capacity building that will in the future contribute to the industrial sector of neighboring ASEAN countries.

“In view of strengthening the cooperation in education between both countries, HE Kono enquired on information related to graduates employability, percentage of graduates working in Japanese companies upon graduation and the level of Japanese language proficiency of the students.

“The courtesy call provided not only an avenue for HE Kono to meet MJIIT representatives but also an opportunity for both sides to share and exchange views on issues of common interest,” she said.

The courtesy call to MJIIT was concluded by HE Kono visiting the Microscopy Laboratory and Tribology and Precision Machining iKohza laboratory, which were established with the support by JICA and the Professors from Japanese universities.

The courtesy visit was also attended by YBhg. Prof. Dr. Shamsul Sahibuddin, Pro Vice Chancellor, UTM Kuala Lumpur and YBhg. Prof. Dr. Arham Abdullah, Director, Industrial Linkages Division, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education Malaysia.

From left, Prof. Dr. Shamsul Sahibuddin, Pro Vice Chancellor, UTM Kuala Lumpur, HE Taro Kano and Dean of MJIIT, Prof. Dr. Ali Selamat during the visit at Microscopy Laboratory and Tribology and Precision Machining iKohza laboratory, MJIIT UTM Kuala Lumpur.
Filed Under: Uncategorized

Visionary, Strategic and Transformational Leadership – a leadership talk series by Tan Sri Siti Saadiah

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

July 19, 2018 by 

JOHOR BAHRU, 18 July 2018 – Leadership is about inspiring and influencing people, and not about titles, position or followers.

There are three types of leaders which are Visionary, Strategic, and Transformational.

To enable the organization’s transformation to occur smoothly and neatly, the highest leadership within it should have the abilities to manage, to clarify issues arising, to communicate with subordinates and also to highlight positive images.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Pro-Chancellor, Tan Sri Saadiah Sheikh Bakir said that in addition to having the above leadership features, organizational leaders must also train themselves to have a futuristic and insightful, transformative, risk-taking attitude and be willing to change the game ‘rhythm’ according to the situation.

“When it is said to be futuristic and visionary, they must be able to predict the future as if they have a magic crystal ball ahead of them as well as reforming the staff serving under them in line with the desired changes.

“In line with the ever-changing world, these leaders must always ensure that they are positive and have high level of commitment to move according to the pace of change even if they are at risk,” she said.

These organizational leaders must also be able to inspire subordinates and be able to influence others to accept their views and ideas in order to solve problems.

She said this when giving a speech entitled ‘Visionary, Strategic and Transformational Leadership’ at the Senate Hall, Sultan Ibrahim Chancellory Building,  UTM Johor Bahru.

The talk was also attended by UTM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid Omar and also UTM Registrar, Dato Wan Zawawi Wan Abdul Rahman.

Tan Sri Siti Saadiah further mentioned the leadership qualities that must be avoided in order to prevent the fall of an organization.

“There are five characteristics of a leader that must be avoided to prevent destruction to any organization.

The characteristics are Maharajas, Dinosours, Superman, The Boss and Oscar Winners.

“A Maharaja is a leader who practices one-way communication and practices centralized control systems while a Dinosour showcases a leadership style that is burdensome to top management and is filled with complicated bureaucracy and hierarchical in nature,” she said.

On the other hand, Superman is characterized by a leader who takes the approach to solving organizational problems on his own and does not trust the subordinates to carry out the task.

“Leaders who practice this style also do not care about the roll-out of governance to enable the organization to continue to exist and be relevant to the community,” she said.

Tan Sri Saadiah also pointed out that leaders should not adopt The Boss attitude which stick to the theory of Labor-Relations.

She said that this style applies the master-servant relationship which might not be suitable to some organizations having employees of various age groups.

“In an open and transparent organizational setting of today, subordinates should also be involved together through discussions on future organizational direction.

Tan Sri Saadiah said it was not necessary for top management to be an Oscar winner-type of  leader who is only surrounded by workers who are always ‘Yes Man’ to the boss.

Such an attitude, she said, would only contribute to the destruction of the organization in the long run as the top management might think that they have done the best, and everything is fine while what is happening is the opposite.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

UTM Researchers bag 1st Prize in the 2018 Elsevier 3D Printing Grand Challenge

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

July 18, 2018 by 

JOHOR BAHRU, 15 July 2018 – The working paper titled “Integration and fabrication of the cheap ceramic membrane through 3D printing technology” written by researchers from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Centre for Low Carbon Transport or LoCARtic, School of Mechanical Engineering have recently been awarded the first prize in the 3D Printing Grand Challenge organized by Elsevier Publisher.

The award comes with USD15, 000.00 prize money and certificates. The paper was also published in the Materials Today Communications under the Elsevier journal Materials Today.

The UTM researchers who worked on the paper are Mr. Lim Chin Hwa – a UTM Master’s graduate, Dr. Uday M. Basheer Al-Naib, Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Alias Mohd. Noor and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Srithar Rajoo – from UTM LoCARtic, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhayati Ahmad and Dr. Khidzir Zakaria – from the School of Mechanical Engineering.

The Elsevier 3D Printing Grand Challenge aims to support innovative ideas and solutions using additive manufacturing technology to advance healthcare, education, clean water, food, energy, transportation, and heavy manufacturing while protecting our natural environment and human well-being.

This competition was open to individuals or organizations from academia and industry from all countries. Projects were submitted from any field where additive manufacturing / 3D printing techniques are applicable, and the papers were reviewed by a Panel of Judges.

Team leader, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Srithar Rajoo said that the research conducted by the UTM team was successful in developing a ceramic membrane for water filtration with 3D printing technology.

“The research was compatible with 3D printing process and this will accelerate the development of 3D printing methods from prototyping to use very cheap materials in manufacturing as well as to enhance the opportunity for timely entry into the commercial marketplace.

“UTM research team has further concluded that the 3D printing technology provides an alternative way to produce an efficient ceramic membrane for water filtration. They are capable to manufacture the membrane without the need of tooling and machining,” said Dr. Srithar.

The 3D printed ceramic membranes are functional, economical and sustainable, providing a commercial value due to its low cost and ability to comply with the strict regulations for water pollution control.

UTM has a strong background in the 3D printing research. As such, in 2017 the School of Mechanical Engineering was assigned to support the UTM 4.0 in teaching by utilizing the 3D printing technology in various areas of teaching and research activities.

This award is one of the achievements for UTM researchers moving in the right direction to become leaders in their areas.

The Winning Team from Left : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhayati Ahmad, Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Alias Mohd. Noor, Dr. Khidzir bin Zakaria, Dr. Uday M. Basheer Al-Naib, Associate Professor Dr. Srithar Rajoo.
Filed Under: Uncategorized

UTM Won 12 prizes from 16 Categories in Innovate Malaysia Design Competition

Posted on September 6, 2018 ·

July 17, 2018 by 

CYBERJAYA, 9 July 2018 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) achieved a tremendous victory by winning 12 prizes out of 16 categories in the Innovate Malaysia Design Competition 2018.

Director of UTM Centre for Student Innovation & Technology Entrepreneurship (UTM XCITE), Assoc. Prof. Dr Zaidi Rozan said four UTM teams emerged champion, two teams won the 1st place, four teams won the 2nd runner-up and another two teams grabbed the consolation prizes.

“This year, the Best of the Best team is also won by UTM, and the team has been awarded the Innovate Malaysia Excellence Award 2018. The team, spearheaded by Lim Ji Chen, Chin Linn Kern and Matthias Tiong Foh Thye focusing on problems in construction sites mainly on Workplace Safety and Security using Deep Learning Application has won the Excellence Award (Best of the Best) and First Prize Award under Google Track,” he said.

Innovate Malaysia Design Competition 2018 is a multi-disciplinary engineering design competition for undergraduates in Malaysia. It was co-organized by 8 technology leaders in the industry, supported by the Ministry of Education (MOE), MaGIC and the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia.

“This has been the largest design competition in Malaysia over the years. It is a platform to groom and develop engineering talent besides providing industry exposures to the university students.

Briefly, this programme prepares the brightest talents into the pursuit of fulfilling careers, furthering studies or even technology start-ups,” he said.
The Innovate Malaysia Design Competition 2018 had received registration of 516 teams consisting of more than 900 students. Only 59 teams were selected as the finalist including 12 UTM teams.

The Technology Track Award is supported by Google, Intel, KEYSIGHT Technologies, MathWorks, Microsoft, SAS, SILTERRA, SOLIDWORKS and Celcom, Cyberview, Daikin, Exabytes, Telekom Malaysia and in addition, WCS contributed to the Design Challenge Award.

From left: Assoc. Prof. Dr Zaidi Rozan, Lim Ji Chen, Dr Maszlee Malik (Education Minister of Malaysia), Chin Linn Kern and Matthias Tiong Foh Thye at Innovate Design Malaysia 2018 Cyberjaya.
Best of the Best Excellence Award and Google Track Champion. From left: Dr Mohd Shahrizal Bin Rusli (School of Electrical Engineering), Assoc. Prof. Dr Ramesh K S @ Mohd Zaidi Abd Rozan (UTMXCITE/AHIBS), Lim Ji Chen, Chin Linn Kern and Matthias Tiong Foh Thye from School of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering.

 

Winners of Innovate Malaysia 2018. UTM grabbed the most prizes in Innovate Malaysia 2018 with 12 prizes including the Excellence Award (Best of the Best) in Innovate Malaysia 2018
Filed Under: Uncategorized