UTM Faculty of Engineering hosted a two-day International Research Grant Workshop. More than 10 speakers shared their own experiences in securing international grants from all over the world. The event intended to expose seasoned as well as new researchers towards the availability of various grants offered by overseas government and private institutions. Participants of the event consisted of all research group (RG) representatives and selected centre-of-excellence (CoE) members. In total, there were more than 150 participants who turned up to this short workshop. They came from diverse fields of engineering schools in UTM such as Civil, Electrical, Chemical, Mechanical, Biomedical and Computing. The event exhibited collaboration among the schools under Faculty of Engineering since the recent launch of synergy by the university.

 

The eye-opening event took place at UTM Talent Transformation Centre (TTC) from 19th to 20th of December 2018. The 2-day sharing session covered the overview in applying international grant from Europe, Middle East and Asian countries. Through the advantage of synergy, international grant research champions were gathered in one event. European grants kicked off the sharing sessions led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tan Cher Siang (Euraxess) and his team members Dr. Norhaida Suaib (EU, France PHC Hibiscus), Dr. Ismail Fauzi Isnin (Germany, DAAD), Prof. Dr. Azmi Aris (UK GCRF), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ir. Ahmad A’athif (Switzerland Networking Grant, SEED grant) and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Shahizan (TWAS).
After the afternoon break, the sharing session were continued by Prof. Dr. Radzuan, Ir. Dr. Mohd Zaidi, Prof. Kamal Rahim, and Prof. Dr. Awaluddin for Middle East grants. Apart from various real experiences discovered by these international grant champions, participants were also given the chance to post any query about the respective grants. The event continued on the second day with the sharing of experiences from Japanese, Korean, Indian and Chinese grants. The grant champion for the region was Prof. Dr. Aishah Abd Jalil.

 

The event surely had broadened the view of UTM’s Faculty of Engineering academic staffs and postgraduate researchers. The event not only can be considered as awareness program regarding various international grants, but also as one of the first gatherings attended by all six schools post synergy implementation. The organizing committee under the stewardship of Prof. Dr. Naomie Salim, the Deputy Dean (Research & Innovation), Faculty of Engineering hoped that this event will yield fruitful results, especially in terms of fund granted to UTM from international bodies.

SUBANG JAYA, 4 December 2018 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) spin off company, ACTS Smart Solutions Sdn Bhd was awarded Best Researcher Award and Best Project Award by the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asia or ASEAN NCAP.
The ceremony was held at Summit Hotel, USJ in conjunction with the 2nd Conference of ASEAN Road Safety 2018 (CARS2018),officiated by Malaysian Minister of Transport, YB Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
The project entitled “Child Restraint Systems (CRS) Reference List for ASEAN NCAP” was funded by ASEAN NCAP Collaborative Holistic Research (ANCHOR) and participated by 14 Universities around ASEAN region.
The Team Leader, Dr Nurulakmar Abu Husain from Faculty of Engineering together with Dr Noor Irza Mohd Zaki and Siti Mahirah Che Hussin from Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics have been working closely with a team from Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) and ASEAN NCAP.
Dr. Nurulakmar said that ACTS Smart Solutions Sdn. Bhd. has been working closely with personnel from MIROS ASEAN NCAP Operationalization Unit (ANOU) for the period of nine months to review the protocol.
“The MIROS team which include Mr Yahaya Ahmad and Ir Dr Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim have been working together with us throughout the 9-month duration of the project to establish a systematic revision process to update the CRS Reference List for the ASEAN NCAP Child Occupant Protection protocol,” said Dr. Nurul.
Dr. Nurulakmar was saying this after the prize-giving ceremony  by YB Minister of Transport.
In addition to this significant contribution to the ASEAN NCAP protocol, ACTS Smart Solutions Sdn Bhd also produces other outputs of the project including two impactful research articles and three registered Intellectual Property Rights.

A standard Crisis Management Plan should be drafted by the Malaysian government to help mitigate the damage and loss of human lives if the country is hit by an earthquake. Expert from the Center of Tropical Geoengineering of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) or Geotrophic, Prof. Ir. Dr. Hj. Ramli Nazir said it was important for a country like Malaysia to prepare for this catastrophe. The high degree of scientific and engineering skills is also a major factor in the success of critical disaster crisis management.

“Through the experience of conducting research in Central Sulawesi where the earthquake and tsunami struck, many damages occurred due to a low level of preparedness among the people of the country.
“The government must play a role in making technical preparation and also providing education on earthquake prevention to the people to be ready, and to be in the most preparatory and tranquil conditions,” he said.
Prof. Ramli had previously departed for Palu, Indonesia to conduct an examination of the earth movements after the signal was picked up by the National Center for Earthquake Studies (PusGen) Indonesia.
While he was there, he had witnessed many property damages and loss of human life as a result of being unprepared. The Palu District in the Sumatra Islands was hit by the earthquake and tsunami on September 28, 2018.
“The 6.1 magnitude foreshock occurred at 15:00 local time while the 7.5 magnitude earthquake later in the evening caused severe destruction in Palu, Donggala and Sigi, destroying several homes and hospitals, a shopping center, a mosque, a church, a hotel and a road bridge.
“At least 2,100 people were confirmed dead after the disaster and more than 10,000 others injured, of which 4,612 were seriously injured,” said Prof. Ramli.
On the evening of 28 September, earthquakes followed by a tsunami struck Palu city. Indonesian authorities stated that at least 200 survivors in Palu were evacuated with a Hercules C-130 to Makassar, some for further medical treatment.
Nearly 17,000 people in Palu had been displaced by the earthquake and tsunami. The Data, Information and Public Relations Center of Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management stated that around 2.4 million people were affected by the earthquake and tsunami.
“In Donggala, the victims could not be accounted for due to limited access and downed communication lines. In the next days, emergency workers arrived in the city. The impact on the city was deadly, causing many victims could not be accounted for.
“The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management stated that Sigi Regency was among the area with the most casualties. Reports from Petobo revealed that “dozens of people” were killed by the earthquake, “he said.
There were also reports of “massive liquefaction” which caused homes to be swept away. Officials also reported that numerous earthquakes with magnitude of over 5.0 had struck Sigi continuously, damaging more buildings and structures.
Ramli said that the heavy casualties of human lives and properties was because there was no contingency plans available to combat such an incident.
“The  potential attack in Malaysia is very high based on the earthquake historic timeline of the peninsular Malaysia and also to East Malaysia.

“It is very important for us to have such a contingency plan or earthquake disaster management crisis plan to help us to overcome or at least reduce the losses inflicted by the disaster itself,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR, 4 Dec : Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) held its annual Academia-Industry Gala Night at the Grand Banquet Hall, UTMKL Residensi  to honour its longstanding friendship and the flourishing partnership between the two entities.

The theme chosen for the evening was aptly named as  “Building an Alliance, Advancing Partnership” to signify UTM’s full commitment in synergizing with its industry and corporate organization partners for the long run.

In an era of interdependence, UTM foresees the importance of partnerships to ensure its relevancy and ability to be the source of new knowledge and innovation, and to become providers of skilled personnel and credible credentials, as well as contributors to innovation, attracting international talents and business investments.

All these aspects are significant in driving our nation’s economic growth and elevating the livelihood of the community.

Currently, UTM has more than 2,137 industrial linkages and the evening was a platform to recognize and acknowledge the contribution of all its industry collaborators and corporate organisations in driving the progress of UTM.

In the spirit of energizing the quintuple helix model, a model that aims to bring together the government, academia, industry, civil society and the natural environment, UTM, together with other stakeholders have developed and collaborated on impactful sustainable programmes.

The gala night was officiated by Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali, Chairman to UTM Board of Directors and attended by 105 industry representatives from 55 corporate organizations.

The night was made memorable by a special performance by Tan Sri Azman Hashim, the Chairman of AmBank together with the UM Big Band.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Among the award recipients during the dinner were:-

Research Category

(i)            PETRONAS RESEARCH SDN BHD

Corporation Excellence Award

(ii)          BAKTI SUCI SOLUTIONS SDN BHD

SME Excellence Award

Endowment Category

(i)            YAYASAN AZMAN HASHIM

Endowment Contribution Excellence Award (Endowed)

(ii)          MAHA PERSADA CAPITAL SDN BHD

Endowment Contribution Excellence Award (Expendable)

Academic Category

(i)            COUNTRY GARDEN PACIFIC VIEW SDN BHD

Graduate Employer Excellence Award

(ii)          ERICSSON MALAYSIA

Academic Talent Development Excellence Award

Alumni Relation

(i)            KLIA PREMIER HOLDINGS SDN BHD

Commitment & Linkages Excellence Award

(ii)          Q-BENA RESOURCES SDN BHD

Smart Partnership Excellence Award

Corporate Social Responsibility

(i)          CIMB Foundation

Knowledge & Technology Transfer Excellence Award

Special Awards

(i)          INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PETRONAS

Best R&D Industry Cooperation Award

(ii)        INSTITUTE OF NOISE AND VIBRATION

Best UTM Centre of the Year Award (Industrial Collaboration)

(iii)        YAYASAN AZMAN HASHIM

Best Industry of the Year Award

ASEAN University Network/Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network (AUN/SEED-Net), which started in 2003 mainly supported by the Japanese Government through Japan international Cooperation Agency (JICA), has been making significant contributions, particularly in promoting higher education in the field of engineering through its various efforts – grants, industrial linkages and conferences. To date, AUN/SEED-Net has 26 member institutions form 10 ASEAN countries with assistance from 14 Japanese supporting universities.

The recent 11^th Regional Conference on Computer and Information Engineering (RCCIE 2018) with the theme “Sharpening the contribution of Computer Engineering and Telematics in Smart City to improve the quality of Human Life”, held from 26-27 November 2018 in JW Marriot, Surabaya, Indonesia, was an AUN/SEED-Net event that invited and sponsored researchers from member institutions to present their scientific results. This conference was jointly-organised with the International Conference on Computer Engineering, Network and Intelligent Multimedia 2018 (CENIM 2018) organized by the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS). Out of 61 submitted papers, 38 papers were accepted for presentations at RCCIE 2018. All presented papers will be included in the ASEAN Engineering Journal (AEJ).

The sponsorships were awarded to 21 recipients from various ASEAN countries, which cover conference fees, airfare, and 3-night accommodation. Two UTM recipients are Dr Masitah Ghazali (School of Computing) and Dr Dyah Ekashanti Octorina Dewi (School of Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences), Faculty of Engineering. Dr Masitah presented a paper on “Creating Awareness of Energy Consumption via Peripheral Display”, where the project combines the Internet of Things (IoT) technology and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Dr Dyah shared her findings through her paper entitled, “CT Lung Parenchyma Selective Segmentation with Threshold-based Connected Component Labeling” as a part of her clinical research on Pulmonary Structural Characterization for Cardiothoracic imaging models.

This AUN/SEED-Net conference has successfully provided a platform for researchers and academicians from ASEAN member countries to share knowledge and establish future potential work collaborations. We would like to thank AUN/SEED-Net for the opportunity and  we also hope to organize a similar event in UTM, with a special focus on biomedical engineering.

Dr Dyah (left), Dr Masitah (right)

With one of keynote speakers, Prof. Masahiro Inoue (far left), AUN/SEED-Net recipient fellows from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, program officers (third and forth from left), and conference chair, Dr. I Ketut Eddy Purnama (forth from right), during social program after Laboratory visit to ITS.

JOHOR BAHRU, 30 November 2018 – The Secretariat of Pesta Tanglung, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), in collaboration with the Student Representative Council, has organized The Mooncake Festival and Cultural Night 2018 from 30 November to 1 December at Laman Menanti, Tasik Ilmu, here.
With the theme, “Quintessence of Chinese Culture”, this program aims to raise awareness to appreciate the Chinese culture by demonstrating its uniqueness that is inherited from generation to generation.
The opening ceremony was held on 30 November 2018 and was officiated by the Johor State Local Government, Science and Technology Committee Chairman, Yang Berhormat Tan Hong Pin and was also attended by UTM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid Omar and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Student Affairs), Prof. Dr. Durrishah Idrus.
Speaking in his opening speech, YB Tan Hong Pin said that this programme has demonstrated the spirit of synergy and high commitment by the secretariat members consisting of 35 students from various faculties in UTM.
“Besides promoting the Chinese cultures to locals and internationals, this programme also can be used as a catalyst to strengthen the unity among Malaysians.
“Malaysia is resided by multi-racial communities, thus, an effective way to promote unity is needed and at the same time honouring the long historical legacies,” he said.
Attended by approximately 8000 visitors from various races, this program provides platforms and opportunities for all walks of life to understand the Chinese cultural heritage inherited from the ancestors.
Additionally, the program also allows UTM multi-racial community to understand the Chinese culture and at the same time strengthen the unity and the relationship among UTM community.
Among the exciting activities held were 24 Festival Drum, Chinese Mask Changing, Musical Stage Drama, Live Band Performance by Losting and Diabolo Performance.

 

 

 

Skudai – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) team won 2nd Runner-up in the national UniMAKER MAKEATHON Challenge competition, winning RM20,000 of cash prizes, trophy and certificates, listed alongside other astounding winners from USM, with the project entitled ‘Precision Farming with Deep Learning and IoT’ (Top winner, RM80,000) and ‘Making Malaysian Roads Safe Again’ (1st Runner-up, RM50,000).

The event was held from 24th to 25th November 2018, at Damansara City Mall (DCM) Concourse Area & Hong Leong Tower Auditorium, bringing up the aspiration of stimulating collaborative synergy amongst creative thinkers and innovators of various backgrounds of expertise from 32 participating universities, more than 1,000 high quality and innovative entries that promote innovative solution of encountered problems from various field of market. Organized by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia, the highlighted 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) theme thrived the objective of synergizing physical, digital and biological applications through the participation and nurturing a new and sustainable “Makers” movement in Malaysia.

Ng Ting Sheng, Bryan Chua Seck How, and Chan Chen Lam from the UTM School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, mentored by a group of business specialist from the UTM Centre for Student Innovation & Technology Entrepreneurship (UTM XCITE), had a great experience of synergy with the product called the ‘Automated Guided Fish Trap (Bubu)’, invented by Dr. Kamarulafizam Bin Ismail, from a researcher from the same school and faculty. This product is said to alleviate fishing activities within the coastal areas of less than 8 nautical miles.

Currently undergoing the final prototype development stage under the Prototype Development Fund Program facilitated by the Innovation and Commercialization Centre (ICC), this product is hoped to be another commercially viable research products for the country. Visit the UniMAKER MAKEATHON Challenge homepage for further information: http://www.unimaker.my

JOHOR BAHRU, 26 November 2018 –

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme has become one of the primary areas for Malaysia to become a successful country that is equipped with competent and talented workforce.
Due to its importance the development of a nation, a special committee has been formed by the government to monitor and support TVET initiatives at the national level.
The Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSK) Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Prof. Dr. Muhammad Sukri Saud said that TVET plays an important role in promoting the economic growth of a country.
“As a developing country, Malaysia requires adequate skilled workforce that is competent and competitive in the job market,” he said.
Prof. Muhammad Sukri said this at the press conference after the opening ceremony of The 3rd Technical and Vocational Education & Training International Conference (TVETIC) 2018 at KSL Hotel & Resort, Johor Bahru this morning.
Also present at the ceremony were the Dean of Faculty of Technical and Vocational, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Dr. Ridzwan Che’ Rus and 3rd TVETIC 2018 Conference Chairperson, Dr. Nur Husna Abd. Wahid.
He later stressed that Malaysians and global citizens should work together to advance in the field of TVET because it will become a critical factor for the sustainability of a country in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).
“We should embrace IR 4.0 bravely and wisely by working hard and smart to produce high quality graduates to meet the requirements of future workforce,” said Prof. Mohammad Sukri.
The 3rd TVETIC 2018 provides an opportunity for students and practitioners to discover new talents in the field of TVE. It also serves as a platform for the higher education institutions in the country to find creative solutions for the improvements of technical and vocational education and training in Malaysia.
The 3rd TVETIC 2018 was organized by School of Education, FSSK of UTM in collaboration with several universities such as Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, Thailand, UPSI and three Indonesian universities namely BINUS Universitas, Universitas Muhammadiyah (UNISMUH) and Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto, Indonesia.
“It is hoped that this programme will attract interests from both academia and practitioners to come together and share their knowledge and aspiration in improving Technical and Vocational Education and Training,” said Prof. Muhammad Sukri later.
This two-day conference comprise 53 paper presentations and five poster presentations along with  200 participants from Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR, 4 Dec – Congratulations to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhayati from Malaysia Japan Institute of Technology (MJIIT), UTM for being appointed as Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MYCEB)’s Kesatria Malaysia.

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin bin Ketapi confers the appointment, today.

Dr Norhayati in her role as Kesatria Malaysia, has to promote the benefits of hosting and/or inaugurating international conventions to the industry peers and colleagues.

Kesatria Malaysia, also known as Conference Ambassador in other countries, is selected among thought leaders in their field of expertise and recognised for their professional achievements in bidding for and hosting international conferences.

Malaysia has been the location for a long list of prestigious international conferences that provide excellent case studies on how to be a successful host, thus it is the local host of these international conferences that MyCEB seeks to engage and facilitate in transmitting their experiences.

Previously, the Director of the Centre of Engineering Education UTM, Prof. Dr. Khairiyah binti Mohd Yusof and Senior Director of the Institute of Future Energy UTM, Prof. Dr. Arshad bin Ahmad were also selected as Kesatria Malaysia. 

With the appointment, it is hoped that Dr Norhayati can bring UTM and Malaysia names to become more prestigious in the eyes of the world.

JOHOR BAHRU, 23 November 2018 – The International Nuclear, Science Technology and Engineering Conference 2018 (iNuSTEC 2018) was organized by the Nuclear Engineering Student Society of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (NESSUTM).

The iNuSTEC 2018 was also organized with the collaboration from several parties such as the Malaysian Nuclear Society (MNS), Hitachi-Ge Nuclear Energy Ltd. Japan, China National Nuclear Corporation, Nusantara Technologies Sdn. Bhd., Cherenkov Scientific Sdn. Bhd. ,Syaiza Engineering SDN BHD, Reltech Lab SDN BHD, It Tech SDN BHD, Alamostech, UTM, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Malaysian Nuclear Society and Institute of Nuclear Engineers.

The launching ceremony was held at Dewan Sultan Iskandar, where the programme was held for three days until November 25th 2018. The programme was officiated by the Chairman of School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Prof. Dr. Mohd. Ghazali Mohd. Nawawi on behalf of the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Dato Ir. Dr. Mohammed Rafiq Dato Abdul Kadir.

Speaking to the press after the opening ceremony, Prof. Ghazali said that iNuSTEC 2018 programme was aimed to provide opportunities for youths and communities to be aware of the importance of nuclear fields and engage with the nuclear industry in order to achieve excellence in science, technology and engineering and to sustain the well-being and prosperity of the society.

“The iNuSTEC 2018 was also intended for students to learn, share and exchange ideas in sectors related to nuclear science, technology and engineering, and to educate youth today in delivering accurate, relevant information on nuclear, science, technology and engineering to the public.

“The program has had an impact in terms of knowledge sharing, awareness of current nuclear-related issues and further action to be taken to promote awareness of nuclear in Malaysia. It also builds self-confidence among all students on trust, and builds relationships between nuclear industry and other industries with a knowledgeable background of nuclear or related sectors,” said Prof. Ghazali.

The program has had an impact in terms of knowledge sharing, awareness of current nuclear-related issues and further action to be taken to promote awareness of nuclear in Malaysia. Also attending the opening ceremony were Deputy Director-General of Nuclear Agency Malaysia, Dr Zulkifli Mohamed Hashim.

The total number of participants involved in the program was around 200 participants from local universities with famous international and local speakers invited.

Among the invited were China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), Hitachi-Ge Nuclear Energy Ltd (Japan), Lampong University (Indonesia), Malaysian Nuclear Society (MNS), It Tech Sdn. Bhd, World Health Organization (WHO), Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“Speakers were selected from experienced circles to provide exposure on reforms for more systematic and orderly guidelines for future development in the nuclear power sector,” he said.

In parallel with the program, the Nuclear Youths Competition 2018 (NYC 2018) was also held where students from several universities in Malaysia participated in the competition. It was held to educate and provide accurate information to future generations. Participants were divided into groups and asked to do a presentation on nuclear-related titles.