World Health Organization (WHO) Request

 

I am astounded when I got an email from the World Health Organization or WHO. They ask me to review their article about COVID-19 pandemic for WHO newsletter.

I’m really surprised because I’m not a medical doctor who specialises in this field of pandemics. But after looking at the article, my opinion is needed from the aspect of spatial/space sciences included in the article.

It’s an honour for me to accept this invitation. Given the relatively short review duration, I do understand the urgency for it and will try to give my scientific review and opinion to the best of my knowledge and experience.

From my initial point of view, the article have an impact in terms of analyzing COVID-19 spreading among humans in confined spaces.

Let us all fight this COVID-19 pandemic together!

-Uznir Ujang (Malaysia)

#3dgis #gis #covid19research #covid19pandemic #covid19 #spatialanalysis #research #academicresearch #researchers #highereducation #university

Internship Students Industrial Meeting Experience

Internship Students Industrial Meeting Experience

I brought my lab #internship #students to a meeting with a private company (industrial key players) today. This meeting aims to discuss our UTM research progress for our contract research awarded by the #industry.

The feedback received from the students is that this is a new experience for them, even though they are not directly involved in this contract research project.

My intention is that I want to make it clear to them that, in the industry, the works are not as “beautiful” or “smooth” as written in the university textbook. Don’t blame the industries, it’s you (future graduates) to make it “smooth” as it should like in the textbook.

Apart from that, the internship students also have the opportunity to meet their classmates who are also doing their internships in the same company. They look so happy as if they weren’t seen for a long time. I would say that #studentlife is a moment that is going to last forever. Cherish every moment of it.

#university #highereducation #academicresearch #research #gis #spatialanalysis #3dgis #studentinternship #pointcloud #lidarresearch #researchers

Student Internship Presentation

Usually it’s not a compulsory to make any presentation as an internship student. However, if you think about how important it is to make a progress presentation once a week, it will actually help students to improve their confidence and skills in communicating and presenting points to the public. Taking our little precious time to listen to this presentation may change them in the future.

I urge firms or agencies that appoint/hire internship students, educate them to be a career ready person. Don’t because they are internship students, they are only burdened with technical work without focusing on their soft skills development before getting into the industries. Do not blame the students or their institutions if they cant do the tasks. They are still in training.

I would say treat them as internships students and not as “backbenchers”.

#university #highereducation #students #graduate #studentinternship #internship #3dgis

Research Lab SOP

Research Lab SOP

Any laboratory facility must comply with the SOP to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the 3DGIS lab, we try to make sure that body temperature checks and entries in and out of the lab are recorded.

To avoid filling in the information manually (using paper form), QR codes are used for students or visitors to fill in their personal information and body temperature (using smartphone). Without the need for any app installation, users recorded information is stored in the cloud database along with user’s gps coordinate location. Indirectly, it facilitates the monitoring of movement in and out of the laboratory.

Due to my habit of computer coding and automation, I could not avoid getting my hand dirty writing some codes for this QR code approach. Quite funny, when the use of paper form can actually solve this matter as well.

Since it can locate user’s gps position, the students said, “we are now in the radar”.

I’m sorry, automation is my “bad” habit 🙂

#gis #3dgis #covid19research #programming #programmingisfun #programmerslife #researchers

PhD Viva-voce

PHD Viva Voce

It was a great feeling to see my PhD student successfully defended her research during the viva-voce session yesterday. I should say that my student Ain is a dedicated and committed person in conducting her research.

Helping her crossed the finishing line is a satisfying moment for me. Maybe that’s the feeling of a football coach when their team scored a goal.

Congratulations Ain!

P.S: PhD title – Accessing Micro-Entrepreneur Social Behavior via Spatial Measurements

#phd #research #researchers #university #gis #academicresearch #highereducation #phdjourney #microentrepreneurs #spatialanalysis #businessloans #social #behavioralscience

 

Student Internship

STUDENT INTERNSHIP

Received three students to undergo practical training at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s 3DGIS Research Lab.

Whilst ensures of the new norm, the duty-report of these internship students is made online. Our Research Officer QA41 (RO) provided an online 3D spatial modelling training on the first day of this internship.

Although these internship students receive a monthly allowance through the use of laboratory research funds, it is hoped that they will also be able to gain additional knowledge in the conduct of basic research as researchers.

Let us all pray that this pandemic will be lowered so that students can carry out research projects in the laboratory.

#studentinternship #gis #3dgis #3dmodeling #3dprinting #academicresearch #researchers #covid19research

“Sharing do Caring”

“Sharing do Caring”

Had the opportunity to share my experience on database architecture as well as the value of metadata for successful 3D asset database management systems. This is an ongoing Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) research project at Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying. The implementation will be tested at Johor Bahru City Council to perform their daily asset management tasks.

Apart from that, I also had the opportunity to express my views and discuss how GIS can help to replace the existing implementation of land tax assessment for strata multi-level units (i.e. shopping lot in mall, apartments, etc.). May this help to ease the tasks of Land Office.

#3DGIS #database #architecture #assetsmanagement #metadata #spatialdatabase

Writing a Journal

WRITING A JOURNAL

It was a success a while back when we successfully published a manuscript in this journal. It can be difficult if you don’t have the experience of writing a #journal #manuscript.

But it was a bit of a shock when the manuscript was being the #mostdownloaded #GIS paper in the journal for many years. At that time, the term “open access” was still very relatively uncommon. Each year, appreciation email was sent from the Editor regarding the most downloaded paper of the journal.

Many years later, the #experience of publishing a journal remains a memory. The intention to start writing the manuscript was to share our research works with other #researchers around the world.

“It’s #publish or #perish”

#academicresearch #highereducationresearch #journals #scientificresearch #openaccess #writing #published

Postgraduate’s Presentation – A New Norm

I am honored that I was invited to chair a 3 hours of 20192020 postgraduate progress presentation session. Associate Professor Dr. Zulkepli Majid, Dr. Zamri Ismail and Dr. Shahabuddin Ameruddin were the panel during this presentation.

For your information. This is the first time this presentation session has been entirely virtualized. As chairman, I don’t feel awkward as I used to communicate with international experts online.

Seeing a student presentation, disrupted by the sound of a rooster outside the house, was genuinely surprising. Here’s what we could says about the ‘new norm’.

#highereducationresearch #academia #postgraduate #chairman #research #academic #university

Editorial Office Invitation in Springer Nature Journals

Part of the academic duties is to assist colleagues around the world in evaluating, assessing and recommending on the basis of our scientific research experience and information.

“Reviewing is a time-intensive process – writing a review report can be almost as much work as writing a manuscript! – but it is very worthwhile for the reviewer as well as for the community.

Reviewers:
* ensure the rigorous standards of the scientific process by taking part in the peer-review system.
* uphold the integrity of the journal by identifying invalid research, and helping to maintain the quality of the journal.
* fulfil a sense of obligation to the community and their own area of research.
* establish relationships with reputable colleagues and their affiliated journals, and increase their opportunities to join an Editorial Board.
* can help prevent ethical breaches by identifying plagiarism, research fraud and other problems by dint of their familiarity with the subject area.” – Elsevier, 2020

#research #academic #academia #highereducation #academicresearch #highereducationresearch #journals #scientificresearch