Login
Register

Month: April 2021

French government honours ITS Lecturer with prestigious award

Posted on by ITS Global Engagement

French Government recently honoured one of the ITS Lecturers, Professor Dr Ir. Ria Asih Aryani M.Eng., with the Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Palmes Académiques Award
for her contribution in helping at least 20 Indonesian students to pursue their Master and Doctoral degree in France. Professor Ria received this award on March 24, 2021, at the French Consulate Office in Surabaya, Indonesia.

L’Ordre des Palmes Academiques is a world prestigious award conferred by the French Government to academics from all over the world who have made a major contribution to cooperation between France and a related country in the fields of education and culture. It would take at least 10 years of service or extraordinary achievements for someone to be honoured with this award.

Professor Ria who has also won Prix ​​Mahar Schützenberger often invites French professors to conduct guest lectures in Indonesia and has been actively involved in research collaboration with French researchers since 1994.

With this award, she will continue to help more Indonesian students to study in France and invite more French professors to conduct guest lectures in Indonesia.

Chulalongkorn University develop an embalming fluid to preserve animal cadavers

Posted on by Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science (CUVET) has found formulas to preserve animal cadavers to be studied by students in place of carcinogenic formalin and are able to keep the cadavers soft for years.

The CUVET faculty members have spent over 4 years developing this embalming fluid to preserve the animal cadavers, aka “the headmasters”, for students to study.  This is to replace the foul-smelling and carcinogenic formalin, which can have seriously noxious health effects on par with cigarettes and asbestos, and has also been shown to be toxic to the environment.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Siripong Kiatkittikul, Head of the Department of Surgery and Director of the Animal Hospital revealed that this technology was developed in collaboration with the Departments of Physiology, Surgery, and Anatomy of CUVET.

 

“We have expanded on the technology that Chula Faculty of Medicine has used to preserve human cadavers and adapted it to be used with animal cadavers. At present, we have successfully created two formulas: the “formalin–free headmaster“ formula, which is used in anatomy classes that require relatively hard and dry bodies to study musculoskeletal structures.  The “soft headmaster“ formula is used on cadavers for students to practice surgery.  These cadavers need to be soft with pliable organs, joints and muscles just like those of real animals. “

 

“First, we experimented with chunks of meat, then the animal organs. Currently, the formulas are applied to the “headmasters” like dogs and cats, rabbits, pigs, sheep.  The exceptions are for horses and cows that we only embalm just parts of the animals.”

Asst. Prof. Dr. Sirakarnt added that the formulas can preserve the cadavers for up to 2-3 years in the freezer, and 3-4 months after they are removed from the freezer to be studied.  The formulas are also being developed to kill fungi and bacteria in the cadavers soon.

Development of urban high-tech industrial complex at Kyungpook National University

Posted on by Kyungpook National University ‏‏‎ ‎

As Kyungpook National University was finally selected in the 2021 government contest for the campus innovation park construction project, Daegu City, South Korea will start a full-fledged project such as preparing to launch an industrial complex plan for urban high-tech industrial complex on campus.

“Campus Innovation Park Creation Project” is a project to create an urban high-tech industrial complex on the spare site of the university and build various facilities such as University-Industry Innovation Hub facilities to combine corporate occupancy, start-up support, housing, and cultural facilities.

The site of the “Kyungpook National University Campus Innovation Park Creation Project” is an area including the 2nd Stadium near the North Gate of the University, and plans to invest 120.4 billion won in total project costs in two stages from 2021 to 2030.

The first phase of the project to build the University-Industry Innovation Hub (total area of 22,000㎡), which will be launched in 2021, plans to invest 50.4 billion won (national budget 190.5 billion won, city budget 7.6 billion won, LH 237.5 billion won) to form a complex space.

In particular, Daegu Citizens’ University and Culture and Arts Regional Cooperation Space are planned within the University-Industry Innovation Hub to help lifelong education settle into a culture and to realize “Daegu, a talent city that grows people” such as humanities projects, communication, exchange, and community projects.

Starting with the administrative process to establish an industrial complex plan this month, the plan will be completed in the first half of next year and designated as an urban high-tech industrial complex (approval by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport).

Daegu City plans to closely cooperate with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport in establishing an industrial complex plan and establishing a University-Industry Innovation so that the “Kyungpook National University Campus Innovation Park Creation Project” can be successfully realized.

In addition, Kyungpook National University said it will do its best to grow into a successful model of regional innovation by making it the first place for innovation for companies and talent, aiming to achieve 3,000 new jobs, 500 auxiliary jobs, and a 65% employment rate for young people in their 20s and 30s over the next five years.

Chitkara University becomes India’s first university to get “PLATINUM” rating by QS I-GUAGE

Posted on by Dr K K Mishra

Chitkara University becomes the first university in India to have been awarded the  ‘Platinum’ rating by QS I-GAUGE, a comprehensive and independent rating system for India’s universities and colleges.

Chitkara University was rated ‘Platinum’ in four key indicators: ‘ Employability,’ ‘Facilities,’ ‘Entrepreneurship,’ and ‘Governance & Structure.’ In the other five indicators, namely, ‘Research,’ ‘Teaching & Learning,’ ‘Faculty Quality,’ ‘Diversity and Accessibility,’ and ‘Social Responsibility, the university was rated ‘Diamond’.

Chitkara University works diligently on all aspects of quality assurance for continuous improvement and has always strived to promote ‘holistic and world-class teaching,learning, and research experience. Seven National/International Funding Agencies have recently granted the university 02 Crore of Funding for undertaking cutting-edge research.

The university also has on record Intellectual Property of 1700 plus Scopus Indexed Research Publications and 700 patents (filed), which stands as a testimony to the university’s focus on knowledge creation and dissemination.

The Award Certificate was presented during the Facilitation Ceremony at The Taj, Bangalore, by Dr. Ashwin Fernandes, QS Regional Director – Middle East, Africa & South Asia & CEO QS I-GAUGE. During the ceremony, he shared and cited that “Indian Universities are doing well and increasingly focussing on quality education despite all odds. We make special mention of Chitkara University for their clear and diligent data and document presentation”.

He further added, “I am pretty impressed with Chitkara University’s growth and its remarkable work for Research Publications, Patents, Employability & Entrepreneurship. My best wishes to the university for upcoming rankings of QS and hope the university will perform well in all other international/national rankings.”

Citing the rigorous process preceding the rating, Dr Archana Mantri, Vice-Chancellor, said, “QS I-GAUGE follows a rigorous and comprehensive institutional rating procedure, and the application process can become cumbersome and time-consuming for the unprepared applicants, but owing to Chitkara University’s process-centric approach to teaching, research and learning, we were ready with all the documentation even before we started the application process.  I am happy that the wonderful teamwork and quality education at Chitkara University finally has the recognition of QS I -GAUGE.”

Dr. K.K Mishra, Associate Director, IQAC, Chitkara University, who also led the rigorous process at the university, shared that, “Keeping in consideration the fact that QS I-GAUGE employs a very rigorous rating methodology, we were sure of our quality benchmarks and data insights from the very beginning of the rating process.”

Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Pro-Chancellor Chitkara University, congratulated the university fraternity on becoming the first university to receive the coveted ‘Platinum’ rating from QS I-GAUGE, shared that “At the heart of our education system is quality. We never compromise on the same. The Governing Board has entrusted us with the surmountable task of surpassing our benchmarks and acquiring ‘platinum’ rating by none other than QS I-GAUGE is certainly a feather in our cap.”

‘QS I-GAUGE’ is a comprehensive and independent rating system for India’s universities and colleges. Based on the globally recognized QS STARS University Rating System developed by QS, QS I·GAUGE has been adapted to capture the reality of the dynamic Indian education sector without compromising the strict quality standards synonymous with the QS brand.

Rated on seven primary indicators and five secondary indicators, which range from Teaching and Learning, Employability and Social Responsibility to Research and Innovation, the QS I∙GAUGE rating provides a unique and comprehensive 360-degree perspective of India’s Higher Education institutions for learning. Post assessment, the institutes are awarded an overall rating ranging from Bronze to Platinum+.

Teams from Kazakhstan, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tomsk Make It to Next Round of TPU’s Urban Greenhouse Challenge

Posted on by Editorial Team

The jury of Urban Greenhouse Challenge: Reforest, an international competition currently being held at TPU, has selected the best projects to the next round. Ten interdisciplinary student teams have made it into the final.

It is the first time Urban Greenhouse Challenge: Reforest has been held at a Russian university. Tomsk Polytechnic University became its main organizer. The students are to develop a prototype for a city farm, an autonomous greenhouse for growing coniferous and deciduous seedlings on multi-tiered shelving units. The prize pool of the competition is $10 000.

“Over 20 teams from 12 countries of the world including Kazakhstan, Portugal, Italy, France, China, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and others took part in the selection round. We had students from 57 universities, 11 of them were foreign,” Maxim Volkov, Head of TPU International Cooperation Division, says.

“It was challenging to select the best projects for the final. The experts note a high level of the concepts submitted. The final top ten was difficult enough to choose. In the nearest time, the contestants will work with our mentors to polish and fine-tune their projects. We will sum up the results in the summer of 2021,” adds Maxim.

The finalists are: Accelerator (St. Petersburg Mining University, St. Petersburg); Engineers of the Future (Udmurt State University, Izhevsk); Environmental Engineering Group (TPU, TSU, TUSUR, TSUASU, Tomsk); Green Garden (Ugra State University, Khanty-Mansiysk); Green Spot (Voronezh State University of Forestry named after G.F. Morozov, Voronezh; Gubkin Petroleum Geoecologists (GUBKIN UNIVERSITY National University of Oil and Gas, Moscow) REWIND group (Karaganda Technical University, Karaganda BUKETOV University, Republic of Kazakhstan); Skyff (UrFU, TPU, Higher School of Economics, Yekaterinburg, Tomsk, Moscow); TimiryazevLandscape (Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, ITMO University); YOLKA-IGOLKA (Kryachkov Novosibirsk State University of Architecture, Design and Arts, Novosibirsk State Technical University).

“It is a particularly powerful feature that the projects are presented by truly interdisciplinary teams. We have students of very different fields of study like ecology and nature management, environmental management and water management, design, chemistry, landscape architecture, chemical technology, materials science and many others. Only teamwork and knowledge sharing help to achieve really interesting results,” Maxim Volkov adds.

Urban Greenhouse Challenge: Reforest is supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Nuffic Neso Russia (Netherlands Education Support Office) – the official representative of Dutch higher education in Russia, Schneider Electric – the world expert in energy management and automation with divisions in over 100 countries, and iFarm – a company developing solutions for modern urban farming.

The official media partner of the competition is Social Navigator, an outreach project of Rossiya Segodnya international news agency.

Thammasat Business School receives international award from AMBA & BGA

Posted on by Thammasat University

Thammasat Business School has received the “Best Lifelong Learning Initiative Award 2021” presented by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), a global accreditation body in MBA programmes, and Business Graduates Association (BGA), a global accreditation body in business school from the UK for introducing “Thammasat Model”. Thammasat University was the one and the only institution in Thailand and ASEAN to be ranked in the top 6 finalists.

Thammasat Model is one of the courses in the Integrated Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Program (IBMP or 5-years Program). The third-year students with business and accounting skills will be sent to the community having the professors as the project advisors.

This initiative helps to promote the necessary lifelong learning skills for the community in order to enhance the career and quality of life. The three pillars of the  “Thammasat Model” are students, communities, and industry.

Professor Dr Ruth Banomyong, the Dean of Thammasat Business School, explained, “Thammasat Business School has encouraged students and graduates to apply the knowledge for improvement and development in each business sector, including the enhancement of community-based livelihood in order to create an impact thoroughly and sustainably on the global society. Hence, we have joined the Government Savings Bank and the Community Partnership Association (Puenchumchon) from Rayong Province to initiate “Thammasat Model” project as the prototype and guide to enhance the community enterprises.”

“The core principle of this model is to learn throughout life and sustainably. Students have been sent to over 170 community projects until now.”

“I feel so proud that Thammasat Business School is the first and only school in Thailand and ASEAN who has been nominated and won the Silver Award for “Best Lifelong Learning Initiative 2021” from Association of MBAs (AMBA), a global accreditation body in MBA program, and Business Graduates Association, a global accreditation body in business school from the UK. It has shown the new innovation of teaching extends its effectiveness not only to the level of students but also faculty, organization and external community,” said the Dean.

Curved plasmonic fluxes reveal new way to practical light manipulation within nanoscale

Posted on by Editorial Team

Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University jointly with Russian colleagues and researchers from the Technical University of Denmark for the first time have experimentally proved the existence of a two-dimensional (2D) curved flux of plasmonic quasiparticles, a plasmonic hook.

A flat 2D hook is smaller than a 3D hook and possesses new properties, due to them, the researchers consider it as the most promising transmitter in high-speed microoptical circuits. The research findings are published in Applied Physics Letters (IF: 3,597; Q1) academic journal.

Electrons transmit information in existing calculation devices. The scientists suppose if electrons are replaced by photons, light quanta, it will be possible to transmit the data literally at the speed of light. In order that microoptical circuits and optical computers would become ordinary devices and become mass-produced, it is required to find a way to compress light to the nanoscale.

“We are searching for new types of curved wave fluxes, which can solve this task. Previously, we simulated and experimentally proved the existence of photonic and acoustic hooks and now we have proved the existence of a plasmonic hook. Nowadays, it is the most promising method to transmit a signal. The plasmonic wavelength is shorter than a 3D wavelength in free space and the area of radiation localization is in nanoscale. It is a crucial indicator for miniaturization,” Igor Minin, Professor of the TPU Division for Electronic Engineering, a supervisor of the research work, says.

The authors of the article obtained a flat plasmonic hook using a simple and cheap focusing element. The flat plasmonic hook is an asymmetric dielectric particle sized 4-5 μm and about 0.25 μm thick. According to the scientists, the participle shape can be various, in this case, it was a microcube with a docked prism. This particle was placed on the 0.1 μm thick gold film, on the other side of the film, the diffraction grating was deposited.

During the experiments, the laser ray was directed at the diffraction grating. Plasmon resonance occurred next to the surface of the diffraction grafting under sunlight that is the sunlight was converted into plasmonic waves. These waves passed through the asymmetric dielectric particle focused in a 2D curved ray.

“We obtained a 2D curved ray due to a special shape of a dielectric particle. One of the mechanisms of sub-wave structured focusing is based on the phenomenon of a plasmonic nanojet that we managed to experimentally fix for the first time earlier. When we shift the free 3D space to plasmon polaritons, in other words, 2D space, the quantum nature of matter reveals,” Igor Minin, TPU Professor, initiator of the research work, says.

“It allows implementing implicitly new opportunities to control the interaction between matter and light, for instance, to implement biosensing methods based on the detection of micro- and nanoparticles, biomolecules in the near field. ”

“Of course, it is too early to speak about the application of results, it is a task for future research. Therefore, any research and experiments to transmit signals based on optical principles are still in the practice of fundamental research. Scientists of various fields will have to overcome many challenges to create, for instance, a productive optical computer or even efficient microcircuits. To overcome these challenges, 10-15 years might be spent,” Igor explains.

The research work was partially supported by a grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (20-57-S52001) and the TPU Competitiveness Enhancement Program.

The researchers from Technical University of Denmark, Institute of Ultra-High Frequency Semiconductor Electronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology took part in the research work.

UiTM receives grant for Digital Datapreneur Incubator Project

Posted on by

Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, Kelantan branch campus was recently awarded a grant valued at RM94,000 from the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education for the Digital Datapreneur Incubator Project.

The grant which was awarded on 23rd November 2020 will allow Dr Wan Fairos Wan Yaacob, the leader and her team members, Dr Syerina Azlin Md Nasir, Dr. Nurazleena Ismail, and Dr. Wan Marhaini Wan Omar to continue building on the digital datapreneur hub initiative. This project primarily aims to centralise the mobilisation of young entrepreneurs from public universities nationwide.

The Digital Datapreneur Incubator is aimed at equipping the growing number of participants with data-based analytical skills and encouraging the use of data analytics approach for innovating the decision-making phase. This is expected to add value to the entrepreneurs as skills in advanced technology will give them the competitive edge to not only run their businesses, but to also thrive in the fast-paced economic landscape of Industrial Revolution 4.0.

Apart from providing the platform for young entrepreneurs to polish their skills in data analytics, this project will reach the local community in Kelantan by providing hands-on experience in using a wide array of applications to do their business activities.

This programme has very far-reaching aims and hopes to facilitate the entrepreneurs involved through the identification of important business data which are pivotal for the decision-making process. Hence, this will enable them to make an informed selection of the target market, determine market segmentation, and better strategise the market placement.

The Digital Datapreuner Incubator is one of the 10 collaboration incubators under the Structured Entrepreneurial Incubator Programme (SEIP) which is an entrepreneurship programme at the Ministry of Higher Education. Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, as the key figure for SEIP has been working hand in hand with Malaysian higher educational institutions, government agencies, as well as the industry to bring this project together.

Overall, this initiative is observed to principally produce human capital who is knowledgeable, skilled and competitive to pursue the development of digital entrepreneurship in Malaysia.

The Digital Datapreneur Incubator project will contribute towards improving both data management and data analytical skills, and also ensure sustainability across various sectors in Malaysia such as engineering, technology and digital entrepreneurship. This project will play an important role in national development.

TPU scientists obtain high-entropy carbide in electric arc plasma

Posted on by Editorial Team

Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University have synthesized high-entropy carbide consisting of five various metals using a vacuum-free electric arc method. The research findings are published in the Journal of Engineering Physics and Thermophysics.

High-entropy carbides are a new class of materials simultaneously consisting of four or more various metals and carbon. Their main feature lies in the capability to endure high temperatures and energy flux densities. Combining various elements in the composition, it is possible to obtain the required mix of features (melting point, oxidation temperature, specific weight and others).

“High-entropy materials are called in such a way due to a relatively high degree of disorder in the crystalline lattice, as an atom of every chemical element possesses a certain size in the crystalline lattices. It causes structural distortions and can positively affect material properties,” Alexander Pak, Research Fellow of the TPU Research Center – Ecoenergy 4.0, explains.

The TPU scientists managed to synthesize high-entropy carbide consisting of Ti, Zr, Nb, Hf, Ta and C. Carbide was obtained using a vacuum-free electric arc synthesis. High temperatures are required for a reaction, in order, every primary component interacting with C connects to the face-centred cubic lattice and forms ultra-refractory carbide. Scientists use electric arc plasma to obtain it.

“We became the first who could obtain high-entropy carbide using a vacuum-free electric arc method. It is a great rarity and success for us to synthesize a material that has recently been discovered and to use our method at electric arc reactors created by our research team,” Alexander Pak adds.

“We are planning to improve a synthesis process to obtain a clearer and uncontaminated material, to reduce energy intensity, as well as to research material properties and synthesize high-entropy carbides of the other chemical composition.”

The research work is being conducted jointly with scientists of the A.V. Luikov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The scientists applied for a patent (method of producing TiZrNbHfTaC5 high-entropy carbide).

Experts to work on setting up site for testing energy technologies in Russia

Posted on by St. Petersburg Mining University

A site for testing energy technologies may be constructed in Sablino, Russia. It would be used to approve well-drilling equipment and equipment utilised in the development of hydrocarbon deposits. 

Russian energy corporations were among the most affected by the sanctions imposed by Western nations in 2014. Then, America and the EU banned supplying Russia with software for modelling hydraulic fracturing. It was also prohibited to provide all kinds of machinery for extraction activities on the Arctic shelf, various installations, units and machine parts for the oil & gas industry, even pump sets.

The process of import substitution shortly followed. In fact, it is still going on, but not as fast as subsoil users would expect. Moreover, Russian analogues are not always up to the standard. There have been many cases when equipment breaks down right after getting started.

“Unfortunately, the system of evaluation and approval of intelligent technologies used for prospecting, extracting and processing hydrocarbons is underdeveloped in Russia. To change the situation, we need to build test sites. Experts working there will assess the maintainability of batch-produced and prototype samples. They will also check if they are usable in permafrost areas and at ultra-low temperatures. Finally, they will issue certificates of product conformity to manufacturers. Testing done at such sites will help minimise the risks resulting from equipment failure during an expected lifetime,” says Mikhail Dvoinikov, Head of the Arctic Competence Centre at St. Petersburg Mining University.

The first test facility in Sablino may be opened before 2023. Therein scientists will work on technologies of oil & gas recovery enhancement and test industry-specific equipment. Three wells simulating the conditions of actual fields are planned to be drilled particularly for this purpose. Two of which – vertical and inclined – will be from 350 metres to 3 kilometres in length, depending on business needs.

Six well models with built-in cryogenic units will be designed as well. They will simulate climatic conditions of Antarctica to help improve technologies of permafrost drilling. The latter is needed to ensure that samples of water and body sediments from the unique Lake Vostok are pollutant-free. It is a subglacial lake located at a depth of over 3700 metres. The field in Sablino will also house laboratories for scientific research in hydrogen production, transportation and storage.

The location was not chosen accidentally: Mining University’s scientific and training centre has been operating there for years, with students of such programmes as ‘Oil and Gas Engineering’, ‘Geological Exploration Technology’, and several others coming to it to acquire practical skills. The centre’s infrastructure is impressive: drilling rigs, equipment for well operation, a station for in-process monitoring, lots of field-specific machinery, administrative premises and living accommodations.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation supports the idea of enlarging the centre and transforming it into a field site. They say the project will be operationally effective.

“More than 30 oil & gas, service and industrial companies took part in a survey. Based on its results, a list with 7 technological areas of import substitution was compiled – these must be tested at a facility imitating a natural field. By building it, we will facilitate the development of over 60 new types of domestically produced equipment. It will also stimulate the creation of a market with a potential capacity of over 100 billion rubles and ensure about 10 billion roubles of additional tax revenue to the country’s budget. The expected annual demand is tests of 30-35 pieces of equipment,” notes Vasily Osmakov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade.

Under a preliminary plan, technical specifications should be elaborated by mid-year. Then the first phase of construction-and-assembling operations starts. It will include drilling test wells and is supposed to be completed by the end of 2022. Provided everything goes according to the plan, the first tests at the field will take place already in 2023.