Month: April 2021

The Center for Research and Technological Transfer for the Development of Dairy Farming in Humid Tropical Zones, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CP-Meiji Co., Ltd. for a dairy development project.

The agreement is to apply ‘smart farming’ knowledge and innovation for the benefit of Thai dairy farmers and the milk processing operation in order to upgrade the Thai dairy industry and improve the safety standards of milk from cows.  Furthermore, both parties aim to develop 150 Thai dairy farms and add more than 3,000 milk cows.

With the focus on creating quality dairy farms, systematic farm management ideas will be used to analyse food balance and measure targeted healthcare.  The knowledge will then be transferred to the dairy farmer’s network to deliver high-quality cow’s milk to consumers.

The MoU was signed by Professor Dr Roongroje Thanawongnuwech, Dean of Faculty of Veterinary Science, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kittisak Ajariyakhajorn, Head of Center for Research and Technological Transfer for the Development of Dairy Farming in Humid Tropical Zones, Chulalongkorn University, and Ms Salinrat Pongpanich, Managing Director of CP-Meiji Co., Ltd.

On 20 March 2021 a total of 105 final year students of the B. A Graphic Design (Hons.) from Graphic Design Programme (Puncak Alam Campus, Selangor), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia, displayed and exhibited their final year projects of new ideas and designs virtually.

This year the team presented ‘Gallant-by BOLD’ as the exhibition theme.  Symbolically, ‘Gallant’ depicts little or no fear of danger or difficult things thus portraying the determination, perseverance, and courage of these young designers in completing their first degree, amidst the unprecedented challenges of Covid-19.

Inspired by the Tanjak/Tengkolok (the traditional Malay headgear for men) and Keris (an illustrious dagger renowned for its capacity as an object of cultural heritage and priceless heirloom amongst the Malay people throughout the history of their civilisation), four icons had been designed to portray the emergence of the warriors’ psyche and spirit. Each of the icons represented the students’ specialisation namely advertising, illustration, multimedia, and graphic design, and each icon demonstrated a superpower character, glistening in galactic vivid hues.

Gallant is a celebration of the ideas, creativity, originality, and richness of the work produced by these graduating students, and simultaneously demonstrates their agility, tenacity, and fearlessness in the face of the pandemic challenges. Consequently, the obstacles and difficulties experienced by them such as connectivity problems, limited materials and equipment, time and space barriers, etc. testified to how successful the students had been in applying their knowledge aptly, optimizing their skills and resources creatively, adapting to the changes swiftly, and achieving the objectives without compromising the importance of quality.

During the virtual event, Muhammad Adib Sukri Hanafiah was announced as the winner for the best advertising project, meanwhile, Khairunnisa Musa and Zamiatul Atifah Zulkaflee shared the same victory as the winner of graphic design major.  Through an Augmented Reality (AR) application known as “Fardhukids: Fun Learning”, Maisarah Mohd Hanafiah received the Multimedia award, for her exceptional interactivity content.  The final award was given to  Mohamad Nor Anwar Hussin in the Illustration category for his project entitled “Emergency State”.

A Perak born designer, Adib who was the advertising project winner, produced an advertisement Campaign titled “Kids Play” to assist young children’s development via sensory play and learning. It serves as the best alternative to managing screen time among children who have been excessively exposed to digital devices at an early age. The sensory play facilitates the exploration activities and encourages scientific processes to naturally stimulate their brain development. Upon completing his final year project, Adib was offered to work at an international advertising agency where he works as a graphic designer.

Before the event, the students had been assessed via an online platform by the lecturers as well as a panel of experts from the industry during the assessment week. All projects were aligned to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), outlined by the United Nations (UN) through a holistic approach encompassing the quality of education, promoting peace and justice, and ensuring healthy lives and well-being for all.

Officiated by the Dean of Art & Design faculty, Prof. Ts. Dr Ruslan Abdul Rahim, the event was organised in cooperation with UiTM GESTURZ and managed by the event team led by Muhamad Fakrurrazi Mohd Abduh Ng together with his batchmates.

The students were supervised by Mr Wan Zamani Wan Zakaria, Mr Mohd Nizar Mohd Mohd Mokhtar, Mrs Fazlina Jaafar, Mrs Jamizan Jalaluddin, and Mrs Farrah Hanani Ahmad Fauzi, senior lecturers of the Graphic Design programme.

Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University have conducted a research and presented a concept of a hybrid solar energy storage system based on a photovoltaic (PV) installation with electrochemical and thermal energy storage for a gym in Baghdad, Iraq. The development is estimated to be 20 percent cheaper in total than its alternatives.

The research was conducted by Boris Lukutin, Professor of the TPU Division for Power and Electrical Engineering and Karrar Hameed Kadhim, a postgraduate student of the School of Energy and Power Engineering.

“Despite the fact that Iraq is an oil-rich country, it suffers from power shortages and has to import electrical energy. Another problem is the underdevelopment of electrical grids in remote areas, which are not connected to central electric power systems. Therefore, the use of renewable energy resources is a relevant issue,” Boris Lukutin says.

The PV system completes two tasks: it collects and stores electrical energy in batteries, as well as accumulates solar energy as thermal energy of heated water. This PV system consists of an array of PV modules converting solar energy into electricity, which is accumulated in electrochemical batteries paired with a charge controller and supplied to a consumer through an inverter. The thermal part of the PV installation intended for heating water is a thermally insulated electric hot water boiler powered by the same PV modules through a special thermal controller, bypassing the batteries.

Solar energy is accumulated by a combined method: in electrochemical batteries and in cheaper heat-storing water boilers.

Under the conditions of Iraq, the cost of the solar energy collection system can be reduced by 20 percent. As a result, the estimated cost of photovoltaics for a gym in Baghdad turned out to be lower than the national average electricity rate.

“Photovoltaic power is very irregular, since it directly depends on the season, time of day and night and weather conditions. Nevertheless, the advantages of PV technologies allow generating energy at a lower intensity of solar radiation in comparison with the direct heating of a solar collector. Therefore, we can use a wider range of solar radiation to convert it into electricity by PV elements with the further conversion, rational accumulation and use of the electrical and thermal energy by consumers,” the professor explains.

The developed system is flexible and scalable, which ensures customization of its characteristics for a particular project.

The Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia (UiTMLaw) was honoured to be invited by the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGMLaw), to officiate their Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) at the faculty level through a virtual signing ceremony during the 75th Anniversary of the UGMLaw on 17 February 2021.

The Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi MARA, Professor Emeritus Datuk Ir. Dr Mohd Azraai Kassim, has executed the MoA before the event. The ceremony was attended by the Deans of both faculties, Associate Professor Dr Hartini Saripan and Professor Dr Sigit Riyanto and witnessed by both institutions’ management and lecturers.

The MoA sparks more opportunities for both institutions to venture into the new legal education realm, especially with unconstrained communication channels and inexpensive travel. It allows for partnership in various academic undertakings, thereby presenting the promise of mutual benefit to staff and students of both faculties.

In this globalised society, international collaboration programs help by providing students with the ability to study, work, and travel in an international setting via student mobility programmes. Likewise, staff exchange programmes enable staff from both faculties to enrich their teaching experience by teaching and handling a diverse audience.

Furthermore, research partnerships facilitate the ability to scrutinise, debate, and share experiences on vital legal issues from the perspective of both Malaysia and Indonesia. Other possible collaboration activities include publication, innovation and community services.

UiTMLaw believes that this collaboration will enhance the visibility of both institutions in academic circles internationally. UiTMLaw is hopeful that the excellent relationship will thrive and the prevailing bond between the two faculties will continue to flourish.

Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University jointly with colleagues from different countries have developed a new sensor with two layers of nanopores. In the conducted experiments, this sensor showed its efficiency as a sensor for one of the doping substances from chiral molecules. The research findings are published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics (IF: 10,257; Q1) academic journal.

The material is a thick wafer with pores of 20-30 nm in diameter. The scientists grew a layer of metal-organic frameworks (MOF) from Zn ions and organic molecules on these thick wafers. The MOF has about 3 nm nanopores only. It plays the role of a trap for molecules, which must be detected.

“This sensor can operate with chiral molecules. Such substances consisting of chiral molecules are a lot among medical drugs and biologically active compounds. Their feature lies in consisting of a couple of enantiomers, which are actually identical molecules with identical structure and physical properties, however, they are mirror images of each other. Due to this difference, enantiomers can have various biological effect: one enantiomer can be effective, while the second one will cause harm. The main challenge is that both enantiomers must be detected in a biological sample. Our research team specializes in creating chiral sensors, operating on the effect of surface plasmon resonance. We have already had a wide range of interesting efficient material sensors in this field, however, we offered absolutely a new structure in this research work,” Pavel Postnikov, Associate Professor of the TPU Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, says.

If the light (for instance, a laser ray) is directed on this material, the effect of surface plasmon resonance occurs on the gold porous film. The surface plasmon resonance is the origin of an analytic signal that can be sensed by a portable surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensor. Due to the signal, it is possible to define, what substance is captured by the MOF and in what volume. The overall analysis procedure takes less than 5 minutes.

ELETS organised the “18th Edition of World Education Summit”, which included two Premier Global Events.

The first one was organised from March 3rd to March 6th, wherein, Dr Madhu Chitkara, Pro-Chancellor, shared her valuable insights during the Panel Discussion on the topic, “Preparing Students for Industry 4.0” and about how these changes are rapid and complex.

She mentioned that in order to meet the ever-evolving industry, learning, unlearning and relearning” has to be the success mantra. She emphasised the fact that alignment and collaboration with industries will be the deciding factor and that schools have to be fertile breeding ground with more flexibility.

She added, “Gradual changes from IQ to EQ and now to SQ is a constant reminder that human capital continues to be the biggest asset. Further, a global prospect will give a deciding edge to all stakeholders.”

The second event was organised from March 10th to March 13th. In this event, Chitkara University was awarded as India’s Leading University in Design Education by Digital Learning- elets Technomedia, New Delhi. The purpose of the four-day summit was to bring the Top School Leaders on one platform to communicate and share the best practices and challenges.

Lastly, the organising committee of World Education Summit- 2021 expressed their appreciation to Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Madhu Chitkara for addressing the audience and sharing her views on the topic ‘Preparing students for Industry 4.0- Approach, Opportunities & Challenges’.

Faculty of Business and Management (FBM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia recently collaborated with the Malaysian Women’s Graduate Association (PSWM), on a special Webinar program, You Are The Source of My Inspiration (KSIK).

The motivation program anchored on three PSWM inspirational icons, Rashidi Abdullah (Shidi), Khairil Azreen Mohd Jasni (Khai) and Dinie Rashid (Dinie). The inspiring fact is that all three of the icons were not born blind but one day in their teens found themselves blind.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Geetha Subramaniam, an FBM lecturer and also an exco-member of PSWM, together with two lecturers from FBM, Mrs Ainie Hairianie Aluwi and Mr Muhammad Abd Hadi Abd Rahman organised the three-hour programme, assisted by students from the Human Resource Society UiTM, Puncak Alam (HURES). The President of PWSM, Datin Fauziah Mohd Ramly, moderated the session with Mohammad Danish Durrani (HURES representative) as the emcee.

Considering all the challenges faced by students, with the shift of campus experience to online classes, this program was designed as a motivational session with a difference for the UiTM students.

Despite the loss of their sight, the three young men shared how they used their enhanced senses to develop other talents, like singing, playing instruments, creating and reciting poems. This talent management would not have happened if not for the President of PSWM Datin Fauziah Mohd Ramly, who recognised their hidden talent, nurtured them with love and brought them out as role models who could motivate the younger generation of students at schools and universities.

Throughout the Webinar, the PSWM icons touched the hearts of the UiTM academics and students by inspiring them with their experiences in overcoming adversity. The underlying theme throughout the webinar expressed by Shidi, Khai and Dinie i.e “To have an attitude of gratitude for everything you have” kept the 650 attendees spell-bound for a good three hours.

The participants listened to the experiences of these icons who are in their 20s who highlighted that “There’s no point of having Sight without Vision”. Some of the feedback from students include, ‘Very Touching”, “We feel so small in front of these three Blind youngsters”, “Such a peaceful and calm presence”, etc.

They further showcased their talents and mesmerised everybody with their guitar, poem and songs. In fact one of the icons –Dinie beat hundreds of youngsters in a highly competitive talent show called BIG STAGE and successfully made it to the top five finalists, coming out fourth placing. Despite his sight impairment every week he put up a very impressive performance in terms of singing and dancing too.

This type of university – Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) partnership should definitely be conducted more for the betterment of students and society. As Fauzi says, “Go, Go, Go – Sky is the Limit”.

The research titled “Exploration of Behavioral Changes during COVID-19” was undertaken by Mr Pachara Sukwiboon, a student from the Master of Business Administration Program (MBA) Thammasat Business School, Thammasat University. Associate Professor Dr Sakun Boon-itt is the advisor.

The study aims to understand the changes in people’s behaviour during the COVID-19 outbreak and found that people from different generations have different behaviours while some generations share some similar behaviours.

The study explored behaviours of Generation Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z, and people who have knowledge related to COVID-19. The result indicates that “behaviours of each generation across the periods of COVID-19 outbreak have changed differently and knowledge level is one of the main factors leading to behaviour changes in order to prevent themselves from disease infection.”

The research explores behavioural changes during 3 periods- before the COVID-19 pandemic, during the COVID-19 pandemic (during the discovery of the first COVID-19 infected in Thailand until lockdown phase 5 or13 Jaunary 2020 – 30 June 2020), and after the COVID-19 pandemic (after lockdown phase 5 or after 30 June 2020)

According to the results of the study of 241 subjects via an online questionnaire, there are 3 types of behavioural changes for each period.

The temporary behavioural change includes hanging out with friend or family, going to a large open space, going to a large closed space, going to places with more than 20 people, and travelling by public transportation. In these behaviour groups, people show short-term adaptation before the spread of COVID-19 until the spread of COVID-19 in order to prevent themselves from disease infection. However, they resume their normal behaviours during the normal situation. In other words, the frequency of this behaviour before the spread of COVID-19 and now is only slightly different.

Non-adaptive behaviours or slight-to-medium adaptive behaviours are buying luxury goods, using social media, shopping online, using online food delivery, using serving spoons when sharing food, consuming healthy food or supplementary food, greeting for chatting with friend or family on social media, regularly exercising, seek medical attention when they have a fever, cough, sneeze or difficulty breathing, and using hands or other parts to cover when they cough or sneeze.

In these behaviour groups, people show indirect adaptation to prevent themselves from disease infection. For example, they use technology more and meet other people less or they keep fit in order to reduce infection risk. In other words, the frequency of this behaviour before the spread of COVID-19 and during the spread of COVID-19 is comparatively different. As a result, the frequency of doing these behaviours now is different from the pre-COVID19 situation.

New Normal behaviours are avoiding touching eyes, nose, mouth with uncleaned hands, maintain a safe distance from anyone who cough or sneeze, wear a mask before leaving the house or staying at a public area, and cleaning hands with soap or alcohol gel before and after touching something. These behaviours are characterized as disease prevention adaptation.

Moreover, these are policies encouraged by the government and the private sector to comply. It means that before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the frequency of doing these behaviours is completely different. Moreover, the frequency of doing these behaviours now is also different from the pre-COVID-19 time.

In terms of the behaviour’s difference in each generation, the study shows that Generation Baby Boomers and Generation X share similar behavioural changes to prevent themselves from COVID-19 infection, while Generation Y and Generation Z share similar behavioural changes. However, some adaptation behaviours of Generation Z are different from other generations such as hanging out, going to a large open space, going to a large closed space, and going to a place with more than 20 people. Generation Z tends to do these activities more after the spread of COVID-19 than during the spread of COVID-19.

In terms of the differences in knowledge level, people with different knowledge level show similar behavioural changes to prevent themselves from disease infection. However, they have different behavioural adaption, including hanging out and using public transportation.