Login
Register

Month: September 2021

TPU students meet Russia’s Prime Minister to discuss development of technological entrepreneurship in universities

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Students of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) met with the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin, who is on his working visit to Tomsk. The meeting was held as part of the U-NOVUS`2021 forum.

TPU students asked the head of the government questions about the support of technological startups by state corporations and the state, startup leave, and the creation of an entrepreneurial culture.

More than 20 students from all Tomsk universities participated in the meeting, including eight TPU students.

“We are working to build a unified ecosystem of student technological entrepreneurship. We push for young specialists and scientists to be able now to implement their developments into business projects,” Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in his address to the students.

“First of all, the National Science and University projects will be complemented by a corresponding initiative. This is a platform for student technological entrepreneurship and the launch of the Startup as Thesis program in other regions.”

“This is a very good product. Certainly, it should be developed to involve as many talented young people as possible in the development of the technological entrepreneurship ecosystem and support of startups at the initial stage in the future,” Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin addressed to the students,” Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

Dmitry Biryuk, a student of TPU School of Engineering Entrepreneurship and manager of Tomsk Region Innovation Development Center, asked the Prime Minister about the possibilities of creating additional incentive mechanisms for large companies and state corporations to work with technological startups.

“As part of interuniversity teams, we work a lot with large companies, including Russian Railways, Gazprom Neft, SIBUR and others. All of them are interested in Tomsk developments, but when it comes to interaction with startup projects, they immediately lose interest. It is more cost-efficient for them to buy a cheap development from scientists rather than work with startups,” says Dmitry Biryuk to the Prime Minister.

Ruslan Ishtuganov, a master’s student of TPU School of Computer Science & Robotics, asked the Prime Minister about state support for startups whose participants are still studying at universities. During his studies, he developed a web application for forming an investment portfolio in accordance with modern portfolio theory. Russian brokerage firms and foreign investors showed interest in the startup.

Gennady Chipinov, a student of TPU School of Engineering Entrepreneurship, asked the Prime Minister whether it was possible to add the concept of “startup leave” into a regulatory document similar to “academic leave”.

The student previously won a competition and completed an internship at the nanotechnology centre “Technopark”. He and his mentor have been creating a company to produce a picosecond fibre laser for micromachining of materials for eight months.

According to monitoring by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, in the academic year 2019/20, under the Startup as a Thesis project, students at Tomsk Polytechnic University defended more startup-format graduation theses than students at other Russian universities: 48 out of 308. In 2021, TPU students presented 50 startups.

Phase 1 pre-clinical trial of UNAIR-led Merah Putih Vaccine shows promising result

Posted on by Universitas Airlangga News

The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of Indonesia supports the realization of the Merah Putih Vaccine led by Universitas Airlangga, which has undergone phase 1 of the pre-clinical trial.

The tremendous support is shown from a meeting discussing the development of Merah Putih Vaccine particularly undertaken with the platform used by UNAIR.

The meeting was held online and offline at the Balairua Room Management Office Campus C UNAIR, Friday afternoon, May 28, 2021. Several officials attended the meeting, including Prof. Dr. Ni Nyoman Tri Puspaningsih, M.Si., UNAIR Covid-19 Research Coordinator as well as UNAIR Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Community Development; Dida Gardera, ST., M.Sc, Assistant Deputy for Agro, Pharmacy, and Tourism of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs; and Sudirman, Director of PT Biotis Prima Agrisindo.

Several related officials from the Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of Indonesia, the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, the Ministry of Health, Drug and Food Monitoring Agency were also present.

In the meeting, the Head of the UNAIR Merah Putih Vaccine research team Prof. Dr. Fedik Abdul Rantam drh, revealed the development of the UNAIR Merah Putih vaccine has entered phase 1 of the preclinical trial and has shown good results.

“Regarding the antibody titer, the trend is very good, PA is also good, and the examination is still ongoing including immunotyping, kidney, haematology, toxicity, and total blood tests. The examination results will be used as the basis for conducting the phase 2 preclinical trial, “said Prof. Fedik.

For this reason, his team is currently preparing a phase 2 preclinical trial.

Previously, Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) have conducted vaccine research on several platforms, such as the inactivated virus platform, the viral vector with adenovirus platform, and the peptide platform.

The three platforms are still ongoing and construction of the inactivated virus platform has been completed early to advance to preclinical trials and clinical trials.

“We hope in December it will be complete, however, it may be February or March before it included in the industrial scheme, ” he explained.

Furthermore, Prof. Fedik hoped that this research is in line with the expectations of the government and the Indonesian people, the independent development of vaccines so that the government can deal with the Covid-19 virus independently as well.

“For academics, we are optimistic that we can develop the technology to make our own vaccines. Of course, this is a start, “he said.

Thammasat University develops a system to detect COVID-19 pneumonia

Posted on by Thammasat University

Thammasat School of Engineering has developed a new system, AIChest4All, to precisely detect an abnormality specific to COVID-19, namely pneumonia. Upon detection, a medical team will further provide screening to determine whether the pneumonia was caused by COVID-19.

The accuracy of screening results can be as high as 90%, so it will be possible to screen pneumonia patients with the risk of COVID-19 in a timely manner. Previously, diagnosing abnormalities from X-rays with results interpreted by radiologists can require as many as 5 minutes per image. However, AIChest4All provides swift results by requiring just 1-2 seconds per image, which provides convenience in the work of medical teams.

An important component of AIChest4All that ensures improvement in the work of medical teams is the cloud system. Thus, it functions by connecting X-ray data from the hundreds of public hospitals nationwide under the supervision of the Department of Medical Services under the Ministry of Public Health for processing and returning the results instantly to the medical teams at their origins.

It can support each use without even a second of interruption. In other words, it means that results can be obtained in real-time. At present, TSE has installed a centre for this system in two locations, namely, the Thammasat School of Engineering (Rangsit Campus) and Udonthani Cancer Hospital, and they have been designed for continuous 24-hour use every day.

At present, AIChest4All has totally changed the face of public sector investment. In the past, it was necessary to allocate millions of baht for budgets for accessing radiology services, but TSE has delivered AIChest4All to hundreds of public hospitals under the Department of Medical Services under the Department of Public Health for immediate use without any cost, with the hope that medical teams will have an effective medical tool that reduces complicated procedures that also minimizes budgetary expenses and that the Thai people will have access to fast and accurate services.

TSE has passed on this intention to students in related programs such as in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Software Engineering (Soft-en) and Engineering Program in Industrial Electrical Engineering under the Program of Innovative Engineering (TU-PINE).

ScII’s professor ranked top scientist in Thailand in Entrepreneurship, and Business Management

Posted on by bajinderscii

One of the faculty members of Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation (ScII), the youngest School in Chulalongkorn University, Professor Agachai Sumalee has been ranked the top scientist in Thailand in two fields — Entrepreneurship, and Business and Management, according to the Alpher-Doger Scientific Index 2021 released in August 2021.

Besides being at the top in two fields, Prof Agachai, who specializes in Smart City Design, Intelligence Transport Systems, and Operations Research, is also ranked among the top 10 faculty members at Chulalongkorn and the top 50 in Thailand in overall rankings.

With over 5900 citations, an H-index of 44, and an i-10 index of 92, Professor Agachai’s work is widely recognised and acknowledged for its innovation and entrepreneurship. “It is heartening to receive such recognition from my research.

The real value of research is its positive impact on our life and society,” Professor Agachai said. This is SCII’s and my main mission — to ensure that our research and innovations contribute to the achievement of SDG goals for both Chulalongkorn University and our society, he added.

The AD Scientific Index or the Alper-Doger Scientific Index is a ranking and analysis system based on the scientific performance and the added value of the scientific productivity of individual scientists. It uses the total and the last five-year productivity coefficients of scientists based on the h-index and i10 index scores and citations in Google Scholar. It positions itself as both academic ranking and analysis results.

HITK alumnus makes reusable face mask to beat Covid-19 at IIT Mandi

Posted on by Partha

Dr Amit Jaiswal, an alumnus of Heritage Institute of Technology (HITK) Department of Biotechnology, Batch-2008, currently Associate Professor at IIT Mandi has invented with his team a self-cleaning reusable face mask to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at IIT Mandi.

The team headed by Dr Jaiswal has made a novel virus filtering self-cleaning, and anti-bacterial material that can be used to make reusable face masks. They have used nanometer-sized sheets which are 100000 times smaller than the width of a human hair that can clean microbes and are solar light cleanable. It can clean 96 % of viruses that are in the size range of covid-19 without compromising on the breathability of the fabric.

Recently Dr Amit received the Foundation Day Award 2021  for excellence in institute service as the chief warden of the Institute at IIT Mandi.

“It’s great news for our Institute and we are proud of Dr. Amit,” said Prof. Basab Chaudhuri, Principal, Heritage Institute of Technology Kolkata

Chulalongkorn University develops Thai Speech Emotion Recognition Data Sets and Models

Posted on by Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Arts have jointly developed the “Thai Speech Emotion Recognition Data Sets and Models”, now available for free downloads,  to help enhance sales operations and service systems to better respond to customers’ needs.

Thai Speech Emotion Recognition Model, a cutting-edge AI by Chula faculty members, currently available to the public to download, is interdisciplinary research between Dr Ekapol Chuangsuwanich, a computer engineering scholar from the Faculty of Engineering,  along with Asst. Prof. Dangkamol Na-pombejra and Patsupang Kongbumrung, two dramatic arts experts from the Faculty of Arts.

“Speech Emotion Recognition AI involves so many applications, e.g., a call centre system can assess the mood of customers who call for service if they are angry or irritable and record their feelings from the tone of voice throughout the conversation as statistics of dissatisfied customers.  An AI that can express more natural emotions while communicating with users can also be created to replace the monotonous, robotic voice that we are familiar with,” Dr. Ekapol explained the goals of the project that is a collaboration with Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC) and funded by Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), and Advanced Info Service, Public Co., Ltd. (AIS).

A library of emotionally diverse voices from performers

Before models of emotional classifications can be established, an audio library is first required. This is where dramatic arts comes in to help create a Thai Speech Emotion Data Set.

Two hundred performers, both male and female performed speech patterns of five emotions: anger, sadness, frustration, happiness, and standard tones. Each performer recorded the speeches in all five emotions, both in a monologue and interactively as a dialogue.

“Usable voices have to be those that express the real emotions that occur in our daily lives, and not overacting ones.  Therefore, a team of directors had to be present to help guide the actors to deliver realistic voices according to the moods,” said Asst. Prof. Dangkamol.

“Moreover, when it’s time to change the sound to convey another emotion, though some actors may still linger on the same mood, the team of directors would coach them to induce new emotions until the actors convey them in the most realistic manner.”

After completing the recording, sound patterns of all five types of emotions were created from the audio data sets and later developed into emotion-classifying models, which according to Dr. Ekapol, the computer engineering scholar, are up to 60-70% accurate.

“We perceive a speaker’s mood by observing the composition of the speech: tone, volume, cadence, whimpers, laughter.  AI works almost similar to the way we sense emotions,” Dr. Ekapol explained.

“AI is tasked with classifying the input speech and matching it with corresponding types of emotions by comparing the input against baseline voices.  Once the AI learns from the input, it will be able to detect the patterns, like the mournful voice would be slightly softer than normal; the happy sound would be mixed with laughter; while the angry voice would be louder than usual.”

Dr. Ekapol pointed out the opportunities to use the Speech Emotion Recognition Models in many types of work according to the users’ imagination as to what they want out of the mood analysis.

“Usage is not limited to only computer workers.  You need to look at what users want to use the emotional assessment for.  For example, it can be used in call centers to assess upset customers, and analyze the subjects about which customers are most upset, and what they talk about.  It can also be developed into avatars or AI robots with facial expressions and moving lips and can respond to users.”

Lecturer Dr. Ekapol also added that speech-based emotion-classifying AI is also useful in various hotline operations, especially the mental health hotlines.

“In the future, we plan to develop it to be applicable in mental health hotlines with depression patients so that the robots can respond emotionally to humans.”

Future models to increase diversity in both sounds and moods

Certainly, the five emotions in the database are not large and varied enough to gauge all of the human feelings. Each gender and age group also expresses the same emotion in a different way which poses a new challenge for the researchers.  They are poised to work on improving the effectiveness of the system and accuracy of emotion detection as well as expanding the models to cover people of all ages.

“We have plans to improve the current models’ efficiency and expand the coverage to more sections of people.  Because most recording actors were students and working-age people, the model may not perform well when pitched against the voices of children and the elderly.  Also, since the recordings were done in the studio, the models may not work as well if the input voices have too much ambient noise,”  Dr. EkaPol said.

TPU scientists offer affordable technology to obtain PTFE Membranes for medicine and next generation of energy industry

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University were able to obtain polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes using electrospinning. PTFE is known to be the most stable existent polymer.

According to the scientists, it is a simple, affordable and easily scalable method, which will allow obtaining chemically stable membranes in industrial-scale production. The membranes can be used in petrochemical, aerospace, nuclear industries, carbon-free energy and medicine.

The latest results of the research of physical and chemical properties and biocompatibility of the obtained membranes are published in the Journal of Fluorine Chemistry (IF: 2,332; Q1). The obtained membranes were tested using cells and laboratory animals. The research confirmed that the membranes are not rejected by the cells and are not destroyed in the biological matrix. The interdisciplinary team consisting of physicists and chemicals is currently conducting the research at TPU.

“The material and methods of work with it were noteworthy for us. PTFE is a polymer containing fluorine. Fluorine and similar compounds are called fluoropolymers. They are noteworthy for scientists and experts working at industrial enterprises due to their inert. Fluoropolymers can be used in corrosive media or where material stability is crucial. These either can be hydrogen fuel cells operating in the conditions of corrosive media or a medical implant inside a human body. It means that obtaining membranes is very perspective, however, there is no large capacity technology in the world yet. It is either expensive or labour-intensive, even if the raw material is affordable,” Evgeny Bolbasov, Research Fellow of the TPU Butakov Research Center, says.

The TPU scientists used electrospinning. It is drawing charged threads of polymer solutions under the effect of an electric field. The result is a knitted material of polymer threads.

“The main advantage of the method is that the small laboratory installation is not different from an industrial one by its core and processes. Everything that can be done in the laboratory is easily reproducible at the enterprise. Previously, it was believed that obtaining a PTFE membrane using electrospinning is simply impossible. PTFE is not pulled into threads. To solve this problem, we added polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a crosslinking agent in the synthesis chain,” the scientist says.

The process of obtaining the membrane described in the article carries two stages. First, very fine powder is mixed with PVA. A solution loading in the electrospinning installation is obtained. The thinnest threads are pulled inside of the electrospinning installation and the white porous bed is spun from these pulled threads. It is the membrane. At stage two, the membrane is fired in an oven at about 400°С. The added PVA completely evaporates in the oven and the membrane is getting dark a bit. The entire process takes no longer than three hours.

The researchers note that all raw materials used for the synthesis are commercially affordable and are produced in Russia.

These membranes possess a wide range of potential applications. Only a scalable technology is required. Industrial methods of obtaining membranes from fluoropolymers are searched in Europe, the USA, China. Meanwhile, the Russian scientists possess an opportunity to offer a commercially interesting solution. From our point of view, electrospinning is such a solution.

This method is a dozen folds cheaper than its alternatives, it allows easily controlling the pore structure of the membranes. Moreover, this method is reproducible and scalable, which is very interesting for potential industrial partners,” Vyacheslav Buznik, an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, one of the article authors, says.

“Currently, the main task of the TPU researchers is to show the method opportunities for solving specific applied problems. The task is complicated, complex. It can be solved only by interdisciplinary teams consisting of materials specialists, chemists, physicists. It is crucially important for us that there are all the required experts and competencies at TPU. It will help us to actively develop this field,” Marina Trusova, Director of the TPU Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, notes.

LSBF Singapore boosts student engagement with its WeChat account

Posted on by Global University Systems

The London School of Business and Finance in Singapore has announced the launch of its official WeChat account.

With over one billion users worldwide, WeChat is China’s largest multi-purpose messaging app. The account has been launched in response to a high number of enquiries for programmes coming from Chinese students.

The WeChat account will provide its followers with full access to different news affecting LSBF Singapore including updates on its programmes, campus location, partnerships, events and student life. Students will also be able to request and enquire directly for further information.

The app will also allow new and current students to engage directly with educational consultants. To start using the platform, students will simply need to scan a QR code already made available to them by the school.

Commenting on this launch, Harry Sun, Head of Sales and Business Development at LSBF, says: “China is a vibrant and dynamic economy and a highly valued market for LSBF Singapore. This felt like the right time to launch this new WeChat service, dedicated to the Chinese market. Through this official account, we hope to connect and serve our Chinese-speaking students in meaningful ways that both educate and inform.”

Rathakrishnan Govind, CEO of LSBF Global, adds: “We are constantly looking to increase interactions and direct engagement with our international students. It is very important for us to make sure they receive first-hand access to any updates that might affect them. It is a priority for us to increase our presence on the different social platforms.”

UiTM’s Event Management students organize the Global Event Industry Symposium 2021

Posted on by NURUL SALIZAWATEE MAHPAR & NOOR RITA MOHAMAD KHAN

A group of students from Bachelor of Event Management, Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (FBM-UiTM) organized the Event Industry Symposium 2021 as their final year project.

This symposium brought together those who are in the event management industry namely industry experts, graduates, students and educators to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the event management industry, particularly in Malaysia.   This event not only involved local industry experts, panels from abroad were also invited to share their thoughts on this issue and provide possible solutions in reviving the event industry from the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic. T

This event also exposed the students and graduates to the “ins and outs” of the industry as well as established networks among the experts in the industry and government bodies.

This Event Industry Symposium 2021 was virtually held on 12th-13th June 2021 and it was aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG9) which focuses on industrial development, innovation and infrastructure. It received overwhelmed responses from the public and industry players, reached over 8,000 views on Zoom, Facebook and YouTube.

The besieged entries were received from diverse institutions including Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF), Panta Rei Indonesia, Evenesis, MD Events Asia Sdn.Bhd, Malaysia, Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MYCEB), Malaysia Association of Convention and Exhibition Organiser and Suppliers (MACEOS), American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Asia Pacific, Time Out Solutions, Asia Pacific Federation of Association Organizations (APFAO) and The Pacific Asia Travel Associations (PATA) from New Zealand. The event was also well received by the international students with entries from Taylor’s University Malaysia, The Pacific Asia Travel Associations (PATA) from the Philippines and Indonesia.

The success of this Event Industry Symposium 2021 was based on collaborative efforts from various parties. It was led by those 19 students from the Convention and Exposition Management class (HTT704), assisted by the Association of Event Management Students (AEMS) and guided by their advisors and senior lecturers; Nurakmal Ramli and Azzura Nordin.

While, companies such as Jakel, Heavenly Escape Holiday, Quinara Kenyir Houseboat, Raia Hotel, Hadramawt, Mafioso Shellout and Coway Legacy sponsored this event. Due recognition for the success of the event should also be given to UiTM executive management, in particular the Dean Faculty of Business and Management, Professor Dr Noryati Ahmad and the Dean Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Professor Dr Mohd Salehuddin Mohd Zahari for officiated the opening and closing ceremony for this Event Industry Symposium 2021.

UE to offer students ‘Designing Services and Products with Artificial Intelligence’ course by the Royal College of Art

Posted on by Global University Systems

University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) has announced a collaboration with the Royal College of Art (RCA) to offer one of the world’s first Designing Services and Products with Artificial Intelligence courses as part of their postgraduate degree programmes at UE, with no additional costs.

This 9-week online/offline hybrid course developed and taught by the RCA faculties and alumni with delivery support from UE, gives students a strategic and applied understanding of the design principles supporting human-to-human-to-AI interactions. This will be used to generate AI ecosystems that lead to the development of AI products and services.

The course blends theoretical and practical units that teach how to deploy AI for fostering innovation through creativity, pursuing career ambitions and, most importantly, for developing a responsible, inclusive, accessible and sustainable strategy to AI innovation through design. UE students will benefit and develop skills by experimenting with AI creatively to support the development of an individual project.

Starting from the winter semester 2021, all new students enrolling on MA Visual Experience Design, MA New Media Design and MA Innovation Design Management at any of UE campuses will be able to integrate their main degree programme with the Designing Services and Products with Artificial Intelligence course from the RCA, with no additional fees.

UE is committed to promoting the future-oriented development of skills and interdisciplinary teaching formats, in step with actual practice and according to the highest international standards. Thomas Noller, UE’s Vice-Rector International and Academic Development, said: “By learning what possibilities AI offers and how to deal with them creatively, our students acquire core competencies that, in combination with their studies at UE, best prepare them for work in practice.

“How AI innovations can be harnessed in service and product design are questions that have special priority in today’s academic education. I am therefore very pleased that we are now working together with one of the best design schools in our new UE Innovation Hub in Potsdam.”

Dr Laura Ferrarello, MRes Design Pathway Leader at the Royal College of Art said: “We are delighted to collaborate with UE to offer this programme to the students in Germany. With a global society looking for new strategic solutions to tackle and address complex issues, such as pandemics and climate change, this course brings UE students in the RCA’s knowledge and experience in design strategies that use AI technologies to nurture their ambition and motivation, to transform and shape society through their creative talent”.