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Year: 2021

Trebas supports new Canadian music streaming platform

Posted on by Global University Systems

Trebas Institute and ICEBOX Music are proud to announce the launch of MapleStream, an online music platform dedicated to supporting Canadian artists and promoting fair pay for musicians.

Leading the development of MapleStream is Rick Levine, Professor in the Entertainment Management Programme at Trebas Institute and Founder of ICEBOX Music, a music industry literacy platform.

Levine, an American who has lived in Canada for over 25 years, established ICEBOX Music in 2000 to promote his own music aspirations. He soon realised how rich and diverse the Canadian music landscape was.

“I understood that for indie and emerging artists, most talent would never receive the recognition they deserve.” Says Levine.

“Today, I am in the process of creating a uniquely Canadian music streaming platform to ensure indie artists are recognized and fairly monetized,” said Levine.

Rick has been asked many times why he is doing this now. The answer is simple. With streaming royalties generating fractions of a penny per stream, the time is right to “turn the music industry on its head”, which means putting the music creators first.

“The age of exploiting music artists needs to end now,” says Levine.

“The strength of a vibrant thriving national music industry benefits the overall Canadian economy. We can do it in Canada and show the rest of the world how to do it right. I believe a branded Canadian music platform brings value to all Canadian musicians and allows our music to be marketed and exported globally.”

Working alongside Rick and his son Noah Levine are William Noseworthy and Abdoulaye Tandia, recent alumni of the Entertainment Management Program at Trebas. They got involved with MapleStream in March 2021 through an internship, the ideal opportunity to gain first-hand experience in the music industry.

William found himself gravitating toward music support roles that led to expanding his business knowledge and expertise at Trebas, with an eye toward operating an artist and label services business.

With a background in business, Abdou joined the entertainment management program because of his passion for music. He wanted to know how he could contribute. Abdou figured the best way was to enrol in a school that gave him the opportunity to work in the industry and immerse himself in the business.

Internship opportunities are part of the support that Trebas offers to its students. Abdou and William had the opportunity to apply the skills learned in the classroom in a real business environment, gaining experience they will be able to bring to future projects.

“William and Abdou made great contributions to our project. I am excited to see what they will achieve in their careers,” added Levine.

MapleStream has two main benefits: it will raise the profile of Canadian music globally and fairly compensate Canadian musicians. Donations can be made on www.crowdfund.ca in order to promote the initiative beyond the country’s borders.

The goal of $30,000 has yet to be achieved, but the hope is that the campaign will succeed in reaching its goal once artists and fans hear about this new platform. Musicians who are not yet signed, are encouraged to send their music to the team at Maple Stream for consideration and the music will be selected and uploaded to the platform where they can begin to earn money.

Voronezh Students on Urban Greenhouse Challenge at TPU

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Members of the Green Spot team from Voronezh State University of Forestry and Technologies (VSUFT) who became finalists of Urban Greenhouse Challenge: Reforest, an international competition at TPU, are sure that the topic of reforestation is essential for entire Russia.

It is the first time Urban Greenhouse Challenge: Reforest has been held at a Russian university. Tomsk Polytechnic University became its main organizer. The key task of the contestants is to develop a project of 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.

The Green Spot team consisted of students studying different majors, however, according to Maxim Sysoev, each role fits its person in charge perfectly and everyone does what he likes. A distant mode of the competition is also convenient as it allows combining working on the project with the study. Professional advice from mentors of Urban Greenhouses Challenge: Reforest also helped the contestants.

“We reconsidered some things in our conception and it has opened the doors for new ideas, topics and opportunities. Moreover, we firmly hardened to some ideas. The basis of our conception is a modular design of a greenhouse complex, which increases its mobility, as well as a little bit of an unconventional approach in some things but we will not put our cards on the table until the final,” the captain of the Green Spot team says.

Maxim Sysoev adds that he decided to take part in the international competition because there are some developments and ideas in this area in the VSUFT Engineering Center.

“The last thing that needs to be done is to put all these ideas in one project and to show this “transformer”. For instance, we are intended to implement a project on a practice-oriented approach to create carbon polygons on forest areas of the Russian Federation subjects to measure carbon pickup and emission, including total carbon balance by ground sensors, analysers using unmanned aerial vehicle technologies,” the VSUFT student explains.

The members of the Green Sport team are sure that reforestation is rather important and relevant to entire Russia.

“There was mentioned a need to decrease the accumulated volume of greenhouse gas emission through reforestation in the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly. We are directly implementing the Presidential Address by our project. This project is very relevant to any region as it is a universal solution and it is not only about reforestation,” the students say.

Mining University graduate on how to prevent industrial disasters

Posted on by St. Petersburg Mining University

Some say that all industrial disasters are either attributable to the human factor – whether caused by accident, negligence or incompetence – or natural phenomena. Sometimes both happen at a time. Olga Baranova, Saint Petersburg Mining University’s graduate, Chief Engineer for Occupational Safety at Karelsky Okatysh, explains, “Despite all the developments in process safety management and new techniques for monitoring and preventing workplace hazards, most natural phenomena causing incidents are still unpredictable.

“Scientists’ role is to learn how to anticipate these hazards and react in time and accordingly. Besides, a well-managed mechanism of action should be elaborated in case an emergency takes place.”

The company Olga works for introduced a monitoring centre. Its specialists can track the technical status of a facility right on their screens. Cameras and digital sensors, both stationary and mounted onto heavy-duty equipment, transmit data. 

This system helps monitor hazards and other emergencies. It is also suitable for administering weekly large-scale blasts done to open a deposit. Monitoring centres are a brilliant example of how a preventive measure, although a rather expensive and, for now, non-compulsory one, significantly reduces the risks of workers’ deaths. 

“In an ideal situation, specialists in occupational safety and health should exercise an advisory function – assist in mapping out and complying with regulations, striving to lower risk probability at an organisation. But in reality, we are, in a way, supervisors. In addition to proactive measures, we also impose compliance enforcement measures. The company has adopted a set of rules aimed at reducing injury rates. For example, all of our entry control points are equipped with alcohol-screening devices, which cannot be bypassed. Railway crossings intersecting mining and processing sites are mounted with a hardware-software complex. It utilises artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies to search for vehicles in the surveillance zone. It is a common situation and is a human error, but it may have tragic consequences. Therefore such violations should be monitored.”    

The future lies in digitalisation and automation technologies. They will make it less needed to be exposed to hazardous working environments, thereby enhancing industrial safety. Remote-controlled machinery and equipment are some of the newest solutions: autonomous dump trucks, drilling rigs, positioning and movement monitoring systems tailored at mine workers, and laser scanners. Of course, new technologies will not replace humans. Still, they will free us up for working at a new qualification level.

“We are currently testing exoskeletons that we plan to purchase for the company. This innovative device is designed to increase muscle strength and yet relieve muscle tension. Exoskeletons help relieve the stress of a person remaining mostly stationary while at work. It can be, for example, a mechanic who repairs machinery and is forced to keep their hands elevated over time.”

Karelsky Okatysh’s Department of Occupational Health and Safety employs over 20 specialists, with some of them working in the head office and others at production facilities. A majority of them are Mining University’s graduates who studied industrial and labour safety, geomechanics, rock destruction, and mining thermal physics.

New school board takes over at Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation

Posted on by bajinderscii

A new Board has now assumed office at the Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation. The 11-member Board includes representatives from academia, business, the social sector, and public life as well as subject experts who have made a mark in their respective fields.

The new Board held its first meeting on August 11, 2021, replacing the previous Board, which guided the School during its inception stage. The tenure of the Board is two years. The Board plays the role of guide and mentor in charting the course of the newly established School of Integrated Innovation (ScII).

The Board is headed by the President of Chulalongkorn University, Professor Bundhit Eua-arporn, and includes five other members of Chulalongkorn University, including Vice President for Strategic Planning, Innovation and Global Engagement Assoc. Prof. Natcha Thawesaengskulthai; Director of the Sasin School of Management Professor Ian Fenwick; ScII Executive Director Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai (Member Secretary); Assoc. Prof. Jittichai Rudjanakanoknad of the Faculty of Engineering; and Santhaya Kittikowit, Assistant to the President for Innovation Affairs Innovation, the latter two also due to serve as Assistant Secretaries to the Board.

External Members include:

  • Ms Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul (Current Positions – Chair, Board of Kasikorn Bank, Chair, Toshiba Thailand Company Limited, Director, Thai Toshiba Lighting Company Limited, Director, Thai Toshiba Electric Industries Company Limited)
  • Mr Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi (Director, President, and CEO, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, Director and Chair of the Executive Committee, Univentures Public Company Limited, Independent Director, Siam Cement Public Company Limited, Director, Fraser and Neave Limited , Director, Thai Group Holdings Public Company Limited, Vice Chair and Chair of the Executive Committee, Amarin Printing and Publishing Public Company Limited,  Member of the Advisory Board, Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Chulalongkorn University).
  • Mr Pichet Sithi-Amnuai (Vice Chair, Stock Exchange of Thailand, Board Member, Bualuang Securities Public Company Limited, President, Bualuang Securities Public Company Limited, Board Member, Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations, Chair, Association of Thai Securities Companies).
  • Dato’ Steve Cheah  (Advisor, BerliJucker Public Company Limited, Former Advisor, Thailand Board of Trade (Thai Chamber of Commerce), Head of Mission, Diplomatic Council (UN reg) to CLMTV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand & Vietnam), Chair, Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Thailand, Former Chair, SME Committee, Joint Foreign Chamber of Commerce Thailand, Founding Director, Mexican-Thai and Brazil-Thai Chambers of Commerce).
  • Mr. Barak Sharabi (Founder, Infinity Technologies, Former Head of Economic & Trade Mission, Israeli Embassy to Thailand, covering Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia, Former Israeli Air Force, Founder of SPHERE 8 Company, Thailand, Founder of SPHERE 8 Finder, a Thailand-based Technology & Innovation portal and partner of the Israel Startup Nation Central Global Finder, Co-Founder of SPARK, Thailand National Startups Accelerator, National Innovation Agency (NIA), Co-Founder of Corporate SPARK, Thailand National Corporate Innovation Program, National Innovation Agency NIA).

SIIT’s first batch alumnus appointed as the Governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand

Posted on by Thammasat University

Associate Professor Dr  Veeris Ammarapala, the 1st batch alumnus of the Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT),  has been appointed as the Governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT).

Dr Veeris Ammarapala graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University, and obtained a master’s degree in Operations Research from Columbia University, USA, and Doctoral Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA.

His area of expertise includes Decision Support Systems, Risk Management, Production and Logistics Management and Maintenance Management.

The Cabinet approved the appointment of Mr Veeris Ammarapala as the new governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) which took effect from April 20, 2021.

“To meet the industrial estate’s operators’ demands on a variety of disruptive technology, I will apply the principles of the Internets of Things or IoT, such as, different types of 5G/Sensors Technology and Big Data Management with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to allow IEAT and such operators to examine the operations of plants and those of IEAT in a comprehensive, accurate and efficient manner,” says Dr Veeris Ammarapala.

Dr Veeris is committed to establishing the foundation for IEAT for an agile organization by focusing on building a strength-based organization as well as a strong relationship with business alliances to enhance the professionalism in establishing the regional industrial estates and generate acceptance from stakeholders in all sectors.

President University Student Wins Third Place in the 2021 Exist Fair Essay Competition

Posted on by President University

Kusuma Vimala Putra, Management Study Program student, President University (PresUniv) batch 2019, won third place in the 2021 Exist Fair essay competition.

This competition was organized by the Research and Reasoning Student Activity Unit, Jambi University, February 1- March 13, 2021.

This competition consists of several stages, namely essay submission, presentation by the top ten, and finally, selection of the top three contestants.

In this competition, Kusuma wrote an essay on applications that can help the government in reducing the number of Covid-19 transmissions and helping the welfare of artists during this pandemic.

“Many artists are limited in their space and have lost their income during the pandemic. For this reason, this essay was created to provide solutions to artists all over Indonesia who were affected by Covid-19,” he said.

Kusuma admitted that he was very happy to be able to innovate during a pandemic. “Through innovation, I can contribute to solving problems around me and be a winner for myself and the community,” he concluded.

Chitkara University shines in Times Engineering Institute Survey 2021

Posted on by Dr K K Mishra

Chitkara University Insitute of Engineering and Technology has achieved 11th Rank in North India, 16th rank in ‘Engineering Institute by Research’, 40th in the ‘Top Engineering Institute’ category, 31st among the ‘Top 125 Private Engineering Institutes’ and 48th rank in ‘Placement Category’ of the Times Engineering Institute Survey 2021.

The aim of this research was to identify and rank Top Engineering Colleges in India. The survey featured three primary components to get the ultimate ranking i.e. Perceptual and factual survey, desk research (Participatory Survey). Desk Research was a secondary research module, where a comprehensive list of engineering colleges was generated with the help of the internet, magazines and other publications.

A list of colleges/ universities from previous surveys and a discussion with industry experts to add/delete any college were some of the sources used for the generation of engineering college lists. In the Perceptual Survey module, a structured Questionnaire was provided to selected respondents comprising HR professionals, faculty, alumni, current students, and aspiring students to arrive at a ranking and rating of engineering colleges.

Infrastructure, Faculty, Course Curriculum, Industry Interaction, Pedagogy, Research Orientations & Focus, Global Exposure, Placement and Overall Brand Value were the key parameters covered in Perceptual Rating. In the Factual Survey, more than 1400 engineering colleges were sent the factual data questionnaire and then rigorously followed up through different modes such as telephone, email and even face-to-face if required.

The factual data sheet was focused on information areas like General information of the college: Establishment, College type, Affiliation etc, Courses offered & the number of seats, Infrastructure, Faculty, Intellectual capital, Industry interface, Placement, Potential to network, Exchange programs & Global exposure, Research Orientation & focus, Alumni chapter etc. A robust approach was followed to arrive at the final rankings.

Chitkara University achieved significant rankings in the Times Engineering Survey 2020 as well. The University was ranked 37th amongst the Top 100 and 11th in the North Zone in ‘Top Private Engineering Institutes’. It also made its mark in the category of ‘Placements’ by securing the 46th position in ‘Top Private Engineering Institutes’.

Thammasat University researchers discover the cannabis compounds in “Trema Orientalis (L.) Blume”

Posted on by Thammasat University

Professor Dr Tiwtawat Napiroon from the Department of Biotechnology, Thammasat University and the research team has made the world’s first discovery on the study of Cannabis compounds found in “Trema orientalis (L.) Blume”.

The research has been accepted and published in well-known life, biology and medicine journal, PeerJ from the United States.

“Trema orientalis”, a little-known medicinal plant, was discovered for tangible usage for the first time in Thailand and the world. It is used for treatment involving antibacterial infection in the human respiratory system.

The research used the taxonomic, biomolecular, phytochemical and ethnobotanical data integrated with the research conducted by pharmacists, Assoc. Prof. Dr Wichai Santimaleeworakul, Head of the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Silpakorn University, Asst. Prof. Dr. Keerati Tanruean and Asst. Prof. Dr Pisit Poolprasert from the Department of Biology, Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University and Mr Manop Poopat, Forestry Officer from Forest Botany Division, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation with the support fund from Agricultural Research Development Agency (Public Organization) or ARDA for Thai Medicinal Plants.

It led to the discovery of the importance of phytochemicals for each part of the plant and biological activity that are consistent with the treatment of infectious diseases according to local wisdom.

The research team and ARDA are preparing other parts of the report as well as the development of pharmaceutical products from this medicinal plant to be further published in this journal.

TPU to lead team of scientists in large-scale study of ecological condition of rivers

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University, together with their colleagues from Sweden and Finland, will conduct a large-scale study in the Murmansk region to identify the causes of the accumulation of mercury and persistent organic pollutants in the region’s rivers that flow into the Arctic seas.

The project is part of a research initiative of the international Arctic Council, which consists of eight arctic states.

TPU will lead the Russian research team, which will also include scientists from institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The research will consist of two parts: expedition and analytical work based on previously collected data.

It is expected that the first joint expeditions of Russian, Swedish and Finnish scientists to the rivers of the Murmansk region will begin in the summer of 2022.

“The state of the Arctic is a global indicator of climatic and environmental changes occurring on the planet. The accumulation of persistent organic pollutants and mercury is recorded here. This is a collective responsibility of the entire world, so it is necessary to study the problem and look for ways to solve it together with leading scientists. Such a global problem can only be solved in a concerted effort,” says the head of Tomsk Polytechnic University Andrey Yakovlev.

“The scientific and infrastructural background of Tomsk Polytechnic University allowed us not only to join this global research but also to act as a national coordinator.”

“I am sure that together with scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences through the case of the Murmansk region we will be able to find answers to important questions: what is the source of pollution in the Arctic today, and what solutions can stop these processes,” adds Andrey.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a group of substances used in industrial processes. They include, for example, furans, dioxins, phenols and many other toxic compounds. Together with mercury, they accumulate in the water, soil, and living organisms, eventually reaching the human body. The international Arctic Council has initiated a series of studies of the Northern Sea Route, starting from Murmansk.

In the course of work, Russian scientists together with their colleagues from Sweden and Finland will have to determine which organic pollutants are present in the Murmansk rivers’ water and in the soil in the surrounding areas, find the sources of these emissions and propose environmental measures. The research is planned to be completed in 2023.

More than 30 scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University, including young researchers, will be involved in the project. These are specialists from the Engineering School of Earth Sciences & Engineering, the Engineering School of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, and the Research School of Chemistry & Applied Biomedical Sciences. They will conduct analytical work and study water and soil samples brought from expeditions.

“Tomsk Polytechnic University possesses the necessary laboratory facilities for participation and coordination of international cooperation. However, the competence of our scientists is the most important thing. For example, we have an active scientific group studying the impact of carbon emissions in the Arctic on climate change. It was formed as part of a megagrant under the leadership of Professor Igor Semiletov and continues working successfully. TPU also has a unique scientific school of medical geology, which was founded by Professor Leonid Rikhvanov. This scientific field considers the dependence of human health on environmental factors and geological features of the territory,” notes Mekhman Yusubov, TPU Vice Rector for Research.

Researchers discover that Fritillary butterflies sporadically interbreed with their very distant relatives

Posted on by Alina Perevizintsova

Researchers from St Petersburg University and the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have found that genealogically distant butterfly species Melitaea didyma and M. acentria sometimes interbreed. These species separated at least five million years ago (almost the same period separates humans and chimpanzees).

For small-numbered M. acentria this sporadic introgressive hybridisation results in higher genetic diversity, increasing their survival chances.  The research that makes us take a fresh look at the evolution of living organisms is supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. The research findings are published in the journal Molecular Ecology.

The formation of hybrids – organisms obtained after crossing genetically different forms – is more widespread in nature previously thought. Usually, only closely related species can hybridize. For example, hybrids occur in some populations of Daphnia – crustaceans from plankton.

They significantly complicate the definition of the boundaries between different species. However, some cases are known when hybridisation occurred between very distant relatives: for example, between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, whose common ancestor lived about 800,000 years ago.

The researchers from St Petersburg University and the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have managed to detect the hybridisation of even more distant species: fritillary butterflies M. didyma and M. acentria, living on the slopes of the popular Mount Hermon ski resort in northern Israel.

Their common ancestor existed at least five million years ago – modern humans and chimpanzees are about as far apart on the phylogenetic tree (six million years). To obtain this result the scientists performed whole-genome sequencing and analysed 27 genomes of three species of fritillary butterflies.

It turned out that some specimens of small-numbered M. acentria sporadically interbreed with more common M. didyma, resulting in gene flow from M. didyma to M. acentria. In general, one of the reasons for species extinction is precisely the loss of genetic diversity. The fact that acentria butterflies are ‘fed’ with genetic material through hybridisation with a distant congener could therefore be a factor of survival and further evolution for the acentria.

Moreover, as the researchers note, introgressive hybridisation is not total in this case. Only some specimens interbreed with another species. However, this is sufficient for the emergence of a stable gene flow. The researchers even managed to catch one butterfly that turned out to be an interspecific hybrid.

“When we examined the morphology of M. acentria, we noticed that it resembled M. didyma. This was unexpected for us because these two species are distant relatives. Such “coincidences” are mostly the result of adaptation to similar environmental conditions. However, sometimes they occur as a result of introgressive hybridisation. We have analysed whole genomes, which showed a unidirectional gene flow from didyma to acentria,” said Elena Pazhenkova, the first author of the article, a doctoral student at St Petersburg University.

Elena Pazhenkova, a doctoral student at St Petersburg University (left) and Vladimir Lukhtanov, Principal Researcher at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Professor at St Petersburg University (right), during their expedition to Mongolia in 2019. Photo by Vladimir Lukhtanov

Vladimir Lukhtanov is a Principal Researcher at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a Professor at St Petersburg University. He says that hybridization usually leads to the fusion of two species or to the appearance of infertile offspring, that is, to the dead-end of evolution. That is the dead-end of evolution.

Until recently, it was therefore believed that such a scenario of ‘enrichment’ of a species with new genetic material was in principle impossible. However, in recent years, more and more works have appeared that encourage scientists to take a different view on the processes of evolution of living beings.

“It seems that we are at the stage of changing the scientific paradigm. Biologists have long been convinced that the evolution of living beings can be represented as a branching tree. This metaphor  (Tree of Life) might not be entirely correct and might soon be discarded,” said Vladimir Lukhtanov.

“Introgressive hybridisation suggests that it might be more correct to represent evolution as Web of Life, in which the emerging new branches are horizontally linked to each other due to the gene exchange.”

“Additionally, the fact that we have identified an understudied natural mechanism that makes it possible to maintain genetic diversity may be important for the development of a general strategy for the conservation of a wide variety of living organisms,” said Vladimir Lukhtanov.