UNAIR researcher presents work at Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2023

Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) has shown its presence as a world-class university. Many UNAIR’s researchers have performed well nationally and internationally, including Prof. Dr. Fedik Abdul Rantam, DVM. The UNAIR accomplished researcher was entrusted to attend and be involved in the prestigious 72nd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany, on Monday, June 26, 2023. Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting ( LNLM ) is a prestigious event for researchers and scientists at the international level.

Become selected researcher
In this prestigious event, Prof. Fedik was selected as one of the Indonesian research delegates. He admitted that he was grateful and proud because each researcher only had the opportunity to attend and be involved in the event once. “Alhamdulillah, I can share with the best young researchers from various countries and can have direct discussions with the Nobel laureates. Moreover, we researchers only get one chance in a lifetime to be involved in this meeting,” said Prof. Fedik. Being a selected researcher in this event is not easy because various criteria must be met. As published by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture’s website, researchers must first participate in a selection. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education and Research and Technology will submit the final decision to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings Foundation.

Presenting domestic vaccine development
On that occasion, Prof. Fedik presented his work titled Indonesia in Overcoming Covid-19 Pandemic and Domestic Vaccine Development. He explained how Indonesia handled the Covid-19 pandemic, including developing the Merah Putih vaccine initiated by UNAIR researchers.  “In the meeting, I presented our Covid-19 vaccine, which is the work of the nation’s researchers, and it received a positive response from the participants. They were interested in our vaccine’s advantages and how to determine the isolate as a unit seed vaccine,” said the Head of UNAIR Vaccine Research and Development Center. Furthermore, the UNAIR Virology and Immunology Expert also revealed that his team is preparing the second-generation vaccine, the cocktail vaccine. He added that even though the administration has declared the pandemic as an endemic, it does not mean cases of Covid-19 transmission can be ignored. For this reason, continuing this vaccine research is still necessary as a preventive effort. “Furthermore, I also conveyed that my team and I are preparing a second-generation vaccine called the cocktail vaccine. Even though the status is currently considered endemic, vaccination is still needed to prevent the spread of Covid-19,” he added.

This year, Indonesia through the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, has the opportunity to partner with the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, which is focused on Physiology and Medicine. Indonesia sent several outstanding researchers from Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) and Gadjah Mada University (UGM) for the meeting. The researchers joined more than 600 other selected young researchers from around the world to meet the Nobel Prize laureates face to face.

Residual antibiotics found in cooked food, according to EdUHK study

The use of veterinary antibiotics is not uncommon in the fields of animal husbandry and fisheries to speed up growth and prevent disease. However, residual antibiotics may damage human gut microbiota, promote antibiotic resistance, and even delay the growth and development of brain cells, posing hazards to human health.

Since 2015, Dr Deng Wenjing, Associate Professor in the Department of Science and Environmental Studies at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), and her research team have been examining the use of antibiotics and their impact in the context of local environmental ecology, food safety and children’s health. They have found that these practices not only cause water pollution, but also contaminate food, eventually affecting human health.

Environmental ecology

In 2021, the research team collected 13 river water samples and 15 sea water samples across Hong Kong. The results showed that the samples were extensively contaminated with antibiotics, including tetracyclines (three types), sulfonamides (10 types), quinolones (nine types), and macrolides and streptomycin. Some types were detected in all samples. In areas with a larger number of farms, such as Yuen Long, both the number of types and the concentration of antibiotics detected were higher. Compared to the initial study in 2015, the team found that the concentration rate of target antibiotics had decreased, but antibiotics were detected in more locations, indicating a broader coverage of antibiotics in local waters.

Children’s health

In other research in 2016, the team collected 31 urine samples from local children aged between four to six. None of them had taken any medical antibiotics within a month before the test, but 77.4% of their samples were found to be positive for antibiotics, with the highest concentration reaching 0.36 ng/mL. The detection rate was higher than that in Shanghai and Korea. Although the levels of concentration were lower than the World Health Organisation’s international standard, other studies have revealed a significant correlation between the use of antibiotics in animals and children being overweight or obese. The situation, therefore, should not be ignored.

Food safety

To examine the relationship between food safety and the consumption of antibiotics in animals by children, the team tested in the same year chicken, pork, freshwater and saltwater seafood, and organic eggs bought from markets near the residences of the surveyed children. The team discovered that using traditional cooking methods, such as boiling, slow cooking, stir-frying, roasting, and steaming, did not remove antibiotics from the food.

Tetracyclines and streptomycin were also found in ‘organic eggs’ with ‘free from antibiotics’ claims, which could have been contaminated during packaging. This is in addition to the low concentration rate of oxytetracycline detected in drinking water, which indicates that the use of antibiotics in animals has already impacted our daily life on various fronts.

Dr Deng said, “The aim of these studies is to understand the use of antibiotics in animals in Hong Kong. They have revealed that even after high-temperature cooking, antibiotics cannot be completely removed from food, and ultimately enter the human body, posing a threat to our health”

She called on parents to take heed of the excessive intake of antibiotics, which could alter the intestinal environment and even lead to antibiotic resistance. More research in this area and frequent food testing are needed to understand the health risks of antibiotics on children. In the long run, it is necessary to strengthen regulatory control in this area to prevent the situation from worsening.

NSTDA, Chula Dentistry unveil toothpaste prototype to improve children’s oral health

The Assistive Technology and Medical Devices Research Center (A-MED), a division under the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, together with the Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, have unveiled an innovative toothpaste prototype with nano-hydroxyapatite that helps to replenish minerals and strengthen tooth enamel.

The project aims to promote and develop oral health and dental care products to improve the quality of life and oral healthcare for Thai people, as well as address disparities among consumers. By fostering the development of dental advancements by Thai dentists and academics, the collaboration aims to strengthen Thailand’s medical sector and reduce dependence on imported resources. The press conference to showcase the toothpaste prototype took placed on May 30, 2023 at the Faculty Executive Committee meeting room, Vajwittayawat Building, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University.

Dr. Kitti Wongthavarawat, Head of the Health Innovation and Information Research Team, Assistive Technology and Medical Devices Research Center (A-MED), explained that when dental caries show up in children, it is the beginning of a series of long-term oral health issues. Presently, over 50% of Thai children currently suffer from tooth decay, and more than 60% of adults suffer from gingivitis due to limited access to adequate dental treatment. The nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste prototype is the result of collaborative research, development, testing, design, and production of toothpaste products for the treatment of life-impeding oral health issues, such as early tooth decay, which usually happens because of lack of regular good oral health care.

Development of the nano-hydroxyapatite materials was jointly carried out by the research teams from A-MED, NSTDA, and the Faculty of Dentistry at Chulalongkorn University. This novel material was created via a mechanical chemical method and has a structure similar to human bones and teeth. Nano-hydroxyapatite can be used as a component in toothpaste due to its compatibility with human tissues and capability to promote tooth enamel remineralization. By focusing on nano-sized hydroxyapatite, Thai researchers can help reduce reliance on imports, improve access to domestically manufactured high-quality medical materials, and maintain international medical standards that align with BCG medical device policy objectives.

“The official launch of this prototype toothpaste marks another significant milestone in the two organizations’ successful partnership, as both collaborate to develop advanced preparation techniques for nano-hydroxy powder. By enabling the rapid formation of calcium phosphate from calcium and phosphate ions, which can precipitate onto the tooth surface, the addition of apatite in the toothpaste enhances its ability to restore minerals in the enamel layer. This enhancement elevates the overall quality of the toothpaste,” Prof. Dr. Pornchai Jansisyanont, Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, concluded.

For the full and unedited release of this article, please visit: https://www.chula.ac.th/en/news/122988/

ITS, GMF AeroAsia to launch environmentally-friendly equipment for aircraft industry

Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) and Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) AeroAsia have launched two environmentally friendly Ground Support Equipment products, namely Electric Vehicle RC Pushback Tug and Material Handling Car. The launch was held at GMF AeroAsia’s Innovation Day event in Jakarta on March 1, 2023. The launch was attended by Mr. Nadiem Anwar Makarim as the Indonesian Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Dr. Bambang Pramujati as the ITS’ Vice Rector IV for Research, Innovation, Cooperation, and Alumni, Mr. Andi Fahrurrozi as the CEO of GMP AeroAsia, and researchers involved from ITS. The products were created to facilitate the distribution and supply of aircraft parts or components, both in the warehouse area, workshop, hangar, and apron area.

The Electric Vehicle RC Pushback Tug and Material Handling Car are part of a research collaboration between ITS and GMF AeroAsia that aims to make the aircraft industry more efficient and effective while reducing its environmental impact. The project is led by Dr. Nani Kurniawati from the Department of Industrial and System Engineering for the Electric Vehicle RC Pushback Tug and Dr. Bambang Sudarmanta from the Department of Mechanical Engineering for the Material Handling Car. The project is funded by the Kedaireka Matching Fund program from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology funds.

The Electric Vehicle RC Pushback Tug is made to address the high operational costs of conventional tugs used in the aircraft industry. The tug can pull large-tonnage objects such as aircraft up to 60 tons, making it efficient and effective. It also becomes the only one in the world that can replace the conventional pushback from fossil fuels. This innovation is not only more cost-effective but also has a positive impact on the environment, as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and lowers operational costs.

The Material Handling Car was created to support the airport’s ecosystem by replacing conventional fuel-based carriers. The car uses electric-based technology with a real-time monitoring system, making it more environmentally friendly and cost-effective. Moreover, it features an easy energy storage system and low maintenance through the battery modular system as the leading sector in the application of electric-based vehicles in the airport area. The team believes that the car will have a positive impact on the airport area’s Green Environment Ecosystem, making it a more sustainable and efficient option for airport operations.

The products are designed to be environmentally friendly and easy to maintain, with a modular battery system that makes them efficient and reliable. The teams believe that these products will have a positive impact on the airport area’s Green Environment Ecosystem. The CEO of GMF AeroAsia, Mr. Andi Fahrurrozi, expressed his gratitude to ITS for the research collaboration. He said that GMF was pleased to provide a platform for academics to continue conducting research and that the company was open to other potential topics. This collaboration between ITS and GMF AeroAsia stakeholders is a great example of how academia and industry can work together to make a positive impact on society and the environment.

In conclusion, the launch of these groundbreaking products marks a significant milestone in the aviation industry’s push towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future. With innovative solutions like the Electric Vehicle RC Pushback Tug and Material Handling Car, we can reduce our carbon footprint and create a more efficient and effective airport ecosystem.

Thammasat wins Friendly Design Award for fifth year in a row

Thammasat University won the “Friendly Design Award 2022” from the 6th Thailand Friendly Design Expo on December 15, 2022 in the category of “Institution for All People”. As an educational institution that is outstanding in facilitating and creating friendly designs in order for everyone to equally access and utilize, and are friendly to all people. This is the fifth year in a row for Thammsat to receive the award, in which Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chumkhet Sawaengcharoen, Vice Rector for Administration of Rangsit Center for Physical Education, Thammasat University also received an award under the “Friendly Design Role Model” category for the sixth time in a row.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chumkhet Sawaengcharoen, Vice Rector for Administration of Rangsit Center for Physical Education, Thammasat University revealed that in the year 2022, the physical area within the university has been improved by constructing over 100 ramps to facilitate those who use wheelchairs, including upgrading all electric buses (EV Bus) to all be accessible to people with disabilities which is In parallel with the creation of the TU Around application for visually impaired students to check the parking spots according to the signs through the application.

In addition, Thammasat has developed innovations to promote equality for Thai society through designs, inventions, and social innovations created to enhance the quality of life for all groups of people and reduce social inequality, such as Ban Saen Yue Dee for the elderly with disabilities of the Thammasat University Universal Design Research Unit, mobile odor-restricted urinal from the Faculty of Nursing, and electric wheelchairs for people with leg impairments from the Faculty of Engineering.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chumkhet further said that especially about monetization and careers for people with disabilities, which is an important factor that will allow such group of people to overcome hardships. The Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Thammasat University and the Thammasat University Universal Design Research Unit which have foreseen the aspect, therefore, designed a career kiosk for the disabled to be able to sell products right on their wheelchair with the proportion and formats designed to support this particular group of users in order to conduct occupational tasks within a limited area.

“This is considered a correlation between the government policy that wishes to offer employment opportunities and the private sector that wishes to promote the careers for people with disabilities. Hence, our role is the designer who will provide academic services and develop further until we obtain designs that can literally be used in real life,”said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chumkhet.

In this regard, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chumkhet Sawaengcharoen, Vice Rector for Administration of Rangsit Center for Physical Education, Thammasat University also received the ‘Friendly Design Awards 2022’ under the category of “Friendly Design Role Model” from the 6th Thailand Friendly Design Expo

Redox-based transistor as reservoir system for neuromorphic computing

Physical systems known as “reservoirs” are designed to emulate neural networks and meet the need for improved computational efficiency and speed. Overcoming the previous issues with compatibility, performance, and integration of such reservoir systems, researchers from Japan have recently developed an ion-gating transistor with improved reservoir states and short-term memory capabilities based on redox reactions. This development opens us the possibility of utilizing redox-based ionic devices for high-performance neuromorphic computing.

With major breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, image recognition, and object detection, the field of computing has witnessed a remarkable revolution in recent times. Being a data-driven field, the efficient analysis and processing of large and complex datasets is of utmost importance in computing. To enhance the efficiency and speed of data-driven tasks, researchers are exploring the possibility of recognizing complex patterns and relationships inherent in the data for the development of high-performance “neuromorphic” computing technology. This cutting-edge approach aims to replicate the brain’s ability to process information in a parallel and interconnected manner. By doing so, it seeks to construct a network of nodes capable of transforming data into high-dimensional representations suitable for complex tasks like pattern recognition, prediction, and classification.

Physical reservoirs resembling neural networks receive and interact with input signals or data, and their constituent elements, namely neurons and their interconnections, dynamically change over time. These reservoir states represent the physical system at a specific point and play a vital role in transforming input signals into high-dimensional representations. Securing the high dimensionality of a physical reservoir to achieve a sufficiently large number of reservoir states is, however, a challenging task.

Now, in a study published in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems, researchers from Japan led by Associate Professor Tohru Higuchi at Tokyo University of Science (TUS) have developed a redox reaction-based ion-gating reservoir (redox-IGR) that can achieve a record-high number of reservoir states. With this development, Dr. Higuchi, along with Mr. Tomoki Wada and Mr. Daiki Nishioka from TUS, and Dr. Takashi Tsuchiya and Dr. Kazuya Terabe from National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, have now advanced the possibility of translating higher-performance neuromorphic computing technology into a reality.

Ion-gating reservoirs consist of gate, drain, and source electrodes and are separated by an electrolyte that acts as a medium to control the flow of ions. Applying a voltage to the gate electrode triggers a redox reaction within the channel connecting the source and drain electrodes, resulting in a drain current that can be precisely modulated. Converting the time-series datasets into gate voltages can thus allow the corresponding output currents to serve as distinct reservoir states.

In this study, the researchers used lithium (Li+) ion conducting glass ceramic (LICGC) as an electrolyte. In LICGC, the Li+ ions travel faster compared to the channel, leading to the generation of two output currents — the drain current and an additional gate current, effectively doubling the number of reservoir states. Moreover, the different rates of ion transport in the channel and the electrolyte results in a delay in response of the drain current compared to the gate current. This delayed response enables short-term memory capabilities within the system, allowing the reservoir to retain and utilize information from past inputs, a crucial requirement for physical reservoirs.

To fabricate this device, the researchers deposited a 200-nm thick film of lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) onto a 0.15-mm thick LICGC substrate. The gate electrode was composed of a thin film of Li-ion/platinum (Pt), while Pt thin films were used for the drain and source electrodes. The channel connecting the drain and source electrodes consisted of a 100-nm thick tungsten (VI) oxide (WO3) thin film.

“We have successfully reproduced electrical characteristics similar to those of neural circuits by utilizing redox reactions induced by the insertion and desorption of Li+ ions into the LixWO3 thin film,” explains Dr. Higuchi.

Demonstrating remarkable capabilities, the device achieved a total of 40 reservoir states (20 from the drain current and 20 from the gate current). It outperformed other physical reservoirs such as memristors and spin torque devices when solving second-order nonlinear dynamic equations. Most notably, the nonlinearity, the short-term memory capabilities, and the high number of reservoir states enabled the device to make predictions with a low mean square prediction error of 0.163 in the second-order nonlinear autoregressive moving average (NARMA2) task — a benchmark test for evaluating the performance of a reservoir system in performing complex nonlinear operations and predicting the future value of a time-series input based on its past values of both input and output.

Explaining the real-life implications of this development, Dr. Higuchi concludes, “The developed system has the potential to become a general-purpose technology that will be implemented in a wide range of electronic devices including computers and cell phones in the future.”

Universitas Sumatera Utara researchers study key indicators for mangrove restoration success

Rapid mangrove loss rates have prompted the urgent implementation of conservation and restoration programs. Currently, restoration efforts have high failure rates (mainly because they only consider intensive planting of mangrove seedlings, often in monocultures and low-lying tidal flats. In many cases, this approach must pay more attention to measuring ecosystem habitat functionality and adaptive management.

A study from the Center of Excellence for Mangrove Universitas Sumatera Utara (CoE for Mangrove USU) recently reported that macrozoobenthic community assemblage is a key indicator for mangrove restoration success. The idea behind this new study, led by Prof. Mohammad Basyuni of Universitas Sumatera Utara and Dr. Alejandra G. Vovides of the University of Glasgow and published in the journal Restoration Ecology (https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13614), was simple. The recognition of the high value of mangrove forests and the wide array of ecosystem services they provide has motivated investment in worldwide restoration efforts. However, current metrics of functional restoration (other than seedling survival rates and plant community composition) are often not readily available for local community managers, highlighting an urgency to identify easy-to-measure indicators to assess the functionality of restored mangroves.

The macrozoobenthic community could be such a practical indicator, as macrozoobenthic communities are sensitive to changes in their environment and can be surveyed easily within local managing programs.

Macrozoobenthos on the roots of mangrove.

The study focusing on three main mangrove management conditions (natural, planted, and naturally regenerated) in North Sumatra and the province of Aceh, Indonesia, compared vegetation and macrozoobenthic community diversity indices and identified environmental variables that best describe the forest management conditions and their associated macrozoobenthic community assemblage. These land uses have further undergone mangrove vegetation recovery either due to abandonment followed by natural regeneration of mangroves or due to mangrove planting efforts. This provided the possibility to compare two management conditions (i.e., planted and naturally regenerated) with mature natural mangroves used as reference. The study found that the macrozoobenthic community can be used as a restoration indicator and could serve as a baseline to empower monitoring activities and community-based adaptive management practices to improve the outcomes of restoration efforts. Coastal communities that utilize the mangrove forest are familiar with the macrozoobenthos species. This familiarity will help in designing community-based monitoring programs to evaluate mangrove restoration success.

Macrozoobenthos.

Environmental conditions at mangrove restoration sites can rapidly change, as evidenced by Pulau Sembilan in Malaysia, which was first managed through planting between 2008 and 2012, but then additionally underwent hydrological connectivity restoration. Despite the limitations of this study, low pH and DO at Percut Sei Tuan are probable evidence of hydrologically impaired conditions. These environmental attributes, alongside the early pioneer vegetation recorded at Percut Sei Tuan, indicate low restoration success due to a continued hydrological impairment. However, allowing natural regeneration to occur without any intervention could result in functional recovery times becoming prolonged or even not occurring at all, depending on the nature, intensity, and duration of the disturbance (Ellison et al., 2020). Here, both vegetation and macrozoobenthos community assemblages formed three distinct groups associated with management. The vegetation NMDS showed high dissimilarities between natural and planted mangroves, where the differences in vegetation and environmental attributes might, in turn, influence the macrozoobenthic community assemblage, as was found to occur in riparian streams.

CoE for Mangrove USU is collaborating with the School of Geographical & Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, and the Department of Environment, Thuyloi University, Vietnam. The project suggested that identifying indicator species to support rapid bio-assessments can aid conservation diagnostics and management program design. Overall, the study showed that the community assemblage has the potential to be an indicator of mangrove functional restoration success. It showed that natural mangrove regeneration favors the recovery of macrozoobenthic functional groups over plantations. Facilitating natural mangrove regeneration through ecological and hydrological restoration may take longer than direct planting. Still, it will create the suitable flooding regimes and “natural” species assemblages needed to facilitate the functional recovery of the macrozoobenthic communities. Documenting the macrozoobenthic community under different mangrove conditions (including bare mudflats) and throughout the restoration programs can help understand the functional restoration trajectories. Further, combining nature-based solutions such as elevation or hydrological restoration with planting or dispersal of local pioneer species could accelerate the natural functional recovery of ecosystems.

Searching for joy in the university

Universities are often focused on efficiency and productivity, which can happen at the expense of the individual, leading to a workplace that is stressful and unfulfilling. Dr Ant Bagshaw explores the meaning and importance of joy in higher education institutions.

Every week, I spend time on a university campus, talking to colleagues and friends about their experiences of higher education. There’s one thing about the discourse on the contemporary university which is bothering me: we seem to be able to have successful institutions working well, in aggregate, but failing to ensure that each individual member of the community finds personal satisfaction.

The universities I work with are objectively successful. In Australia, where I live, universities have grown significantly in size offering educational opportunities to an increasingly large proportion of the population. The sector is also demonstrably attractive to international students from around the world. Additionally, research and innovation outcomes are excellent for the investment of public and private money. Universities play a major role in national life and have a positive impact in communities across the country. So far, so great.

This success of higher education could also be said about other systems. When I visit institutions across Southeast Asia, North America or Europe, leaders there also tell stories of ambition, growth, and success. Globally, we see enormous demand for higher education and graduates can find interesting and engaging jobs. Our universities are also the sites of amazing discoveries, cultural progress and new knowledge.

If universities are so successful, what’s the problem?

For many students and graduates who I talk to, higher education is, disappointingly, an impersonal and uninspiring experience. Yes, they have found friends and experienced intellectual growth, but they describe the experience in terms which suggest that this was in spite of the university, not because of it. There are persistent complaints about the variability of the teaching experience, inadequate student support, and technologies which inhibit rather than enable learning.

There is a particular dissonance for the experience at large research-intensive, high prestige, universities. Here, the institutional incentives for research dominate and educational experiences are often a comparatively low priority. In some institutions, there is a lingering attitude that students should be grateful for having been admitted, positioning them without power to seek better than that which is offered. While this is a broad-brush description, the issues are raised so regularly that it feels like there’s a pattern and not just my sampling bias.

The challenge is perhaps even more acute when speaking to faculty and professional staff. Workloads are high, the pressure to hit performance metrics is intense, and where universities have sought to be more efficient, staff are asked to do more with less. My work takes me to the UK regularly where I see these issues most starkly. In England, there is massive pressure on institutional budgets from eroding fee levels and increasing costs. Aside from the economics of higher education, the national political discourse positions universities as ‘part of the problem’, not the creators of solutions.

Academic staff in England are taking industrial action including a marking boycott which will see thousands of students’ graduations delayed. This is the latest in a wave of strikes over recent years, including among professional staff, which have demonstrated dissatisfaction with levels of pay, casualisation of the academic workforce, precarious career pathways, and worsening pension provision.

How do we know when there’s a big problem?

It could be fairly easy to dismiss the issues in contemporary higher education as the same experienced by every generation. Staff and students want more from their institutions than it’s possible to give. Students will always want better facilities, teaching, and support whatever the absolute level they actually receive. Staff will always want higher pay, lighter workloads, and more financial security in retirement. The pandemic disrupted organisational lives as well as personal ones: universities are still dealing with changes from health requirements, new learning modes, and the financial implications from a difficult few years.

While it’s possible to dismiss complaints with a focus on all the good which universities do, I think that there’s another way to come at this question. I think that there is a big problem, but it’s not one specific to any of the issues I’ve touched on. Our universities’ incentives and measures of success focus too much on the aggregate and too little on the individual. This is the structural problem which means that we’re not going to fix the experience such that everyone in the university community is enabled to find their own success.

What’s joy got to do with it?

I recently wrote an essay about the need for joy in universities. This was in response to a question inviting respondents to identify one aspect of higher education institutions to improve and how to go about it. I’ve been talking about joyful universities for a while as a prompt for reflection and discussion among senior leaders. It’s a term which usually gets people to stop and think.

Joy is a provocative term. It’s generally not a word used in workplaces. Joy is personal and intimate, the antithesis of corporate. And that’s why it’s powerful. It turns out that asking people to reflect on emotional responses to the world around them generates a different sort of discussion from the norm.

The core of my argument is that universities are too focused on efficiency, on being measured against performance targets which homogenise the experience of thousands of staff and students. This process of aggregating experiences eliminates that which is personal about learning in, or working at, a university.

Joy should be a route to high performance

Each time I’ve discussed trying to make universities into more joyful places, I hear a difficult story. While it varies a little by context, it usually goes like this: there’s an academic who is a star researcher, the leader in their field, who is known to have difficult and unpleasant behaviours but who is unchallenged because of their research reputation. It is far too common that universities are places where bullying and harassment are well known but not addressed. As academic staff come up through these environments, they learn that anything goes so long as you are among the best in research.

This isn’t good enough. Staff leave toxic working environments, and they may leave academia all together. Universities, and particular departments and groups within institutions, gain reputations for making lives miserable. What if this pattern could be reversed? What if institutions were known to be safe and respectful environments in which people were able to do their best work?

My proposal for a joyful university may sound reasonable in abstract: if the workplace is one where people are able to find personal satisfaction, the aggregate experience will be better. However, as with the issues of student experience and teaching quality, there is an enormous challenge in large and complex institutions of finding ways to enable colleagues to find joy in their work.

What’s joy got to do with it?

I recently wrote an essay about the need for joy in universities. This was in response to a question inviting respondents to identify one aspect of higher education institutions to improve and how to go about it. I’ve been talking about joyful universities for a while as a prompt for reflection and discussion among senior leaders. It’s a term which usually gets people to stop and think.

Joy is a provocative term. It’s generally not a word used in workplaces. Joy is personal and intimate, the antithesis of corporate. And that’s why it’s powerful. It turns out that asking people to reflect on emotional responses to the world around them generates a different sort of discussion from the norm.

The core of my argument is that universities are too focused on efficiency, on being measured against performance targets which homogenise the experience of thousands of staff and students. This process of aggregating experiences eliminates that which is personal about learning in, or working at, a university.

Joy should be a route to high performance

Each time I’ve discussed trying to make universities into more joyful places, I hear a difficult story. While it varies a little by context, it usually goes like this: there’s an academic who is a star researcher, the leader in their field, who is known to have difficult and unpleasant behaviours but who is unchallenged because of their research reputation. It is far too common that universities are places where bullying and harassment are well known but not addressed. As academic staff come up through these environments, they learn that anything goes so long as you are among the best in research.

This isn’t good enough. Staff leave toxic working environments, and they may leave academia all together. Universities, and particular departments and groups within institutions, gain reputations for making lives miserable. What if this pattern could be reversed? What if institutions were known to be safe and respectful environments in which people were able to do their best work?

My proposal for a joyful university may sound reasonable in abstract: if the workplace is one where people are able to find personal satisfaction, the aggregate experience will be better. However, as with the issues of student experience and teaching quality, there is an enormous challenge in large and complex institutions of finding ways to enable colleagues to find joy in their work.

This article was from the QS Insights Magazine, Issue 4. Read the full edition.

Building fluency and confidence through English Language Camp

Mastery of the English language not only makes it easier for us to connect with the outside world, but it also guarantees smooth dealings involving other countries.

As a university that values ​​close community-based relationships, be it locally or in neighbouring countries, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) took the initiative to conduct the Basic English Language Camp (BELSA) programme.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation, Professor Ir. Dr. Rizalafande Che Ismail said, UniMAP, through the Languages ​​and General Studies Department of the Faculty of Business and Communication (FPK), organized BELSA to improve English language skills among school students in the Satun region.

“This programme provides exposure and training to 318 students from 25 religious primary schools in the Satun region about the importance of communicating in English throughout our daily life.

“In addition, it can improve communication skills and language-related knowledge for students and teachers who participate in this programme, as well as showcasing UniMAP in teaching and learning activities (PdP) for overseas students,” he said when officiating on behalf of the Vice Chancellor at the closing ceremony of the BELSA programme at Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Chancellery Auditorium, here, recently.

Earlier, the Manager of Thammasat Wittaya School Satun, Umar Akem said the BELSA programme gave the primary school students of the Satun region the opportunity to learn the basics of English in an exciting environment abroad, namely Malaysia, especially in the university environment at UniMAP.

Chulalongkorn researchers win Gold, special awards at INTARG 2023 in Poland

Prof. Pol.Capt. Pharm. Dr. Suchada Sukrong, lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and a researcher at the Center of Excellence in DNA Barcoding of Thai Medicinal Plants, Chulalongkorn University, Dr. Kannika Thongkhao, and Pharm. Chayaphol Tangpatthong have won the gold medal and two Special Awards, namely the FIRI Award in the Best Invention category from “The first institute of inventors and researchers of Iran” (FIRI), Iran, and a Special Awards from “The Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic the Czech Metallurgical Society,” The Czech Republic, in The 16th International Invention and Innovation Show (INTARG 2023) on May 24-25, 2023, at Katowice International Conference Center, Katowice, Republic of Poland, with their “Rapid DNA immunochromatographic assay for detection of toxic Aristolochia species, the plants responsible for aristolochic acid nephropathy”

Participants from over 30 countries around the world submitted more than 300 works to this invention and innovation contest. Thailand had 29 works from 19 agencies, including Chulalongkorn University, Thammasat University, Kasetsart University, Srinakharinwirot University, Burapha University, Naresuan University, Mae Jo University, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Rajamangala University of Technology Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai Rajabhat University, Princess Chulabhorn Science High School Lopburi, Satri Witthaya, and the Prince Royal’s College. Participation in this contest was supported by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.

This innovation originated from an interest in khrai khruea, the root of the Aristolochia genus, which is used widely around the world, as well as in Thai medicinal formulas. The herb has anti-fever properties and boosts appetite. However, it contains Aristolochic acid as a chemical component, which is a carcinogen and can cause many types of kidney diseases, such as kidney failure, kidney cancer, and urinary tract cancer. The continuous monitoring of the use of khrai khruea by the research team of the Center of Excellence in DNA Barcoding of Thai Medicinal Plants, Chulalongkorn University, headed by Prof. Pol.Capt. Pharm. Dr. Suchada Sukrong, found that plants of this genus are still available for sale and mixed in medicinal recipes.

The “Rapid DNA immunochromatographic assay for detection of toxic Aristolochia species” consists of an antigen-labeled primer set and a lateral flow test kit, which can be used to accurately test the existence of Aristolochia species, e.g., khrai khruea, in various types of herbal medicines, such as pharmaceutical recipes, pharmaceutical powder, formulas, and bolus. The kit is highly sensitive and easy to use. The results can be interpreted with the naked eye in 90 minutes by reading the color lines that resemble the COVID-19 ATK or a pregnancy test kit. The “Rapid DNA immunochromatographic assay for detection of toxic Aristolochia species” can be used by entrepreneurs to inspect herbal raw materials or to inspect finished products by public health authorities and law enforcement agencies.

However, the Center intends to further develop the innovation for faster detection, which can yield results on the spot, and enable the public to test their own herbal medicines.