Tag: UiTM

On 17th March 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was sealed between Faculty of Business and Management (FBM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and the Centre for Supply Chain Excellence (CSCE), Middlesex University Dubai (MUD) to formalize their research and academic collaboration in the field of logistics and supply chain management. The relationships between the two institutions started when they had their academic discussion back in August 2021.

To ratify the agreement between the two institutions, a virtual MoU signing event was held. Prof Dr Noryati Ahmad, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Management, represented FBM at the signing event, while Dr Cedwyn Fernandes, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Director of MUD, represented MUD.

The main objective of this MoU is to form a strong partnership between both institutions to boost more joint academic and research initiatives, notably in the field of logistics and supply chain management. “We are thrilled to embark on this collaboration with MUD, which will further enhance our strong network of global academic partnerships. Moreover, by forming partnerships like these, we will be able to increase our output of high-impact research in both institutions, which eventually will support us in improving our QS ranking,” said Prof. Dr Noryati in her welcoming speech. She added, “We now aim to explore new and advance fields of logistics and supply chain management through this partnership, consequently make a significant contribution in developing regional knowledge in these disciplines. We’re also excited to bring new opportunities for staff and students to participate in the exchange programmes thus enable enriching their academic experience.”

On behalf of MUD, Dr Cedwyn highlighted the recent MUD-UiTM collaborations which included distinguished guest speaker series, collaborative panelists’ sessions, conference presentation, book writing project, and research activities focusing on diverse logistics and supply chain issues. One of the research topics was building circular and resilient supply chains, which was prompted by the trends in the supply chain during the Covid-19 period.

This collaboration with MUD builds on UiTM’s existing ties with renowned academic institutions around the world. It is hoped that the newly formed relationships between the FBM, UiTM and CSCE, MUD would lead to more fruitful future collaboration that will benefit the institutions, universities, students, and society as a whole.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) of UiTM, Prof Dr Mohd Nazip Suratman received an invitation to visit the National Wildlife Rescue Centre (NWRC) at Sungkai, Perak on 11 December 2020.

His visit was accompanied by the director of Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainable Development (IBSD), Prof. Sr. Dr. Zulkiflee Abd Latif, researchers from the Faculty of Applied Science Dr Nur Nadiah Md Yusof and Dr Shafiq Mohd Aazmi as well as their MSc student, Nur Fatiha Najihah binti Mohd Fakhrul Hatta.

Also present at the event was Dr David @ Jeabeat Magintan, director of the NWRC. During the visitation, they were briefed on the functions and roles of NWRC in relation to wildlife rescue duties in Peninsular Malaysia. They also had the opportunity to see rescued wildlife species housed in NWRC such as the Malayan tigers, sun bears, Malayan tapirs, and primates.

Since 2018, UiTM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Jabatan PERHILITAN with a goal to strengthen the research in biodiversity and sustainable development. The NWRC, under Jabatan PERHILITAN is a wildlife rescue centre aims to rescue and protect endangered species in Peninsular Malaysia including the Malayan tigers. As these captive tigers are confined in a limited space in comparison to when they were out in the wild, it might be affecting their normal behaviors that could lead to stress, which is also associated with increasing faecal glucocorticoid metabolite.

In the effort of improving the welfare of Malayan tigers, a collaborative research project between the Faculty of Applied Science and NWRC is established. The two-years project entitled as the ‘Stress-related behavior and physiology of captive Malayan Tigers (Panthera tigris jacksoni)’ will bridge the common interests of both parties and contribute towards better understanding of stereotypic behavior and physiological stress among captive tigers.

With this knowledge, more effective protocol and management strategies for these endangered species can be developed to minimize stress and enhance their welfare in captivity.

One of the positive impacts of research is the ability to translate research results and innovation from the lab into commercialized products.

This commercialization will subsequently contribute to societal benefit, economic growth, industry partnerships and entrepreneurship. In line with Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation’s (MOSTI) Strategic Plan 2021-2025, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) is committed to accelerating innovation development and commercialization as part of its educational mission.

One of UiTM’s successful research innovations is green products by Assoc. Prof. Dr Rahmah Mohamed, founder of RM Poly Pack Sdn Bhd and head of Green and Functional Polymer Research Group at the Faculty of Applied Sciences. By using Green Technology, Dr Rahmah and her team successfully manufactured a wide range of products using non-toxic and biodegradable materials to address the issue of pollution caused by plastic wastes. Her inventions include the Bio Plastic Bag, Bio Straws, Plastic Bottles and Degradable Disposable Apron.

Their Bio Plastic Bag products range from oil-based polymer Photodegradable Bag to starch-based Green Bio Bag, which are not only biodegradable but also highly durable. The Bio Straws are polylactide- (PLA), starch- and starch hybrid-based, designed to be eco-friendly, compostable, and biodegradable. In the wake of increasing plastic pollution in our ecosystem, RM Poly Pack green products offer substitutes for traditional plastics.

This innovative research effort has contributed to many positive outcomes, including the efficient and responsible use of natural resources, awareness on bioproducts usage and talent development for staff and students.

PAINA Chilli Sauce is another innovative product created from the lab of the Faculty of Applied Sciences. It was developed in 2017 by Dr Azizah Othman, Dr Fadhilah Jailani, and Dr Siti Roha Ab. Mutalib from the Department of Food Science and Technology. Made from quality, locally grown pineapple, the sauce is versatile and can be used as a condiment, marinade or incorporated into various dishes to create a refreshing tropical taste. With the support from the Product and Market Incubation (PMI) programme under UiTM’s Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) and UiTM’s Business Innovation & Technology Commercialization Centre (BITCOM), PAINA Chilli sauce is now commercially produced and marketed.

A more recent innovative research output from UiTM is ‘Dr Azri’s Perfume’. The product developed at the Faculty of Applied Sciences consists of a range of premium perfumes with a long-lasting scent. A typical Eau de parfum (EDP) fragrance can last between 8-9 hours; however, Dr Azri’s Perfume was formulated to last up to 72 hours on fabric surfaces. The product’s founder, ChM. Dr Mohd Azri Ab Rani and his team have developed a way to reduce the volatility rate in the perfume with a novel fixative agent that acts as an adhesive material.

By incorporating various extracts, five different scents were developed: The Man, Crush, Dr Azri x His Student, My Subject, and Founder’s Fav. Dr Azri has also created charitable opportunities by donating the profits made from the products to the construction of water wells with electric pumps (Wakaf Telaga) in Cambodia. No doubt, this is one of the many positive outcomes of transitioning innovative products to the markets.

In promoting research excellence, the Faculty of Applied Sciences, UiTM, is moving towards producing more commercialised research and development innovations through collaborations with the industry. Strong university-industry partnerships will enhance recognition, visibility, and graduate employability and ultimately bring numerous benefits to the university, the country, and the global community.

Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying (FSPU), University Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Malaysia has achieved a very impressive accomplishment at the 6th International Built Environment Undergraduate Research Competition (BEURC) which was held in November 2021. FSPU had won 24 gold medals, 27 silver medals and 22 bronze medals.

BEURC is an undergraduate competition dedicated to undergraduates in Built Environment programmes at both national and international levels. This competition adheres to the core elements in Built Environment which are architecture, building surveying, building control, planning, facilities management, real estate, engineering management as well as construction management. This competition is held every year, and also participating in this competition are from the leading universities in Malaysia.

The BEURC Research Excellence Award was awarded to students from Centre of Studies for Parks and Amenity Management, FSPU with the research title of Enhancing The Effectiveness of Templer Forest Eco Park and Templer Forest Reserve Management Plan Through Limit of Acceptable Change and Recreation Opportunity Spectrum.

In addition, FSPU has also managed to grab 3 awards for the Outstanding Undergraduate Award category with the research topics of Enhancing The Effectiveness of Templer Forest Eco Park and Templer Forest Reserve Management Plan Through Limit of Acceptable Change and Recreation Opportunity Spectrum, Finding Potential Routes for Green Lanes in Bandar Baru Bangi by Using AHP and GIS and Iskandar Malaysia in Johor: A Catalyst for Rapid Development in Southern Peninsular Malaysia.

Genetically Modified (GM) crops are introduced through GM technology. GM crops diversification can contribute to sustainable agriculture in a warmer world.

However, concerns about GM crops cover many bioethical issues, including bioethical debates on human rights. Among others, the issues include exploiting the potential benefits of this technology, farm biosecurity and corporate-dominated seed justice. This is further exacerbated by the fact that a handful of multinational corporations control farmers and the respective food chains. There is also a potential risk that genetic pollination of GM seeds can spill over into non-GM crops.

In view of this, the Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTMLaw) researchers team up with researchers from the Faculty of Law, Universitas Semarang Indonesia (UNNES) to address the ethical aspects of the use of GM crops. The former team comprises of Dr Siti Hafsyah Idris (leader), Dr John Chuah Chong Oon, Assoc Prof Dr Sheela Jayabalan, Mrs Zuhaira Nadiah Zulkipli, Mrs Siti Nuramani Abdul Manab, Mrs Fazlin Mohamed Zain and Mr Nurul Hisham Shamsuddin (PhD student). The latter are represented by Mr Ridwan Arifin (leader), Dr Rodiyah, Dr Ali Masyhar, Dr Indah Sri Utari and Mr Afiqo Putry Agry.

This collaboration is sponsored by a Matching Grant from both faculties with a total value of RM20,000. Specifically, this research aims to present a legal framework, policy, and good legal practice to guide policymakers in addressing the bioethical issues in GM technology and to identify possible ways to integrate the bioethical issues in their decision-making process of GM technology for the protection of farmers’ rights. The scope will encompass the position in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Currently, biosafety regulatory measures are gazetted to balance modern biotechnology development and the protection of the environment. The current legal framework covers the procedural process of GM technology which prioritises the development of biotechnology industries over the protection of human rights and the environment. As a result, bioethical considerations are displaced, especially farmers’ rights to livelihood and contractual justice, because they are perceived as descriptive in nature and challenging to translate into practice.

It is hoped that this international research collaboration will produce a refined legal framework of ethical legal principles to be of practical use for the regulators in both countries to instil ethical compliance in protecting human rights.

The College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia hosted the virtual Memorandum of Understanding renewal for another three years between UiTM and Universitas Jayabaya, Indonesia on 26th November 2021. This virtual ceremony was part of the bigger ceremony for MOU/MOA between UiTM and the Ministry of Transportation Indonesia, Universitas Bakrie, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Universitas Jember and Universitas Jayabaya, Indonesia.

The session began with an opening speech by Prof. Ts. Dr Hajah Roziah Mohd Janor, Vice-Chancellor of UiTM. The Vice-Chancellor congratulated both UiTM and Universitas Jayabaya, Indonesia for their initiative and commitment towards the success of the e-MoU renewal program. The Vice-Chancellor mentioned that the renewal of the MOU for another three years shows that the cooperation and collaboration between the two institutions will become stronger.

UiTM and Universitas Jayabaya, Indonesia, have decided to expand their partnership following the success of previous events like Summer School in 2019 and the virtual Student Colloquium in 2021. Students from both institutions were able to engage in a cultural and academic exchange thanks to these activities. Research outputs from both institutions were shared via numerous online webinars in an effort to enhance the research of their respective partners by exchanging information about developments in teaching, student engagement and research institutions.

UiTM and Universitas Jayabaya, Indonesia have agreed to extend the MOU for another three years because of the strong commitment and active involvement of both universities. UiTM’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ts. Dr Hajah Roziah Mohd Janor, and the Universitas Jayabaya, Indonesia’s Dean of the Faculty of Technology Industry, Ir. Herliati, MT, Ph.D., signed the renewed MOU virtually. The ambassador of Indonesia to Malaysia, His Excellency Hermano, was also in attendance.

Future proposal of the collaboration alliance includes the organization of symposia, conferences, short courses and meetings on research issues, acceptance of undergraduate and graduate students of each partner institution for periods of study and/or research and institutional exchanges between faculty and staff from each partner institution. The agreement also emphasizes the significance of knowledge transfer and the importance of contributing to the latest innovations to meet the current and future demands of society across a variety of disciplines in engineering.

A team of lecturers led by a senior lecturer, Dr Faryna Mohd Khalis, from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Kedah Branch, has secured a prestigious research grant from Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO) Japan to carry out a project, namely “A Meeting of Two Worlds: Japanese Anime Influence in Malaysian Character Design.”

Dr Shafilla Subri, Mr Abdullah Kula Ismail, Mrs Nurul Atikah Adnan, Mrs Syazliyati Ibrahim, and Assoc. Prof. Dr Mohd Rizaimy Shaharudin are five other team members that contributed to the project.

Significantly, UiTM is the sole grant recipient from Malaysia and Asia in the Art and Culture category from TIFO in the year 2021. This project intends to highlight the Japanese anime influences on Malaysian character design developed by UiTM students. Since Japanese core values such as harmony, order, and self-development are significant principles that should also be pervasive in other cultures, this project endeavours to promote the meeting of the two worlds, Japan and Malaysia, by highlighting the sharing of these important values via character design.

The project was executed from May 1st, 2021 to April 30th, 2022 and was separated into 3 phases: the initial stage, project development stage, and project output stage. Students from five UiTM branch campuses participated in this project: Kedah, Perak, Melaka, Kelantan, and Sarawak. They were provided with guidance to produce comic characters based on Malaysian folklore using the Japanese anime style of illustration. In addition to comprehensive supervision, coaching and monitoring were provided until their character designs and comics were completed.

To present the nine produced comics for public view, an exhibition, namely the TOSHIBA-UiTM Comic Project Exhibition 2022, was held from February 28th, 2022 until April 30th, 2022 at the Art and Design Gallery, College of Creative Arts, UiTM Kedah Branch. In addition, the event was live-streamed via social media platforms to reach a variety of audiences. The exhibition was co-hosted by the National Department of Culture and Arts (JKKN) in Kedah State and officiated by the Rector of UiTM Kedah, Professor Dr Mohamad Abdullah Hemdi. The JKKN’s participation in this endeavour has really boosted the prestige of the event to the national level of involvement.

To add to the effect of publicity, the Honourable Consul General, Mr Orikasa Hiroyuki, of the Consulate-General of Japan in Penang, Malaysia, also paid a visit and offered his remarks during the event’s opening ceremony.

In his speech, Mr Orikasa said: “Let me congratulate the UiTM Kedah Branch team for winning the TIFO grant in 2021. This award of the UiTM Kedah Branch team is not only an amazing achievement but also a symbol of the friendship relationship between Japan and Malaysia for all of us. Japan has a distinct culture by our lifestyle, traditions, customs, infrastructures and I believe and I agree Malaysia resembles Japan in certain ways that a distinct culture to makes two countries complementary to each other. For instance, the core value of Malaysia and Japan such as respect, loyalty to seniors, a treasury of our own traditions and language, harmony of religion and love of our hometown are based on the daily lives of the people of Japan and Malaysia. Anime originated from Japan which always has a sense of love, justice, courage, respect of not only people but also nature and peace, highly popular in Malaysia. Due to these common values between Japan and Malaysia, young Malaysian from primary to university level students are key followers of Japanese anime. Based on the large fans that anime has on the life of Malaysian students and the beautiful niche of Malaysia, the UiTM project team designed these animation characters. This is a smart approach I believe.”