The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FKM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia hosted the second UiTM-MSU Joint e-Colloquium ‘The Roles of Universities in SDG13 on Climate Action’ on 8 July 2020. The joint colloquium was part of the MOU activities between UiTM and Management and Science University (MSU) which was signed in early January this year.
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 which calls for ‘urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” was the theme for the colloquium with a special guest speaker from Asian Development Institute for Community Economy and Technology (adiCET) Chiang Mai Rajabahat University (CMRU).
The session began with the welcome speech by Prof. Dr. Mohd Nazip Suratman, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, UiTM. Prof Nazip congratulated both UiTM and MSU for the commitment shown in the MOU activities and mentioned that the theme chosen was highly timely as the subject is scarcely discussed on campus.
He stressed that UiTM has always been committed to research pertaining to SDGs and is promoting the agenda by consistently offering various internal Sustainability Grants.
The session continued with discussions on how UiTM, MSU and adiCET CMRU could contribute to climate action in terms of governance, operation, education, research, and leadership. The first speaker, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramlan Zailani from UiTM spoke on the implementation of the Low Carbon City Framework (LCCF) on Campus.
The LCCF implementation was in partnership with Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) as part of the ASEAN SDGs Frontrunners Cities project, aiming to reduce UiTM carbon emission intensity by 45 percent relative to 2015.
The second speaker, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamed N. Abdul Razaq from MSU presented his research on Hydro-Solar Power Generation System utilizing IoT of smart monitoring and control. The research explored a new solution for the challenging task of energy storage for electricity generation deployment in rural regions.
The final speaker, Dr Worajit Setthapun from adiCET CMRU shared her incredible green journey in establishing Chiang Mai World Green City, the living laboratory for green technologies with 100% renewable energy-based Smart Community, showcasing real applications for sustainable living.
The session ended with an engaging question and answer (Q&A) before a closing session by the Moderator, Dr. Azlin Mohd Azmi from UiTM.
As leaders in knowledge creation and research, universities play important roles in the SDGs agenda, by making practical changes to the way their institutions are managed.
Some sustainable ways which should be given immediate importance include switching to greener energy, reducing energy consumptions, pledging zero carbon emissions and arming students with the knowledge and skills to make individual changes. How universities operate, conduct research, and educate their students can be a great catalyst in combating the climate crisis.