Young Researchers Workshop on River Management

Kuantan, 28th October – Faculty of Engineering Technology (FTK) organized the 5th International Young Researchers Workshop On River Basin Environment and Management which managed to attract 55 young researchers from Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Nepal.

A total of 32 papers were presented with the focus on river management and environmental in a workshop held at Swiss Garden Resort, Kuantan recently.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Daing Nasir Ibrahim, river management is important as it will ensure goodness to the ecosystem. Therefore, proactive actions are needed to protect the environment for the benefit of future generation. He also hopes that more collaboration between UMP and other related parties can materialized for the benefit of the community.

“This workshop will act as a catalyst for young researchers under the age of 30 years old to meet and discuss about the issues regarding the management and environment of the river basin. There are five scopes covered in this workshop namely water management, water resources and its management, water quality and its impact towards health, environmental technology, and regarding the current environmental issues” said the Vice-Chancellor.

Furthermore, he hoped that the participants of this workshop will be able to build their network, discussing related issues and gathering many new ideas in improving river system management at their own home countries  

The keynote address for the workshop was delivered by the Director General of The Department of Environment, Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Kamarulnajuib Che Ibrahim entitled “Environment (Water) Issues and Challenges in Malaysia”. It discussed on the preservation of water resources from pollution for the benefit of mankind and to ensure the quantity of water is adequate for the community in the future.

Also present during the workshop are the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Technology, Professor Dato’ Dr. Zularisam Ab Wahid, the Director of Interdisciplinary Centre for River Basin Environment, Yamanashi University, Professor Kazama Futaba and other representatives from Yamanashi University namely Professor Nishida Kei, Associate Professor Tadashi Toyama and Assistant Professor Takashi Nakamura.

Apart from the two-day workshop, UMP has also signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Yamanashi University, Japan. The first collaborative activity between both parties was a group of excellent students from FTK went to Yamanashi University in 2016 under the Sakura Exchange Programme. The programme was fully sponsored by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

Throughout the programme, the students were being exposed to the water treatment process and production of bio source from wastewater using microorganism and plants as well as practicing the usage of high tech instrument analysis apparatus.