6 UMP subjects listed in QS World 2021 Ranking

PEKAN, 4 March 2021 - Six Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) subjects are listed in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021 announced today. Engineering and Technology’s field strengthened its position when it moved to the 358th best in the world compared to 386th in last year’s ranking, making this field the 7th best in Malaysia. This ranking edition also saw the subjects of Chemical Engineering ranked at 250th best in the world and 7th in Malaysia, Electrical & Electronics Engineering ranked at 400th best in the world and 9th in Malaysia, and Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautics & Manufacturing was ranked at 400th best in the world and 7th in Malaysia. The other two subjects listed are Pure Science (Chemistry) ranked at 550th best in the world and 6th in Malaysia and Pure Science (Materials Science) ranked at 400th best in the world and 6th in Malaysia. The UMP Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ir. Dr. Wan Azhar Wan Yusoff said the field of Engineering and Technology is the strength of UMP. “This achievement highlights the excellence in teaching and learning (T&L) at UMP which always focuses on various technical and technological aspects to produce holistic human capital with high level technical skills. “It is also in line with the UMP Strategic Plan 2021-2025 in leading the high level Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and also realising the university’s aspirations towards the best technology university by 2050,” he said. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic & International), Professor Ts. Dr. Mohd Rosli Hainin said this year’s assessment also showed improvements in all four indicators including academic reputation, employer reputation, citations and H-Index. “This benchmark allows UMP as one of the technical universities in the Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) to appraise the university’s achievements from various perspectives.

KUANTAN, 22 December 2020 - Many consider coal waste and cow dung to be worthless and often associated as the sources of environmental pollution.  However, it is different for a group of researchers from Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) who successfully conducted the waste-based research with the production of Encapsulated Bottom Ash Column (EBAC) and GyVer to solve problematic soil structure. According to the project leader, Associate Professor Ts. Dr. Muzamir Hasan from College of Engineering UMP, EBAC is a method of strengthening the soil using waste from coal bottom ash that is widely used to generate electricity at power stations. “While GyVer is a method of soil stabilisation using waste products from cow dung. “Both methods use a sustainable construction approach because they can solve the problem of waste dumping waste by utilising all these materials. “The idea of producing EBAC started in 2010 through the observation of high annual production of coal bottom ash and there is no effort to adopt this material which causes this waste to be dumped at landfills so that it requires high cost and large area. “Meanwhile, GyVer was developed in 2016 through the results of a literature review related to the main material of the study, namely cow dung, which shows the potential for use in the soil stabilisation process,” he said. This research also received the cooperation of several parties such as Asahitechno Co. Ltd. (Japan), Hokoku Engineering (Japan), Pahang State Government, Department of Irrigation and Drainage Pahang, Globallab Engineering Sdn. Bhd., Malakoff Corporation Berhad and Tencate Geosynthetics Asia. EBAC Research has won a gold medal at the British Invention Show (BIS) 2018, Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2018 and the International Conference and Exposition on Inventions by Institutions of Higher Learning (PECIPTA’17). Meanwhile, GyVer research won a gold medal in PECIPTA’19.

By: Nor Salwana Mohd Idris, Corporate Communications Unit, The Office of The Vice-Chancellor

FTKEE lecturers develop digital content for T&L

PEKAN, 25 January 2021 - The role of universities today is more challenging. When the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) strives to produce quality graduates to meet the needs of the industry in line with the Industrial Revolution (IR4.0), they also face the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. This challenge is described as a paradigm shift for the university to review its role in setting new norms for facing the current technological advancement. According to the Dean of the Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (FTKEE), Associate Professor Dr. Hamdan Daniyal, academic staff also faced with new norms in line with the current flexible education trend and digital transformation in teaching and learning (T&L). Since May 2020 until November 2020, FTKEE had produced more than 800 videos for T&L. He was delighted with the commitment given by the staff during MCO 2020. “The knowledge and skills of video recording, creating animation, speaking in front of a camera while maintaining eye contact, and preparing questions in Moodle and Google Form are only a fraction in our journey since March 2020. “The 800 videos are a sign of the hard work of FTKEE academic staff,” he said.  According to Associate Professor Dr. Hamdan, it is still a long way to go. “Despite the many videos created, all of them are still in the early stage. “UMP targets to provide a meaningful learning environment. “Videos play a big role and the learning process demands a greater commitment from the lecturers and most importantly from the students,” he said. Meanwhile, the Centre of Instructional Resources & e-Learning (CIReL) has also organised various courses for lecturers as a preparation to expose them with the use of digital technology. 

By: Mimi Rabita Abdul Wahit, Corporate Communications Unit, The Office of The Vice-Chancellor