Global Education Network between FAB and Seifu Nankai High School, Japan

by | Mar 30, 2016 | Global Outreach Program, News

On the 18th and 19th of March 2016, a group of 26 students and 2 teachers from Seifu Nankai High School, Osaka, Japan made an academic visit to the Faculty of Built Environment (FAB), UTM, Johor Bahru. The group were led by Mr.Toshiyuki Iwawaki and Mr.Toyoda, teachers from the Comprehensive and International Department, Seifu Nankai High School. This was their second visit to FAB under the “Global Education Network Programme” in collaboration with the Centre for Innovative Planning and Development (CiPD), FAB, UTM, JB. The programme is intended to nurture young leaders to play an active role in the betterment of society. In order to achieve its intended goal, the students are required to acquire a wide range of knowledge through seminars focused on economics, societal, technological and political issues. Students participation from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) were from Masters in Tourism Planning (10 students) and Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (3 students).

For the discussion session, four (4)  groups of students were formed where each group comprises of students from DURP and Seifu Nankai. The students were required to discuss a selected topic, compare the issues and formulate recommendations where relevant.  Among the topics were i) City Planning in Malaysia and Japan, ii) Malaysian/Japanese Culture; iii) Tourism in Malaysia and Japan, and, iv)Environmental Issues in Malaysia and Japan. Each group presented the topic and discussed to an audience comprising of the students themselves, teachers from Seifu Nankai High School and a lecturer from DURP.

Seifu Nankai High School is the first school in Japan selected for this new programme which was introduced in Japan High Schools as part of the Overseas Study Program (OSP).  The OSP is a sub-initiative of the Japan Government’s Super Global High School Program.  The visits provide a platform for student activities such as seminars, discussions, student exchange experience as well as academic visits from both countries. The two days activities ended with a tour in UTM campus led by Dr. Norhazliza Abd Halim, a senior lecturer from DURP.

Planning for the Real World! First Year UTM Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning Students’ Visit to the Klang Valley

by | Mar 30, 2016 | Featured Slider, News

Towards producing high quality town planners who are able to practically and holistically contribute to more sustainable development of the country, apart from having a forward-looking, innovative, world class Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (B.URP) curriculum, it is highly essential that the B.URP program is designed “for the real world”; and “planning for the real world” begins in the early year of the planning education.

With this in view, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment (FAB), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru continued with the annual field trip of the First Year, Second Semester’s Site Planning and Layout Studio (SBEP1125) on 17-19 March 2016. The field trip was led by the Studio supervisors, Mr. Chau Loon Wai and Dr. Siti Hajar Misnan.

The studio field trip took 36 First Year B.URP students out of the Studio into the real world, to:

  1. The cosmopolitan Capital City of Kuala Lumpur that included a technical briefing and professional motivation by the Senior Urban Designer Mr. Liew Toh Yean of locally grown, highly successful international urban design and planning practice, APUDG Sdn Bhd;
  2. The visionary Federal Administrative City of Putrajaya for onsite perception and appreciation of bold, visionary and innovative master planning by local planning talents with technical briefing by Putrajaya Corporation Senior Town Planner, En. Azhar Othman; and
  3. The award-winning master planning residential project, Bandar Botanic, Klang for onsite technical briefing on good site engineering, neighbourhood planning and layout design ideas and principles by Senior Town Planner, Mr. Chan Kok Huat.
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