Program Pendaftaran Mahasiswa Baru Sesi 2015/2016
UTM-SEC Collaboration Makes Real Contributions to Reconciling Tensions between Tourism and Heritage Conservation in Melaka
UTM Department of Urban Regional Planning, together with the prestigious Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC), made real contributions to Melaka’s tourism development and heritage conservation through leading an enlightening discussion and generating lively debates on reconciling tensions between tourism and heritage conservation in Melaka World Heritage City.
The One-day Workshop on Reconciling Tensions between Tourism and Heritage Conservation in Melaka World Heritage City, organised by the Melaka World Heritage Office on 19 August 2015, was attended by over 80 tour operators, tourist guides, hoteliers, NGOs, local community and business representatives, relevant government officials, scholars and historians who were concerned about tourism and heritage conservation issues in Melaka World Heritage Site.
Dr. Amran Hamzah who is UTM Professor of Tourism Planning has been the main person behind the design and programming of the one-day workshop which featured two Keynote papers by Prof. Amran himself and Dr. Trevor Sofield who was Senior Visiting Professor at UTM Department of Urban and Regional Planning. These were followed by the presentation of three insightful research papers by researchers from the SEC Future Cities Laboratory (FCL). The Keynotes and research papers jointly widened workshop participants’ glimpses into possibilities and opportunities for planning and managing a World Heritage City in which tourists and local residents may co-present comfortably and draw benefits from such un-intrusive co-presence.
The involvement of SEC in the one-day workshop was possible through UTM Department of Urban Regional Planning ongoing internationalisation efforts while continuously enhancing its material contributions to local development planning. A key outcome of the Department’s tireless internationalisation efforts has been the inking of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UTM and SEC earlier in the year.
The continuous development of strong academic links between the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and various internationally renowned institutions bears testimony to the Department’s consistent commitment to enhancing its teaching and research quality in urban and regional planning as well as the international recognition that it is increasingly gaining.
Strategic Collaboration between Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) and Department of Urban and Regional Planning Takes Off
Following a fruitful courtesy visit by The Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC) to the Faculty of Built Environment (FAB), UTMJB on 28 April 2015, 9 member delegation from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (JPBW), FAB made a reciprocal visit to the SEC in the University Town of the National University of Singapore (NUS) on 04 August 2015.
The purpose of the reciprocal visit, led by Prof. Dr. Amran Hamzah, Director of the Centre for Innovative Planning and Development (CiPD), FAB, has been to learn more about SEC research programs and chart a concrete pathway towards actualising research collaborations between SEC and UTM in strategic areas that were identified in SEC’s April visit to UTM.
The half-day visit saw a productive sharing and exchange of research outcomes as well as ongoing research on both the Malaysian and Singapore sides. Building on common research interests and specific strengths of both institutions, the following strategic research projects have been identified for immediate follow-up and implementation:
- Iskandar Explorer and Shared Data Repository;
- Community-based Approach to Promoting Resilience and Tourism Development;
- Urban-rural Development and Planning;
- Place Remaking with Tourism; and
- ASEAN+ for standardisation of information and statistics among ASEAM member countries.
The first SEC-UTM collaboration activity took place on 19 August 2015 with the presentations by three SEC’s Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) researchers alongside Prof. Amran Hamzah at the One-day Workshop on Reconciling Tensions between Tourism and Heritage Conservation in Melaka World Heritage City organised by the Melaka World Heritage Office.
The SEC was established in Singapore in 2010 as a joint initiative between ETH Zurich and Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF). ETH Zurich (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, or the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich) is one of the leading international universities for technology and the natural sciences; it was founded in 1855 and has since nurtured 21 Nobel Laureates, including Albert Einstein.
The continuous development of strong academic links between UTM’s JPBW and various internationally renowned institutions bears testimony to the Department’s consistent commitment to enhancing its teaching and research in urban and regional planning as well as the international recognition that it is increasingly gaining.
UTM’s Faculty of Built Environment Hosts Five Japanese Students under the ASEAN International Mobility for Students (AIMS) Program
In line with UTM’s continuous drive to enhance its regional and global presence, and its consistent emphasis on producing high quality graduates with ever broader global outlook and exposure, the Faculty of Built Environment has embarked on yet another student international mobility program in the 2015/2016 academic session.
The Department of Urban and Regional Planning will proudly host three (3) undergraduate students from the Tokyo Metropolitan University (TMU) who will be undergoing the Non-graduating Students (NGS) Programme in Semester 1, 2015/2016, commencing on 06 September 2015. TMU reciprocates by receiving Anatasia Lee Anak Suring, Nurzafirah binti Dan and Beatrice Jenner Anak David Jutin from final year Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning programme to undergo a similar program in TMU over the same period.
Courses to be taken by the exchange students in the host universities have been prearranged and confirmed with a view to complementing and enriching the students’ learning experiences and facilitating transfer of credits to the students’ study programme in their home university.
To mark the opening of this international student exchange program for the 2015/2016 academic session, a delegation from TMU’s Department of Tourism Science comprising Assistant Prof. Eranga Ranaweerage and Ms. Yuka Hasegawa from TMU AIMS office made a courtesy call to the Faculty of Built Environment on 30 August 2015. Present to receive the delegation were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norsiah Abdul Aziz (Head of Department, Urban and Regional Planning), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lew Chee Ting (Director, Global Education, UTM International), Dr. Mohd. Hisyam Rasidi (Undergraduate Academic Manager), Dr. Nafisa Hosni (Academic Coordinator, Urban and Regional Planning) and three (3) UTM students who are the buddy for the TMU students.
The TMU delegation was given a welcome address followed by a cordial discussion on matters related to students’ affairs, including students’ college accommodation; expected outcomes from the NGS program in UTM; and arrangement for and facilitation of students’ course registration at the Faculty.
This UTM-TMU student exchange is implemented under the ASEAN International Mobility for Students (AIMS) program. The AIMS program, which comprises seven ASEAN universities from Malaysia (including UTM), Indonesia and Thailand, is a collaborative student exchange program among ASEAN countries that seeks to promote academic exchange and develop the human capital of participating countries towards contributing to the global community in various strategic fields, including towards solving common challenges facing ASEAN countries in environmental conservation and economic development. Japan joined the AIMS program in 2013, with TMU being one of three partnering Japanese universities.