KUCHING: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) in strategic collaboration with Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera (Tegas) is hosting the annual International Unimas STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Engineering (EnCon) 2017 from 13th to 15th September 2017, at Imperial Hotel, Kuching.
There are five keynote speakers for this two-day conference, and over 80 technical papers will be presented in parallel sessions which also include STEM Workshops for 100 education officers and secondary school teachers of Sarawak.
EnCon 2017 was declared open yesterday by Chief Minister, Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg with the presence of UNIMAS Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Mohamad Kadim Suaidi.
The conference is also jointly hosted by Sarawak Education Department, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Malaysian Chapter, Malaysian Research and Innovation Society (MyRIS) and The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) Sarawak Branch.
Themed “Gearing Towards a Greener Future” the conference is seen timely as solutions to greener and sustainable technology advances are important especially to address the ever-alarming environmental issues such as global issues on climate change and energy crisis.
“Three things that I would like to stress on are the challenges to manage our environment, technology that can sustain and balance the need of development and environment as well as the way forward for us, particularly for Sarawak,
“I hope that during this event, scientific, technological and engineering ideas and innovations would be presented, shared, and collaborated,” said Johari.
He also added, only by continuously adapting, inventing and innovating the challenges faces, we would be able to improve and move forward to be a progressive nation.
“This conference would definitely provide the conducive platform for these purposes,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kadim said that the conference objective is to create awareness in STEM education among school children.
“It is also to promote creativity and innovation at high school level, the International Science, Technology and Engineering Expo (i-STEEx) is held after the successful i-STEEx 2016,
“i-STEEx 2017 is reaching out to the researchers and innovators with the theme Nurturing Green Innovation for the future. This expo will focus on enhancing creativity among youths to spark innovative interest in science and technology and for institutions of higher learning to showcase their innovative product designs based on green technology,” said Kadim.
Meanwhile, eight Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were exchanged between UNIMAS and The Institution of Engineers Malaysia, The Institution of Engineers Malaysia (Sarawak Branch), GeoCrete Specialist Sdn Bhd, The Welding Institute United Kingdom, Universitas Pancha Bhakti Pontianak, Indonesia, ACME Integrated Services Sdn Bhd, Turbowolf Resources Sdn Bhd, and Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
