SIBU: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Monday (Oct 9) between University of Technology Sarawak (UTS) and Sarawak Forestry Department (SFD) here.
The MoU was sealed during the launch of the Le Tour De Restoration (LTDR) 2.0 Programme: Greening Sarawak Campaign at Sibu Region level in conjunction with Sarawak’s 60th independence celebration.
UTS was represented by its vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Khairuddin Ab Hamid while SFD was represented by its director Datu Hamden Mohammad.
It was witnessed by Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development, Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee.
According to Prof Khairuddin, through the MoU, they will undertake research collaboration, especially in the area of image processing with extensive programming and data analytic capability, of the spatial images and information of plants or anything from the forest captured using specialised spectral camera mounted on drones or UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle).
UTS, he said, can provide support and assistance on the request of Forest Department, such as in design for “Kumpulan Inovatif dan Kreatif” (KIK) and any other real life problems that require further study or research.
SFD, he pointed out, is willing to accept UTS students for internship programmes and also UTS staff for field work and industry related experience.
“UTS can offer postgraduate programmes for Forest Department staff who wanted to pursue higher degrees at the Master or PhD level.
“UTS and Forest Department staff can joint supervise final year project (FYP) students and postgraduate research students in related fields, besides can jointly apply for research or consultancy grants and projects, especially in the area of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).
“ESG is becoming a very important aspect of doing business globally, looking at how companies or corporations managing risks and opportunities related to environment, social and governance, such as climate change, pollution issues, carbon emissions and renewable energy,” he pointed out.
With this MoU, he stated UTS is looking forward to working with SFD in the “Greening UTS” project or to develop the “forest park” in UTS.
This, he stressed, is important not only for the ESG objectives but also to enhance UTS performance in the GreenMetric World University Rankings.
“In 2021 we were ranked at 396 with a score of 6050, and last year was ranked at 353 in the world with a score of 6750.
“Therefore, this year we aim to achieve world ranking below 300 with a score more than 7000,” he said.
With this collaboration, he further pointed out that both parties are willing to share resources and facilities to facilitate educational and research activities for the benefits of both organisations and Sarawak.
Prof Khairuddin also extended his invitation to relevant staff from Forest Department to be members of UTS academic advisory panel and to participate in UTS’ activities.
