For sustainable future cities

The first International Workshop on Sustainable Future Cities (IWSFC) was jointly organised by Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), University of Strathclyde (UoS) Glasgow, and Sunway University Malaysia on 2 March 2016 at Le Meridien Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

Present at the workshop were IWSFC Honorary Chair and UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik; Newton Programmes Manager Liew Siew Hui from British Council Malaysia; from British High Commission, Newton Fund Programme Manager Izza Ismail and Science and Innovation Officer Lee Ching Heong; and IWSFC Organising Chairman and UTAR Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) Dean Dr Liew Soung Yue.

Front, from left: Prof Ivan, Lee, Prof Chuah, Liew, and Ismail

Back, from left: FICT lecturer Dr Gan Ming Lee, Dr Liew, Dr Puah, Dr Christos, Dr Robert, FICT lecturer Dr Suliman Mohamed Ahmed Gaber, Ooi, Richard, Dr Chieng, and Dr Goh

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Prof Chuah emphasised, “The concept of Sustainable Future Cities brings together the integration of various technologies including contemporary automation and green engineering to create a future urban landscape that is more inter-connected. With this kind of urbanisation, we must be able to foresee the challenges in multiple areas such as transportation, water, environment, energy, and air. Therefore, professionals from different backgrounds and expertise in the areas of local and national policy, engineering, ICT, business, healthcare, and agriculture for instance, must work hand-in-hand to gear towards building more liveable future cities.” He said, “This workshop is a very important networking platform to allow us to share and exchange ideas. I am glad that the university through FICT can work with our friends from local and international universities and organisations for such meaningful collaboration.”

Prof Chuah delivering his opening remarks

The first IWSFC saw some 90 participants comprising 21 International and local universities, as well as representatives from the industries. The workshop also received delegates from UoS including Institute of Sustainable Cities and Engineering Policy Director Richard Bellingham, and Prof Ivan Andonovic, Dr Robert Atkinson, and Dr Christos Tachtatzis from the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Besides, there were representatives from Kuala Lumpur City Hall, led by City Planning Department Director Tuan Haji Sahrom bin Ujang.

IWSFC was set with the primary goal to assemble academic researchers, industry players, administrative councils, and policy makers to explore ideas, problems, and solutions on the topic of Sustainable Future Cities. The workshop also intended to establish connections between research centres, faculties, and varsities with industries to explore more about future cities through aspects such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and Industry 4.0. Besides, the workshop served as a platform for the invited UK and Malaysia experts to share their insights and research outcomes on future cities as well as to boost collaborative opportunities among the participants, and to further promote awareness of sustainable future cities lifestyles.

British Council’s Liew said, “The Newton-Ungu Omar Fund is part of the UK development assistant programme that uses UK research strength to promote social welfare, global initiatives and innovation, and economy in many countries around the world. It also helps to establish connections which are linked to a country’s needs. We believe by working together on research and innovation projects, the UK will be able to build strong and sustainable relationships with the partners, especially the developing countries. As in Malaysia, the focus is on climate change and sustainability. British Council received the highest number of application from Malaysia for potential projects in 2014 and 2015. It was really competitive but UTAR managed to win the grant.” The Newton Programmes Manager also mentioned, “Last December, the UK Minister for University and Science, Jo Johnson announced that the UK will extend the Newton Fund to 2021 instead of 2019. This will provide more opportunities for researchers from UK and Malaysia to work together in the future.”

Liew speaking at the opening of IWSFC

The highlight of the workshop was 10 keynote addresses by speakers from academia and industries who share common interest and expertise in the subject of sustainable future cities. Keynote addresses by speakers from universities were “Future Cities – Using City Observatories and Living Labs to Solve Key urban Challenges and Opportunities” by Bellingam, “Conserve: ICT-Enabled Smart City Solutions” by Dr Atkinson, “Sensing the City” by Dr Tactatzis, and “Smart Agriculture with Intelligent Transportation System for Sustainable Future Cities” by UTAR FICT Computer and Communication Technology Department head Dr Goh Hock Guan.

On the other hand, keynote addresses presented by the industry representatives were “Green Technology in City Development” by Tuan Haji, “Cognitive City: What a city can do” by IBM Malaysia Software License Governance Manager Tang Cheong Weng, “IoT Computing Platform for Smart Cities” by Intel IoT Group Software Validation Director Dr Kenny Puah Lai Kian, “Facilitate Smart Cities with IoT for A Better Living” by Huawei Malaysia Solution Manager Muhamad Hazwan, “IoT and Indoor Positioning” by National R&D Centre in ICT (MIMOS) IoT Location Services of Wireless Innovation Lab Head Dr David Chieng Heng Tze, and “Creating Resillient and Sustainable City with IoT – An Opportunity for Malaysia’s Cities to Be Competitive” by Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) IoT Project Delivery Manager Ooi Chong Kheng.

KL City Hall City Planning Development Director Tuan Haji Sahrom was one of the keynote speakers of the workshop

Participants listening attentively

FICT Dean Dr Liew said, “A comprehensive and forward-looking city plan is required to ensure cities are sustainable with a thriving community to solve issues like overpopulation, congestion, and resource scarcity. This is where technology plays a vital role to assist in diverse tasks such as monitoring, security, logistics, and communications. However, an effective and comprehensive research requires integrated expertise through cross-disciplinary collaborations. In UTAR, a number of research centres are also working on topics related to Sustainable Cities such as urban agriculture and food provisioning by the Centre of Information Systems and Software Technologies. I hope to see more collaborative partners from the faculties and other universities as well as industries for future research.” The Dean enthused, “I am also glad to see participation from postgraduate students as I believe this workshop can provide them an exposure to the current research trend. It is also very important for these novice researchers to identify their role in the subject of Sustainable Future Cities.”

The first IWSFC was sponsored by British Council, Newton-Ungku Omar Fund, Malaysian Industry-Government Group (MIGHT), and Science to Action (S2A).

Dr Goh presenting his research