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
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