A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was exchanged between UTAR, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and Industrial System Supply & Engineering Services Sdn Bhd (ISSES) via Microsoft Team on 24 January 2022 to formalise collaboration in relation to energy efficient improvement on rubber glove drying oven system.

The signing ceremony was held online to commemorate the collaboration between the parties. UTAR was represented by its President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat; UiTM was represented by its Vice Chancellor Prof Ts Dr Hajah Roziah Mohd Janor while ISSES was represented by its Managing Director Sam Sir Yong. Also present to witness the virtual signing ceremony were UTAR Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman, UiTM Assistant Vice Chancellor College of Engineering Prof Sr Ir Dr Haji Rozlinmi Abdul Talib and ISSES Sales and Marketing Manager Sreenivasa Rao Jaga.

The MoU sought to promote academic and research cooperation and collaboration in relation to energy efficient improvement on rubber glove drying oven system. The three parties will collaborate in the institutional exchange between faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students for study and research. Through the announcement of this partnership, UTAR, UiTM and ISSES will facilitate the exchange of information pertaining to development in teaching, student development and in particular technological development in the area of energy efficiency improvement on rubber dying oven system; facilitate the organisation of symposium, conferences, short courses and meetings in the research area as well as technologies that is relevant to the heating and drying in the glove industry.

In his remarks, Prof Ewe expressed, “On behalf of UTAR, I would like to express my gratitude to UiTM and ISSES for giving us this opportunity to explore collaborations in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficient technology. The expertise from UiTM and ISSES is also in line with our programmes under the Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology which will facilitate sharing of knowledge and expertise, and establish collaborative research and development projects. With the signing of this MoU, UTAR, UiTM and ISSES will collaborate and share expertise on joint research projects as well as facilitate and undertake the knowledge transfer in relation to the energy efficient improvement on rubber glove drying oven system.”

He added, “Through this MoU, we will also take the initiative to organise symposiums, conferences, seminars and workshops that are relevant to the glove industry. Aside from that, we will also be able to facilitate exchanges of ideas and facilities, as well as industrial study visits of our students and staff, which is important for enhancing their learning experience and professional development. This will also enable us to gain insights into the industry, which is important in ensuring that our programmes remain relevant to the advances of the industry, and improving our curriculum development. We will also facilitate student and staff exchange programmes. I believe this initiative would be a great learning opportunity for students and staff to enhance their learning experience, professional development and curriculum development.”

On behalf of UiTM, Prof Hajah said, “Seeing our institutions and industry partners work together to address the needs of our stakeholders holistically and expand our network, teaching and learning as well as research work gives me great hope for achieving better cooperation. The aim of this MoU is to foster cooperation, collaboration, academic and scientific thought specifically in energy efficient improvement on rubber glove drying oven system. Besides that, the collaborators we have with us today is special as they are from academia and industry. University-industry collaboration requires careful management and can bring many benefits. This includes a two-way flow of ideas as results can flow out to industry and they can also be in-bound to fuel research that benefits all levels of our community. I hope this collaboration mechanism between universities and the industry will enable us to enhance innovation through knowledge exchange and jointly develop and improve either new or existing goods and services. I also hope to see more joint applications for national and international grants, joint supervisions for research students from academia and industry as well as collaborative problem solving between academia and industry.”

Meanwhile, ISSES Managing Director Sam said, “Malaysia’s rubber glove contributed RM32billion export revenue in 2020 and it is the world’s largest rubber glove producer, contributing about 67% of the world market share. The rubber glove industry became very competitive during the Covid-19 pandemic. China has risen to take away some of the orders from Malaysia. In order to stay competitive, we need to improve the competitiveness of our rubber glove manufacturer in order to remain our status as the world’s number one rubber glove exporter. ISSES has been around in the market manufacturing industrial oven for about 30 years, and we believe we can help Malaysian rubber glove manufacturers to reduce heat energy used in the rubber glove drying oven system because there are four different ovens in one rubber glove production line, consuming an enormous amount of heat energy and fossil fuel.”

He mentioned that with the help of UiTM and UTAR, they will be able to come up with an innovative design to help the rubber glove industry save another 10-20% of heat energy in rubber glove production lines. “In ISSES we have a slogan ‘save energy, save money and save the planet’. I believe with the many years of experience as well as resources from UTAR, UiTM and ISSES, we can save energy, money and also the planet,” said Sam.
 
The ceremony reached its highlight with the virtual presentation of the MoU documents, signed by Prof Ewe, Prof Hajah and Sam.

The delegates from UiTM and ISSES included ISSES Design Manager Chiong Sai Yew, UiTM Deputy Vice Chancellor for Industry, Community and Alumni Network Prof Dr Mohamad Hariri Abdullah, UiTM Student Affairs Dean Prof Ir Dr Ahmad Asari bin Sulaiman, UiTM Department of Electrical Engineering Studies Head Prof Madya Ir Dr Ahmad Farid Abidin@Bharun , UiTM Department of Mechanical Engineering Studies Head Ir Ts Dr Azli Abd Razak and other UiTM staff.

Also present on behalf of UTAR were UTAR Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology (FEGT) Dean Ir Prof Dr Ng Choon Aun, FEGT academics Dr Lim Chong Hooi and Dr Leong Sim Siong, Division of Community and International Networking (DCInterNet) Director Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Onn, DCInterNet Deputy Director Dr Chen, I-Chi and staff.