JOHOR BAHRU, December 3, 2014 – A total of 15 students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States will be on a research and practicum visit to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in January 2015.
The visit will further enhance the collaboration established between UTM and MIT in implementing high-impact projects under the joint sponsorship of the Research University Grant (GUP).
Sultan Iskandar Institute’s (ISI) Research Officer, Nurain Mohd Talmizi said a total of 15 MIT post-graduate students and 15 UTM post-graduate students, accompanied by lecturers from both institutions will be involved in the program.
“Among the proposed activities include study visits to several major cities such as Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Georgetown and Kuching which is instrumental in conducting their research which aims to gain insights into the development and current issues of sustainable urbanization,” she said.
Apart from research trips to Malaysian major cities, the delegation will also visit the Iskandar Regional Development Authority or IRDA and Local Authorities to enable them to discuss sustainable development further with the respective authority bodies.
“Participants of this program are also required to join seminar sessions conducted by UTM and MIT lecturers to gain an overview of Malaysia’s urban planning and sustainability agenda, which will assist in refining and finalizing the research focus, and in building a network of contacts.
Priority to participate in the program will be given to students majoring in Urban and Regional Planning and Built Environment.