Four academia from the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, were elected as the committee members for Malaysian Institute of Chemistry (IKM) Southern Branch. During the recent Annual General Meeting, Assoc. Prof. Dr Jafariah Jaafar retained her position as the Honorary Secretary and Dr. Sheela Chandren was elected as the Assistant Honorary Treasurer. Dr. Mohd Bakri Bakar and Assoc. Prof. Dr. See Hong Heng were also elected as the committee members.
IKM Southern Branch Committee Members for 2019/2020
IKM is a statutory professional organization incorporated under the Chemists Act 1975 for regulating and advancing Chemistry and the profession of Chemistry in Malaysia. In this regard, several collaborative areas were established in strengthening professional development that consist of education, training, research and services. Seven IKM branches have been established to support regional-focused activities. Thus, this election signified the contribution of UTM in leading Chemistry profession, especially in the Southern Region.
Through its Southern Branch, IKM, together with UTM, have initiated various strategic collaborations in the form of seminars, workshops, student development programmes and society outreach. For instance, UTM, in collaboration with IKM has partnered since 2011 in organizing the flagship outreach event; Johor Chemistry Carnival. This event aims to nurture students’ interest in Science, by enabling Science learning through experiences beyond the classrooms. Various activities have been arranged with the goal of stimulating active learning, activating students’ minds and enriching experiential learning. In addition, IKM Southern Branch has also contributed in providing a yearly academic award to UTM Chemistry students during the annual convocation ceremony.
Johor Chemistry Carnival 2018’s committee members from IKM and UTM
It is hoped that the election of UTM academia will further elevate the long-term partnership of both institutions. Apart from that, this continuous engagement would also assist to sustain the efforts in promoting public awareness, appreciation and advancement of chemistry towards national sustainable socio-economic development at large.
Written by: Dr. Mohd Bakri Bakar and Dr. Sheela Chandren