After the first national-level webinar series organized on 22 December 2020, Architecture Programme, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying (FABU), UTM once again had successfully hosted the second webinar series entitled “Envisioning Architecture Education for Malaysia” on 15 February 2020 from 2:30 pm till 5:30 pm through Facebook, Streamyard and Cisco Webex online platforms.

This programme was jointly organized by Department of Higher Education (JPT), Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MoHE); Council of Accreditation and Architectural Education Malaysia (CAAEM), Board of Architects Malaysia (LAM); and Council of Heads of Architecture Schools Malaysia (COHAS).

There were 285 registered participants for the webinar which from various locations around the world including Sydney, Glasgow, and Doha as well as with different backgrounds like professional architects, academicians, interior designers, quantity surveyors, and students who are concerning about the future of architecture education in Malaysia. 

The three hours webinar was started with a montage presentation to introduce the invited speakers and their keynote titles, followed by an opening remark by a moderator of the webinar, Prof. Dr. Syed Ahmad Iskandar Syed Ariffin as well as Doa recitation by Dr. Aiman Mohd Rashid from FABU UTM.

The moderator, Prof. Syed Ahmad Iskandar which currently the Executive Director of Institut Sultan Iskandar and the Member of CAAEM under LAM, had briefed the participants with the programme background, The Direction of Architectural Education in Malaysia by 2030 (Halatuju Pendidikan Senibina Negara 2030) empowered by COHAS Malaysia. The webinar was then officiated by Ar. Mustapha Haji Mohd Salleh, the Chairman of CAAEM with a welcoming address and followed by the sharing by three expert panels.

The expert panels were invited to do their sharing session on Architecture Education Views in this international webinar series. The programme had started with the sharing session entitled “Global Views on Architecture Education” by Expert Panel 1, Prof. Dr. Ashraf Salama, Director of Research Cluster of Architecture and Urban in the Global South, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and followed a sharing entitled “The Leadership in The Built Environment Sustainability And Resiliency” by Expert Panel 2, Emeritus Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak who is currently the Rector of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), as well as the Member of Board of Director Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC).

Right after the second expert sharing session, the programme had resumed with a sharing from Expert Panel 3, Prof. Christopher Tweed, Head of School, Chair in Sustainable Design Cardiff University, United Kingdom with his sharing topic entitled “The Role of Research-Led Design in Architectural Education: Relevancy and Challenges in Facing A Crisis”.

After the sharing sessions, the program has opened up the Q&A session to audiences from both WebEX and FBLive. The Q&A session was actively participated via both verbal and text method from academicians, professionals and students around the world. The Q&A session was conducted in forum style, where the expert panels were welcomed to response and share their view towards the questions asked by audiences.

The future and challenges of architecture education in Malaysia had been discussed actively by panels and participants. Other than that, the panels had shared their thoughts and views based on the questions asked such as methods and approaches of teaching & learning in Architecture Education, the misconception of the current practice in the industry, the directions of Malaysian Architecture Education mode, and others.

The closing remark was delivered by Ar Zairul Azidin Badri, the President of LAM. In short, this webinar had accomplished the mission of organising the constructive discourse and comprehensive sharing sessions by expert panels at the international level on envisioning architecture education for Malaysia.

The details of the programme:-

• Organizer: Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MoHE) – Department of Higher Education; Board of Architects Malaysia – Council of Architectural Accreditation and Education Malaysia (CAAEM); & Council of Heads of Architecture Schools (COHAS) Malaysia
• Webinar Host: Programme of Architecture, Faculty of Built Environment & Surveying UTM
• Moderator: Prof. Syed Ahmad Iskandar Syed Ariffin
• Welcoming Address: Ar. Mustapha Haji Mohd Salleh, Chairman of Council of Accreditation and Architectural Education Malaysia (CAAEM)
• Expert Panel 1: Global Views on Architecture Education by Prof. Dr. Ashraf M.Salama: Director of Research Cluster of Architecture and Urban in the Global South, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
• Expert Panel 2: The Leadership in The Built Environment Sustainability And Resiliency by Emeritus Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak: Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM); Member, Board of Director Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC)
• Expert Panel 3: The Role of Research-Led Design in Architectural Education: Relevancy and Challenges in Facing A Crisis by Professor Christopher Tweed: Head of School; Chair in Sustainable Design Cardiff University, United Kingdom
• Closing Remarks: Ar Zairul Azidin Badri (President, Board of Architects Malaysia)
• Head of Committee: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alice Sabrina Ismail
• Technical Committee: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Khairul Anwar Mohamed Khaidzir, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lim Yaik Wah, Mr. Azari Mat Yasir, Ar Norshahida Azili, Ar Samsiah Abdullah, Dr. Aiman Mohd Rashid, Dr. Fadhlina Ahmad @ Taufik, Dr. Roshida Abdul Majid, Ar Noraslinda Abdul Rahman, Dr. Leng Pau Chung, Dr. Iziq Eafifi Ismail and Mr. Mohd Hanif Masridin
• Technical Committee: Mr. Azizul Azman, Mr. Iqmal Nor Mohd Noh, and Mr. Rahim Hashim
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Prepared by:

Dr. Leng Pau Chung

Senior Lecturer, Architecture Programme,

Faculty of Built Environment & Surveying UTM