Approaching the next monsoon season in Malaysia, the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) organised a workshop on University – Industry – Government (UIG) Partnership for Environmental Resilience and Sustainability (UIG4ERS), a special side event of the Malaysia-Japan Joint International Conference 2022 (MJJIC 2022) on 25 October 2022.
UIG4ERS invited more than 60 speakers and participants from Malaysia and Japan in government, private sector and academia to discuss on various Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) issues, including Utilisation of Big Data and IoT for Water and Debris Flow Management and Disaster Response and Risk Reduction Using Satellite Technology and Constellation Partnership as well as opportunities and challenges in University-Industry-Government partnership.
In the welcoming remarks, MJIIT Dean, Prof. Ali Selamat mentioned how research institutes can support resilience building in Malaysia through science, technology and innovation and function as a platform to facilitate “San-Gaku-Kan Renkei (industry-academia-government partnership)” that can create synergies among DRR stakeholders to strengthen disaster prevention measures in Malaysia.
In the opening remarks, the Deputy Director General, Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) Malaysia, Dato’ Ir. Sabri bin Abdul Mulok, highlighted that DRR and Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) concepts must be incorporated in planning when we invest in flood mitigation – making sharing of experiences and expertise among various specialists inevitable.
While speakers from Malaysia, namely, DID, Institution of Geospatial and Remote Sensing Malaysia (IGRSM) and MJIIT introduced their views on the current situations in water resource management in Malaysia, speakers from Japan, including National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED), IHI Corporation and Nippon Koei Co. Ltd. presented on Japanese experiences and technologies that may be applicable to possibly solve some of the DRR issues in Malaysia.
The Pre-UIG sessions also featured two prominent Japanese companies, Nisshinbo Holdings and Kajima Corporation that introduced products related to urban flood simulation and disaster information system.
On the following day, the Japanese participants joined a field trip, jointly organized by MJIIT and DID, which took them to the National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (PRABN) for a briefing on the functions of PRABN and Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART), and a guided tour to Batu Dam, together with the Klang River Basin Office (PLSK), to learn on both soft and hardware measures taken by the Malaysian government for water resource management.
MJIIT plans to continue these initiatives to work with various partners from government, industry and academia to discuss and jointly suggest better ways to strengthen environmental resilience and sustainability for Malaysia as well as other countries in the Asia-Pacific Region.
Prepared by: Dr. Shohei Matsuura (Japan International Cooperation Agency Expert)