On a humid morning in Iskandar Puteri, a small boat cuts through the still waters of Sungai Pendas. Its passengers, students from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) are armed with tape measures, GPS devices, and a determination that stretches far beyond the mangrove-lined banks. By the day’s end, they will have surveyed 480 mangrove trees, discovered a towering 13-meter “mother tree” storing 538 kilograms of carbon, and waded waist-deep in the brackish waters that shelter some of Johor’s most resilient ecosystems.

This is the Blue Carbon Trail, a hands-on environmental mission that transforms sustainability from theory into urgent, lived reality. Funded through the Iskandar Puteri Rendah Karbon (IPRK) 5.0 Grant and backed by a coalition of partners—from Majlis Bandaraya Iskandar Puteri (MBIP) to the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA)—it’s a model of science in action. Led by Ts. Gs. Sr. Dr. Nurul Hawani Idris, the project trains Geoinformatics students in the delicate art of measuring carbon stock, cultivating a rare blend of technical skill and ecological stewardship.

And the work is anything but abstract. Students navigate to remote sites by boat, set up 15 survey plots, and catalogue the living carbon vaults that are mangrove forests. They learn not just how to measure, but why it matters and how these coastal trees stand as silent sentinels in the fight against climate change.

From Local Action to Regional Leadership

If the Blue Carbon Trail proves that change can start in muddy boots, Aulia Aqila Saparuddin proves it can also carry you onto the global stage. A final-year Physics Education student, Aulia co-authored Wira Tindakan Iklim and the Iskandar Malaysia Ecolife Challenge Teacher Capacity-Building Module, resources designed to spark climate awareness among school communities.

This September, she will join 99 other young leaders from across ASEAN at the ASEAN Children and Youth Climate Summit in Langkawi, co-organised by UNICEF Malaysia and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability. For three days, these changemakers will swap ideas, design climate solutions, and present a joint declaration to regional ministers. For Aulia, it’s the culmination of years spent bridging classrooms and climate action.

Building a Network That Outlives a Degree

At UTM, leadership isn’t confined to titles but  a habit. Through the Iskandar Malaysia Youth Sustainability Network (IMYSN), students link up with peers from UiTM Pasir Gudang, UniKL Mitec, IPGKTI, and KUIJSI. They swap best practices, tackle shared challenges, and prototype solutions that outlast a single semester. It’s a microcosm of the SDGs in action: collaboration across boundaries, grounded in local realities.

And the momentum doesn’t stop there. Platforms like AIESEC UTM connect students to global volunteer projects, while GEMA UTM honours grassroots contributions in education, sustainability, and leadership. Across every faculty, SDG principles seep into the fabric of assignments, competitions, and research—whether it’s engineering students developing clean energy prototypes, architects working with sustainable materials, or education majors rethinking how sustainability is taught to the next generation.

The Rankings Reflect the Reality

UTM’s results on the global stage mirror the energy on campus. For the seventh straight year, it holds Malaysia’s No. 1 spot for SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure in the THE Impact Rankings #164 worldwide. Strong showings in SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals further cement its reputation as a sustainability powerhouse.

But for all the accolades, the real measure of success is harder to chart. It’s in the alumni who take their SDG know-how into industries and communities. It’s in the student who chooses to return to the mangroves years later, bringing others along. It’s in the quiet shift when an abstract “goal” becomes a personal mission.

UTM’s motto, Kerana Tuhan untuk Manusia—In the Name of God for Mankind frames this work as more than academic achievement. It’s a commitment to solutions that are innovative, human-centred, and urgently needed. From the roots of the mangrove forests to the halls of regional climate summits, UTM youth are showing what it means to turn local action into global impact and to do it with both feet firmly planted in the future.

**The execution of the IPRK grant received support from the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), the Johor State Education Department (JPNJ), and SWM Environment. The Blue Carbon Project also brought together industry, government, and community partners, including MBIP, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS), Sunway City Iskandar Puteri (SPIC), the Johor State Forestry Department, and Kelab Alami.