As Japan celebrates the Golden Week holidays, Prof. Dr. Hom Bahadur Rijal, Dean of Graduate School of Environmental and Information Studies (GSEIS), Tokyo City University (TCU), instead spent five days visiting both Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur campuses under the auspices of the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Visiting Professor program.

The UTM Visiting Professor Program represents a strategic continuation of more than a decade of academic collaboration between UTM and TCU, a partnership that has been actively strengthened since 2016 through joint research initiatives, academic exchanges and collaborative scholarly activities.

The professorial visit further builds upon the Fixed-term Special Appointed Associate Professor program undertaken by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhayati Abdullah at TCU, hosted by Prof. Rijal in Yokohama Campus from April 2025 to March 2026. The program is designed to consolidate research outcomes, accelerate the implementation of joint supervision and publication, and further enhance staff and student mobility by leveraging the long-standing collaborative partnership between both universities.

The grant supporting this program is provided under the auspices of the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation), UTM, following two official visits by Prof. Dr. Rosli Md Illias, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) and his esteemed team to TCU in 2025, reflecting the University’s sustained commitment to high-impact collegial collaborations with global partners.

As part of the UTM Visiting Professor Program, Prof. Rijal participated in a strategic research meeting attended by deans and directors representing various faculties and centres of excellence at UTM Johor Bahru. The session provided a valuable platform for interdisciplinary engagement and the exploration of future research collaborations, particularly in the areas of thermal comfort, sustainable built environment and climate-responsive design.

Prior to his visit to UTM, Prof. Rijal had earlier invited Prof. Dr. Nor Haniza Sarmin, a Professor in Mathematics from the Faculty of Science, as one of the distinguished guest speakers for the Leadership Discourse Series 2025, which was conducted virtually via Zoom from Tokyo. The visit to UTM subsequently provided the opportunity for Prof. Nor Haniza to meet Prof. Rijal in person, where she warmly hosted him for lunch in Skudai.

Prof. Rijal later visited the Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC) laboratory, where he was received by its Director, Prof. Dr. Juhana Jaafar and her team. The laboratory visit continued with a discussion on potential research collaboration and innovation in environmental and sustainable technologies, focusing on water studies.

The Johor Bahru visit concluded at the Centre for the Study of the Built Environment in the Malay World (KALAM) with an extensive meeting led by the Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying (FABU), Prof. Dr. Kherun Nita Ali, and the Director of KALAM, Ar. Idr. Ts. Dr. Noraslinda Abdul Rahman, and Research Fellow of KALAM, Assoc. Prof. Ar. Dr. Lim Yaik Wah, focusing on prospective academic staff exchange initiatives and collaborative research in the field of thermal comfort and built environment research areas.

The visit to UTM Johor Bahru also saw the participation of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shaza Eva Mohamad from Algal Biomass iKohza at Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), who is also an alumna of the TCU Fixed-term Special Appointed Associate Professor program.

Complementing the five-day agenda was the Professorial Guest Lecture by Prof. Rijal titled “Thermal Adaptation of Buildings and People” at the UTM Kuala Lumpur Library Xchange Hub, graced by the presence of Head of UTM Campus (Kuala Lumpur Branch), Prof. Dr. Fauziah Sh Ahmad, and Dean of MJIIT, Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Nurulakmar Abu Husain.

The lecture drew active engagement from all participants, with insightful questions and discourse raised by the attendees consisted of MJIIT executive members, Professors, senior lecturers and postgraduate students from the Wind Engineering for Environment (WIND) Laboratory, led by TCU PhD graduate, Dr. Naja Aqilah, reflecting strong interest in thermal adaptation and human-centred environmental design research.

The visit marks another significant milestone in strengthening the long-standing academic partnership between UTM and TCU, particularly in advancing collaborative research and academic exchange in the field of sustainable built environments and thermal comfort studies.

UTM looks forward to welcoming Prof. Rijal once again in August, together with six postgraduate scholars from TCU under the auspices of the Japan–Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Science, Technology and Innovation Collaborative Program: Youth Exchange Program grant entitled “Fostering Next-Generation Leadership in Green Technology for Urban Climate Adaptation”, further reinforcing international research collaboration and scholarly engagement between both institutions.

While serving as an Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering at MJIIT, both Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhayati Abdullah and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shaza Eva Mohamad was recently appointed as an Adjunct Lecturer and Visiting Associate Professor at TCU. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhayati also jointly leads the Japan–ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Collaborative Program: Youth Exchange Program mobility grant with Prof. Rijal until December 2026.

By Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhayati Abdullah and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shaza Eva Mohamad from Algal Biomas iKohza, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), UTM Campus (Kuala Lumpur Branch), who both serve as Adjunct Lecturers and Visiting Associate Professors at the International Center, Tokyo City University, Japan