PUEBLA, Jul 3 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) expands global education and collaboration across the Latin American region as Ts. Dr. Miss Hasimawaty Mat Kiah, a Senior Lecturer from the Department of Energy Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering (FKT), represents Malaysia at the UPAEP Global Summer 2026 in Mexico.

This global teaching exchange program, running from 8 June to 3 July 2026, was held at the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP) and marks its third edition as the region’s premier internationalisation initiative, providing international education without borders and immersing participants in new cultures, knowledge, and experiences.

The UPAEP Global Summer program brought together over 60 visiting professors internationally from 19 countries to teach, lead workshops, and host open conferences. The author has been selected and invited to participate in the program for the second time, with full sponsorship, and is the only international professor representing Malaysia.

This invitation presents a golden opportunity for the author and other participants, where borders disappear through knowledge and friendship, laying the foundations for future international academic collaborations.

During the program, a series of lectures and laboratory practical sessions is actively conducted by the author for the Fluid Mechanics course, which are attended by students from various Engineering programs (Chemical, Mechanical, Bionic, Electronic, Aerospace, etc.).

The author has seized the opportunity to collaborate globally through the initiation of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with several Latin American institutions such as Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL), Colombia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Argentina and Universidad Autónoma de Chile (UA), Chile, including UPAEP.

The global collaboration not only aims for faculty exchange programs but also to foster lasting collaborations in training projects, joint research, and business networking. With UPAEP, the author is working together with researchers from the Department of Industrial Chemical Engineering, Prof. Mario Edgar Cordero Sánchez and Prof. Luis Gpe Zarate Lopez, for fire simulation-based projects and with Prof. Charles Galindo Jr. from the Department of Aerospace Engineering for developments of fire resistance materials.

With UNAL, the collaboration will be through Prof. Richard Ríos Patiño, who is a statistical modelling expert, focusing on topographical and geological analysis of vegetation distribution for the prevention of peat fires.

The work with Prof. Blas Federico de Haro Barbas from the Department of Basic Sciences, UNT, will investigate the effects of wildfires on the atmospheric conditions. Meanwhile, the work with Prof. Jorge Luis Suárez Campos from the Department of Management Sciences, UA, will compare the impacts of firework usage commercially and drone replacement in the tourism industries.

As a growing expert in Materials, Combustion, Fire and Explosion Research Engineering, the author is focusing on expanding global research networking in the fields through various research projects related to sustainable materials and fire safety engineering.

Working in a global team in acquiring international grants and providing global solutions in fire safety would be a highly impactful initiative to ensure continuous development for the author in the areas of expertise and allow major improvements in the fire safety industries nationally and internationally.

All potential collaborators worldwide those are interested to work together in fire safety projects related but not limited to Lithium-Ion battery including Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), sustainable materials and construction, smart technology and digitalization in predicting smoke migration, and deploying multi-criteria detectors, prevention of wildfires such as developments of Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) engineering involving the designing resilient exterior envelopes and defendable spaces are always welcomed to be a part of the team.

As an active member under Centre of Excellence (CoE) of UTM-Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation (MPRC) Institute for Oil & Gas (IFOG), formerly known as Gas Technology Centre (GASTEG) and the Safety and Health Research Group, we have evolved into a multidisciplinary research institute specialising in oil, gas, energy, sustainability, process safety, industrial risk management, materials engineering, and environmental technologies which is committed to translating research outcomes into practical engineering solutions that contribute to safer industries, sustainable energy development, and national economic growth.

Over the past five years, IFOG has achieved remarkable progress in strengthening its research excellence and international standing through successfully secured numerous competitive national and international research grants, published a significant number of papers indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, produced scholarly books and book chapters, developed intellectual property, including patents and copyrights, expanded research collaborations with universities and industries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and now Latin America, delivered numerous consultancy and industrial problem-solving projects, organised international conferences, professional seminars, and specialised training programmes, supported postgraduate research and talent development in engineering and technology, and strengthened its reputation as a leading CoE in oil, gas, energy, safety, and sustainability research.

These achievements recently led to IFOG being selected as a Finalist for the Publication Award 2025 at the Majlis Citra Karisma 2026, recognising the institute’s outstanding contribution to research excellence and scholarly publications.

Through initiatives such as UPAEP Global Summer 2026, IFOG continues to broaden its international footprint while positioning UTM as a global partner in delivering innovative engineering research and sustainable solutions for future generations, in line with its motto as A Global Knowledge-Based Centre of Reference for the Oil, Gas and Energy Industry.

This initiative directly contributes to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

For UTM ASCEND 2030, we plan to support the aspects of global prominence, research excellence, innovation and technology, industry and community impact and talent excellence.

The collaborations are expected to establish formal research collaborations through Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs), secure international research grants and funding opportunities, produce high-impact publications in indexed journals, facilitate academic and student exchange programmes, develop joint supervision of postgraduate students, promote technology transfer and innovation in fire safety and sustainable engineering, expand international networking between UTM and leading institutions in Latin America, enhance UTM and IFOG’s global reputation as centres of excellence in engineering research and deliver practical engineering solutions that contribute to safer, more sustainable and resilient industries.

By: Ts. Dr. Miss Hasimawaty Mat Kiah, Department of Energy Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, UTM