News2WOWUNOVEMBER 2014–JANUARY 2015 A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR UNIVERSITIES BY QS ASIA

University of Johannesburg launches the first African integrated emergency medical care

simulation lab

www.qswownews.com • MCI (P) 074/07/2014ISSUE NO

15

Far-Eastern Federal University flag on Russia’s highest peakPage 10

Fly eyes inspire anti-fogging materials discovery

Read more on page 24

The meteoric rise of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Pubic Policy

The first African integrated emergency medical care simulation lab, where the

entire patient journey can be trained with multi-disciplinary teams...

Read more on page 50

University of Jordan has unraveled a unique site from the Neolithic Era believed to be...

Read more on page 47

Tec de Monterrey students crowned the most innovative young people in MexicoPage 51

Rome was not built overnight. Nor can institutions of higher education be built overnight. They grow organically like slow, maturing trees... Read more on page 6

University of Jordan archeologists unveil historic find

United Arab Emirates university researchers unleash the power of datesPage 47

UK’s Nottingham Trent University researcher creates lifelike human hearts

A researcher at Nottingham Trent University is using the latest 3D-printing in combination with traditional mould techniques to create prosthetic human hearts

with lifelike detail, to help train surgeons before they go into live theatre...

Read more on page 55

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WOW News | 2 Asia & Oceania

Redesigning the future – building the first electric taxi for tropical megacities

UNN Choir wins 2 gold medals at the 8th World Choir Games in Latvia

The Choir of Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod State University Choir) won two gold medals at the 8th World Choir Games, which were held from July 15–19, 2014 in Riga, Latvia. It became a champion in two categories – Musica sacra a cappella (Sacred music) and Popular choral music.

The choir’s most interesting performances were in St. Peter’s Basilica, one of the oldest churches in Riga, and in an outdoor concert venue. UNN Choir performance of a Brainstorm song in Latvian was welcomed and cheered. Renars Kaupers, the song’s author, supported the singers. The competition was intense as more than 400 choirs from 74 countries participated at the World Choir Games this year.

UNN choral director, Larisa Erykalova, is recognized for her excellence in choral conducting as the choir wins prestigious awards. It has won 3 gold and 3 silver medals at the World Choir Games in previous years.

Scientists from Technische Universität München (TUM) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have successfully designed and built the first electric taxi designed for megacities in the tropical region, Codenamed EVA, under the TUM CREATE project.

TUM CREATE, a joint project for electric mobility funded by the National Research Foundation—an agency of the Prime Minister’s Office Singapore—has brought together researchers from both universities, who are currently working on 10 different research topics.

The electric taxi was a key project for the research group as taxis make up a significant percentage of the on-road vehicles in Singapore. EVA was designed from the ground-up as an electric taxi and is a result of interdisciplinary research in areas such as energy storage, battery charging, thermal management, and lightweight materials and design.

“Why build an electric taxi?” others have asked. The institute recognized the current situation where transportation companies around the world typically re-purpose passenger cars as taxis. However, the challenge of current electric vehicles is the extremely limited range and long recharge times (up to 8 hours), therefore making them unsuitable as taxis.

TUM CREATE aims to address these issues, as well as the unique challenges posed by the heat and humidity in tropical megacities, through its research and development. Unlike temperate climates, passenger cooling and battery pack heat management are issues specific to this part of the world.

A key highlight is EVA’s super-fast charging ability. Engineers have developed a battery pack that can be recharged in 15 minutes to achieve a

realistic range of 200 kilometers with the cabin air conditioner switched on.

The range is calculated based on data collected by researchers who tracked driving patterns of Singaporean taxi drivers. With minimal downtime for charging and a high range, TUM CREATE’s solution will set a benchmark in electric vehicle technology.

EVA was first unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, a milestone marking the first time that a Singapore-based organization is participating and presenting a vehicle in the 59-year history of Asia’s most important automotive tradeshow. The next stage of the project will proceed to test and research on the usability of the car on roads as well as the necessary infrastructure to support the system.

This collaboration between the two universities was not their first, as Technische Universität München’s (TUM) branch campus TUM Asia, offers joint master’s degree programs with

TUM CREATE research team looking at EVA, the first electric vehicle designed as a taxi for tropical megacities. Photo credit: TUM CREATE

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. Students in the joint TUM-NTU Master of Science programs such as aerospace engineering or integrated circuit design are able to join TUM CREATE as interns or full-time researchers.

5 | WOW NewsAsia & Oceania

The Food and Drug Administration held a press conference on August 7, 2014, at the International Convention Center of National Taiwan University Hospital. In front of Executive Yuan officials, five domestic hospitals with clinical trial capabilities signed an agreement with the world’s leading medical device manufacturers to work cooperatively on multinational, multi-center medical device clinical trials.

The five hospitals (Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Hospital, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and Taipei Chang Gung Memorial Hospital) will foster a high-quality and robust environment for clinical trials and make Taiwan an important hub in emerging Asia-Pacific markets.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by the hospital representatives, MED Institute Inc (a Cook Group company), and Swissray Asia Healthcare Co Ltd. Superintendent Tzen-Wen Chen of Taipei Medical University Hospital and Superintendent Fei-Peng Lee of TMU-Wan Fang Medical Center represented the Taiwan hospitals.

The Cook Group, an internationally renowned company with a long history of medical device manufacturing, will enlist TMU-Wan Fang Medical Center’s expertise and quality in clinical trials to assess the safety and effectiveness of the “Zilver Vena” venous self-expanding stent. Wen-Haien Hsu, TMU-Wan Fang’s chief of lymphatic vessel surgery,

will conduct the in-vivo study to treat iliofemoral venous outflow obstruction.

This multinational, multi-center study will be done in conjunction with American researchers Dr Lawrance Hofmann from Stanford University and Dr Anthony Comerota of Jobst Vascular Institute in Ohio. The study results will be used in regulatory evaluations of the Zilver Vena stent in the United States and other countries.

The total output value of Taiwan’s medical equipment market in 2013 was NT$81.4 billion, and this is expected to reach NT$87 billion in 2014 and NT$92.7 billion by 2015. In order for the medical device industry to continue growing, research and development of advanced medical devices is a key focus for the government.

The Taipei Medical University Healthcare System’s well-developed biomedical materials research and development center is capable of prototyping new medical materials. Current projects of the center seek to improve medical device clinical trial capabilities, enhance institutional ability to perform such clinical trials, and train personnel to conduct advanced medical device clinical trials. In addition to putting self-developed products on the market, the TMU Healthcare System also provides a high-quality clinical trial environment to develop its international reputation in the field of medical devices.

Superintendent Fei-Peng Lee of Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Medical Center (right) signed an agreement with Jennifer Kerr (left) of MED Institute Inc., a Cook Group company under the witness of Director-General Ming-Kung Yeh (center), Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan.

Taipei Medical University hospitals participate in multinational, multi-center medical device clinical trials

Superintendent Tzen-Wen Chen of Taipei Medical University Hospital (left) signed an agreement with Andrew Jeffries (right) of Swissray Asia Healthcare Co. Ltd. under the witness of Director-General Ming-Kung Yeh (center), Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan.

Chung-Ang University (CAU) has partnered with Google to train content experts. A ceremony to launch the cooperation in establishing and managing the CAU CREATIVE STUDIO between CAU’s Leaders in Industry-University Cooperation (‘LINC’), a project funded by the Ministry of Education to promote industry-academia cooperation, and Google’s YouTube, a global creative group, was held at CAU Seoul campus on September 26.

It is the first time Google partners with a Korean university in training content experts. CAU and Google’s YouTube plan to turn students’ creative imagination into content and encourage employment and global market penetration through a joint curriculum.

CAU will be launching cultural arts courses to assist students in developing their imagination while Google provides instructors for key courses on content commercialization including copyright and IT training and YouTube’s educational content to support “CAU CREATIVE STUDIO”. Also, outstanding students will have the opportunity to receive training at the YouTube Space in L.A. and Tokyo.

“I’m excited to collaborate with a global company like Google to foster content experts through this program and I anticipate CAU CREATIVE STUDIO will play a key a role in driving CAU to a global educational institution in the field of creative arts and culture,” said Kim Won-Yong, CAU-LINC director.

“I’m delighted to work with CAU and take part in training Korean content creators and bringing the students’ creative ideas to life,” said Gautam Anand, YouTube Asia Pacific Director for Content Partnerships.

First time in Korea – Google trains content experts

From left to right: Gautam Anand (YouTube Asia-Pacific director for content partnerships) and Lee Yong-Goo (Chung-Ang University president)

WOW News | 6

Rome was not built overnight. Nor can institutions of higher education be built overnight. They grow organically like slow, maturing trees. This is why the story of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) is truly remarkable. It has gone from ground zero to world-class recognition in less than ten years. Three points illustrate this.

Firstly, the hardest task in building a new academic institution is to build up a large financial endowment to ensure its long-term sustainability. Fundraising is inherently difficult, especially after the Global Financial Crisis of 2008/09. Yet, starting from scratch, the LKY School went in ten years, from 2004 to 2014, to build the third largest endowment of any school of public policy anywhere in the world.

Only the long established Harvard Kennedy School and the Princeton Woodrow Wilson School can boast larger endowments. As a consequence, the LKY School has also emerged as the second most generous school of public policy in the world, providing generous scholarships and financial aid to more than half of its students. As over 80% of its students come from outside of Singapore and primarily from the developing countries in Asia, the LKY School is well on its way towards fulfilling its mission of improving governance as well as improving the lives of millions of people in Asia.

Second, it is equally hard to get peer recognition of academic standing. This is why it is notoriously difficult to sign double-degree agreements with leading academic institutions like Columbia University, LSE and Sciences Po. Yet, in less than five years, the LKY School was able to sign agreements with all these three institutions. The story with the University of Tokyo is even more amazing. It was founded in 1877. For 132 years, it refused to sign any double-degree agreements with any institution anywhere in the world. In 2009, it finally agreed to do so. The first institution that it signed its first ever double-degree agreement with after a century was the LKY School.

And the LKY School was only five years old then!

Third, the LKY School has developed one of the most successful Executive Education (EE) programs among public policy schools. More than 11,000 participants from the public, private and NGO sectors from over 80 countries and territories have enrolled in these EE programs. This success was a result of close collaboration with regional governments and multilateral organizations. Working closely with the ADB, the LKY School trained over a thousand senior officials from Vietnam in just three years. It has also delivered EE programs in partnership with the World Economic Forum, the United Nations System Staff College and the World Bank and worked closely with countries like Mongolia and Myanmar, as well as China and India.

The success of these EE programs demonstrates clearly that the School is creating valuable opportunities for policy makers to develop and sharpen their skills in policy-making and governance. Important regional networks are also being created through these programs. As the School has grown, we have also expanded our range of services. For example, since 2010, we have been working closely with Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University to establish the first Graduate School of Public Policy in central Asia. Our goal is to share our knowledge and experience with even more governments and universities in the region and beyond.

In short, in the space of ten years, the LKY School has had a meteoric rise that few can match anywhere in the world. But the best is yet to be!

Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Medical University now sister school of America’s University of Maryland

Kaohsiung Medical University and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, signed a sister school agreement at the 2014 Taiwan-Maryland Higher Education Conference on June 24. This year the conference, which was held in Kaohsiung Medical University Conference Hall of International Academic Research Building, carried the theme of “Open up the Channels for Interacting Global and Cultural Experiences”.

Ching-Kuan Liu, the president of Kaohsiung Medical University, and Eugene Schaffer, the dean of the education school of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, signed the sister school contract.

The two universities expect to enhance academic collaboration such as exchange of the scholars and students, information, and clinical research achievements. Kaohsiung Medical University hopes to elevate the extent of internationalization through this cooperative opportunity by encouraging teachers and students to enrich their academic knowledge and international perspective through exchanges between the two universities, which would demonstrate the school spirit of attention to technology and researches.

According to Taiwan Ministry of Education, the Taiwan-US exchanges in higher education have always been positive. In addition, during 2011–2012, the number of Taiwanese students in Maryland ranked 12th among all the states in the United States.

The meteoric rise of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Pubic PolicyBy Kishore Mahbubani¹

Asia & Oceania

1Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, is the author of “The Great Convergence: Asia, the West and the Logic of One World.”

Computer games may actually provide more than just entertainment! Researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have discovered how to improve one’s brain function through mobile gaming. As the world’s most dynamic young university (according to QS Top 50 Under 50—a ranking which lists the world’s top 50 universities established in the last 50 years), NTU has become the fastest rising university through the vibrancy of its faculty and students.

A recent study, conducted by Assistant Professor Michael D. Patterson and PhD student Mr Adam Oei of the Psychology Division in NTU’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences, showed that adults who played the physics-based puzzle video game Cut the Rope for as little as an hour a day displayed better executive functions in their brains in follow-up tests conducted by Professor Patterson and his team.

Executive functions enable us to “think on our feet”, for instance, when deciding whether we can brake in time when the traffic lights at a junction suddenly turn from green to amber while we are driving.

Professor Patterson and Mr Oei tested four groups of students playing four different genres of games: A shooting game (Modern Combat), an arcade game (Fruit Ninja), a real-time strategy game (StarFront Collision), and a complex puzzle game (Cut the Rope). NTU undergraduates who were non-gamers were selected and they each played an assigned game on their iPhone or iPod Touch for an hour a

day, five days a week for a total of four weeks.

Professor Patterson revealed that students who played Cut the Rope showed significant improvement on executive function tasks, while those playing the other games showed no significant improvements.

“This finding is important because previously no video games demonstrated this type of broad improvement to executive functions, which is important for general intelligence, dealing with new situations and managing multitasking,” said Professor Patterson, an expert in the psychology of video games.

“This indicates that while some games may help to improve mental abilities, not all games give you the same effect,” added Mr Oei.The abilities tested in this study included how fast the players switched tasks (mental flexibility); their speed at adapting to a new situation (the ability to inhibit pre-potent or predominant responses); and their ability to focus on information while blocking out distractors or inappropriate responses (known as the Flanker task in cognitive psychology).

Professor Patterson attributed the improvements observed in the Cut the Rope gamers to the fact that each level of the game required different strategies. This forced gamers to think creatively and try alternate solutions, which was unlike the other video games that kept the same general mechanics and goals.

After 20 hours of playing, Cut the Rope gamers were more than a third faster at switching between tasks and adapting to new situations, and also 60% better at blocking out distractions and focussing on tasks at hand. This study was published in the August 2014 issue of Computers in Human Behavior, and is currently available online. It is the first study that reveals the potential of video games to improve several different executive functions of the brain, and provides evidence that video games can be effective in training human cognition.

Singapore’s NTU study shows computer games can improve mental flexibility

Malaysia’s UCSI University ramps up international linkage with Harvard attachment

9 | WOW News

Asst Prof Michael Patterson (right) with his PhD student Adam Oei, showed that puzzle games like Cut the Rope improved mental finesse

UCSI University continued its collaborations with top universities around the world after its top medical student was recently selected for an intercalated research year at Harvard University.

Cherish Chong Chiu Wern recently completed the second year of her MD program at UCSI University. She will now spend a year in Boston under Harvard Medical School’s Global Clinical Scholars Research Training Program.

During her time at Harvard, Cherish will be involved in cutting-edge research under the tutelage of Professor Dr Gordon H. Williams, who leads the Hormonal Mechanisms of Cardiometabolic Injury Program at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“I’m definitely looking forward to making a contribution,” said Chong. “Harvard is at the forefront of research and I’m sure this exposure will help me in my aspirations to be a clinician-scientist.

“I’d like to thank UCSI University for making all the necessary arrangements. UCSI went out of the way to prepare me for this and I’ve received a tremendous amount of support.”

The recent move comes on the back of a number of strategic tie-ups and exchange programs between UCSI and leading universities in the Russell Group, Universitas 21 and Australia’s Group of Eight.

It is the first time such an arrangement is being made by a private university in Malaysia.

Asia & Oceania

“This result could have implications in many areas, such as educational, occupational and rehabilitative settings,” Professor Patterson said. “With more studies, we’ll know what games improve specific abilities, and prescribe games that will benefit people.”

Over the years, Amity has emerged as a university driven by research and innovation that will impact the development of India and will make significant contributions in major technology, medical and environmental domains.

Amity University has filed more patents than any other university or institution in India. As per the Annual Report of the Controller General of Patents, Government of India, for 2012–13 Amity University filed 140 patents to become the highest amongst individual institutions. While IIT Bombay and IIT Madras filed 77 and 25 patents respectively, with IIT Kanpur and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore filing 23 patents each.

What is even more encouraging is the fact that more than 40 of the patents are the result of independent research work carried out by students.

“At Amity we have a vision to create an institution which will be recognized worldwide for its knowledge capital, and whose key drivers will be research and innovation” states Mr Atul Chauhan, chancellor of Amity University.

These patents have been filed in many crucial areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, biosensors, forensic science, microbiology, IT, herbal products, photovoltaics, electronics, and nuclear science; and have led to breakthrough innovations. For example, the “synergistic herbal composition for lowering blood glucose and cholesterol levels” infuses the advances in the field of biotechnology with the ancient

Amity University files more patents than any other institution of India

Indian knowledge of Ayurveda. The research undertaken also strives to solve real issues plaguing India’s growth. For instance, the “plant biomass-nanomaterial composite based electrode for the removal of industrial dyes from waste water” aims at finding an effective solution for India’s waste-water management crisis.

Going beyond the areas of science and technology, Amity University faculty has written and researched over 850 management case-studies in the past years, which have been bought across 47 countries by leading universities like Harvard, Yale School of Management and Oxford as well as corporations like KPMG, AT Kearney and KLM, among many others.

Taking a step further, Amity faculty have published over 3,600 papers in international journals, besides authoring more than 500 books. In fact, Amity University is India’s only not-for-profit private university to have a Nobel Laureate as honorary faculty of biotechnology.

The university is working towards impacting India’s development and global image through education and research. Towards this end, it has forged research collaborations with over 100 international universities and research centres.

It is also conducting over 300 funded research projects for leading government bodies. Furthermore, Amity faculty is also working on leading international projects including those funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hort CRSP- USAID & Leverhulme Trust, UK.

Amity University campus, Noida, New Delhi

WOW News | 10

Pavel Struk, a student of the School of Natural Sciences of the Far-Eastern Federal University, conquered the highest summit in Russia, named Elborus, a composite volcano. On the summit, he planted the flag of FEFU and that of the students’ club “Turios”, of which he is a chair.

For Pavel Struk, it is the second ascent to Elborus already. Last summer, he went on an expedition to conquer the Caucasus summit. The expedition went well that time, but he could not reach the very summit: At the altitude of 4,900 meters, he began to suffer from hypoxia (oxygen starvation). This year, the young mountain climber was fully prepared for steep ascents, winds, and temperature changes—from heat to frost—and managed to get to the maximum altitude.

It is worth noting that Turios club was created by a student initiative group from the geography and geo-system sustainability department of the FEFU’s School of Natural Sciences in September 2011 just for such students as Pavel, fond of hiking, tourism and mountain climbing.

The club unites students, alumni and the university staff. Jointly with the FEFU’s Youth Policy Department, the club holds an annual autumn large-scale tourist and sports competition for students as well as prospective students.

Far-Eastern Federal University flag on Russia’s highest peak

Asia & Oceania

Photo credit: Far-Eastern Federal University

*Source: QS Asian University Rankings 2011 - 2013

13 | WOW News

As a testament to the University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) commitment to strengthen its science education and research, four faculty members from the College of Science were honored by separate professional organizations this year.

For his pioneering study on plant molecular phylogenetics in the Philippines, and his discovery of several new endemic species in Rubiaceae, UST Office of Graduate Research director, Prof Grecebio Jonathan D. Alejandro (PhD), was conferred the 2014 Outstanding Research and Development Award for Basic Research by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) on July 24 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

A faculty member of the UST Graduate School and the College of Science, Alejandro discovered novel genera in the Rubiaceae (coffee family) like the Mussaenda ustii Alejandro, named in honor of UST.

Alejandro established the Thomasian Angiosperm Phylogeny and Barcoding Group in the UST Research Center

for the Natural and Applied Sciences (RCNAS), which puts special focus on systematics and taxonomy, molecular phylogenetics, biodiversity, DNA barcoding of medicinal plants and studies on the phytochemistry and biological potentials of endemic and indigenous Philippine plants.

Dr Thomas Edison E. dela Cruz, a professor of microbiology and chair of the UST College of Science Department of Biological Sciences, was awarded the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Prize for Young Scientists in the Philippines during the 36th Annual Scientific Meeting of the National Academy of Sciences and Technology held from July 9–10 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

The award was given in recognition of his important researches on the biodiversity and ecological patterns of marine and mangrove fungi, fungal endophytes, macrofungi and fruticose lichens, including slime molds and dictyostelids.

Scientists from the Philippines’ University of Santo Tomas reap nationalawards

Asia & Oceania

University of Newcastle (Australia)’s Professor Pablo Moscato is leading the revolution of how some of medicine’s greatest challenges, including Alzheimer’s Disease and cancer, are approached.

Through the application of computer science and algorithms, Professor Moscato is driving the push for personalised medicine. He and his research team at UON’s Priority Research Centre for Bioinformatics, Biomarker Discovery and Information-Based Medicine (CIBM) use mathematical methods to interpret genetic data and scrutinize diseases such as breast cancer, Parkinson’s Disease and multiple sclerosis.

Meanwhile, the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) named Prof Christina A. Binag, PhD as 2013 Achievement Awardee for Chemistry during its 2014 convention at the Manila Hotel last March.

An affiliate of the UST RCNAS, Binag was recognized for her significant contribution in the field of surface characterization, electro-synthesis of materials, and synthesis of conducting polymers and nano materials.

Also, two entries from Asst Prof Rey Donne S. Papa (PhD) were National Capital Region qualifiers (for 2 ISI/SCI indexed papers) for Natural Sciences and Agriculture category in the 2013 Commission on Higher Education Republica Awards held last May 20.

The Republica Awards aim to promote and enhance the research function in higher education institutions in the Philippines. It recognizes and awards outstanding research outputs that have been published or accepted for publication in a local or foreign-refereed journal.

Personalized medicine breaks the mould of 1,000 years of traditional treatment

“Most of the policy that exists today involves patients being given a drug for a disease, where the disease categories and definitions are generally quite broad,” Professor Moscato said.

“New biotechnologies and mathematical classification methods are revealing that they are actually multiple diseases, and so we are moving away from the approaches that hope for a ‘silver bullet’ cure.

“Only with sophisticated computer analysis can you screen all of the combinations. What physics has been for engineering, the same can be said for computer science to biology and medicine.”

Professor Moscato’s analysis of diseases at previously unseen levels has allowed for the identification of disease subtypes, as well as the identification of biomarkers capable of tracking the progression of cancer or neurodegeneration.

The work of Professor Moscato and his team played a vital role recently in helping European scientists uncover a potential new key to the early detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.

“Computer science allows us to answer the many complex questions posed by ‘big data’ from across the field of medicine, and in turn alter treatment methods,” Professor Moscato said.

“By looking at these issues from a mathematical perspective, we are able to move towards a tailored approach to treatment for patients. It’s a new philosophy, which breaks the mould of what medicine has been for the past 1,000 years.

“It’s compatible to have such business intelligence with customized drug treatments at a personal level, identifying a way to both minimize patient dissatisfaction and reduce government costs.”

15 | WOW News

The Faculty of Business of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) staged the 50+20 Agenda – Renewing Business Education in Asia Conference on July 17, 2014. Academics, researchers, educators, students, businesses, professionals, and policymakers converged in Hong Kong for an exploration of responsible leadership, innovation for sustainability, the business school of tomorrow, and corporate social responsibility.

50+20 is a collaborative initiative to seek new ways and opportunities for management education to transform and reinvent itself. The label signifies the passing of 50 years since the last major reform of management education and the 20th anniversary of the landmark Rio Earth Summit,

Hong Kong PolyU hosts 50+20 Agenda – renewing business education in Asia

a major call on businesses to practise sustainability. In 2012, the United Nations extended the call to business schools to embed sustainability, ethics, and corporate social responsibility in the curriculum.

The 50+20 Agenda conveys a new vision for management education: Creating businesses that are designed and led to achieve the best for the world.

Professor Edwin Cheng, dean of the Faculty, says “50+20 envisions that transformation cannot be achieved as a self-contained effort. This is a ripe opportunity for business schools to be active contributors to support business, government and communities in providing a suitable environment and practical assistance for sustainable business solutions. 50+20 advocates for heightened exchange of ideas and expertise to facilitate this transformation.”

Hong Kong, as a business, finance and logistics center, plays a significant role in the development and prosperity of Asia. Hosting the conference signifies PolyU’s and Hong Kong’s support for business and management education

reform; education and research that are relevant and applied, holistic and integrative, responsible and sustainable, interdisciplinary and multilevel, and learning-oriented; and businesses that work towards a better world.

Central to 50+20 is the notion of collaborative spaces. The circle, with no head, facilitates co-creation of solutions towards a shared future. Supporters of 50+20 create and install permanent collaboratory circles at global locations to inspire dialogues about a shared future.

In collaboration with Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) and local designers, the Faculty of Business and students of the School of Design of PolyU have created a set of eight benches, themed Upcycling. These benches, made from recycled, repurposed, reused and reclaimed materials, were used in the conference. They are now on PolyU campus, permanently displayed to signify a long-term process of changing for the better and to encourage different stakeholders and perspectives to co-create solutions for challenging problems.

Asia & Oceania

Over 200 participants attended the conference

Winter Abroad at Yonsei

17 | WOW News

Make music, not war

the faculties by reorganizing the campus, remodeling buildings and constructing newer more high-tech facilities. In fact, Kinki University was voted as the school with the most beautiful campus in western Japan in 2013.

To respond to the increased demand, the university has announced a new campus scheme to be completed in 2020 on its main campus with a symbolic tower, new faculty buildings, and a modern high-tech library that will serve as a 24-hour study area.

Kinki University has also devoted vast resources to promote English language usage on campus, various international spaces for our growing foreign students, a career-oriented section, and various cafés and lounges for both faculty and students.

Japanese Kinki University breaks national enrolment record

A professor from Victoria University of Wellington is creating an epic symphony of musical commemoration to mark the centenary of World War 1.

Professor John Psathas from Victoria’s Te Koki New Zealand School of Music (NZSM) will be revisiting battlegrounds and other important World War I sites as he creates “No Man’s Land”, which will bring together musicians from around the world to play an original piece of music honoring the sacrifice of individuals from many of the nations affected by the Great War.

It is the ordinary people who found themselves in an extraordinary situation that Professor Psathas particularly wishes to acknowledge. “We are talking about an 18-year-old farm hand from rural New Zealand who ended up on the battlefield of the Somme in France—that’s somebody we shouldn’t forget.”

Professor Psathas will walk the battlefields of France, Belgium, Turkey, Poland and other key locations to film and record musicians performing the new work.

By respectfully acknowledging the suffering of so many, he wants the project to be seen as an expression of hope, especially for countries currently in conflict. “We should be able to look at any current global

conflict and think that peace is possible.

“If you said to those fighting in 1914 that 100 years later, representatives from all these countries would be reunited on the same piece of earth and making music together, they wouldn’t have believed you.”

Through music and imagery, Professor Psathas hopes to move beyond the “us and them” mentality that resulted from the war. Success, he says, will come from being able to represent everyone equally.

“Most commemorative events are from a single perspective—we have a unique opportunity to create something beyond this.”

The battlefield musical collaborations involving descendants of soldiers from opposing forces in the Great War will be fused into a unique 70 minute film, to be projected alongside musicians appearing live on stage. Everyone taking part, live and virtual, will perform as one epic global orchestra.

“No Man’s Land” will debut in New Zealand in 2016 and then tour around the country. The film will also be presented in small New Zealand towns, as a springboard for encouraging community dialogue about each town’s own war-time history.

The visual aspect of the project aims to show that everyone experienced great suffering, sacrifice and loss.

“I think the way to comprehend, connect, understand and empathize is to have an emotional point of entry. That’s the role music and imagery play, helping us move past barriers and filters so that we really feel something.”

Professor Psathas and a crew of others will be traveling to Europe and Turkey before the end of this year to scout locations for filming, which will take place in late 2015.

Professor John Psathas

Asia & Oceania

As the population of Japan continues to plummet, so does the number of university entrants. Despite Japan’s demographic woes, in 2014 Kinki University (Osaka, Japan) attracted the most applicants—105,890 students. Historically, large universities in Tokyo have always attracted the most number of applicants. But, this year a university in western Japan became the most sought-after university—first time in Japan’s higher education history. There appears to be a variety of reasons that all seem to be interlinked: Enhanced media exposure; 100% online application; and increasing number of female applicants.

Kinki University opened its “Fisheries Laboratory”—a restaurant open to the public, serving blue-fin tuna that is 100% farmed from roe—at the Knowledge Capital complex in the Grand Front buildings in downtown Osaka in April 2013.

Shortly followed a second; and the third is going to be opened in New York in the near future. Kinki restaurants’ success stories appeared daily on TV as well as in printed media. These stories concern breakthrough research results, Olympic medalists from Kinki University’s strong sports programs, along with award-winning advertisements. There are also expansion plans to establish a new faculty at the main campus in Osaka, making Kinki University a more international, progressive and global university.

In April 2013, Kinki University announced that it would accept only online applications, the first of such practice in Japan. Unique posters and Eco-product Awards from the Ministry of Environment also helped boost Kinki University’s name. This easier and cheaper on-line application played a big role in the increased number of applicants. Finally, the university’s faculty and administration has been actively recruiting women applicants into all

design, these students’ smart shapewear won the German 2014 iF Product Design Award.

Intended for use by women, SS Shapewear combines conductive textile with wearable technological fashion. When a woman wears this intelligent shapewear, a current flows through a loop in the conductive textile of the underwear by means of the product’s magnetic resonance-charging technology, distributing the pressure between the underwear and the body.

Subsequently, the difference in the pressure of the conductive textile can be converted into an electromagnetic

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Taiwan Tech Tops 2014 “iF Product Design Awards”

Korea’s POSTECH – new lab to identify hidden champions

Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) held the opening ceremony for the APGC-Lab and exBrain, the first enterprise company created at POSTECH, on September 19. This new venture will establish education programs and support services for student-led creative entrepreneurship.

The opening day ceremony was attended by local business and political leaders including Pohang City officials, a National Assembly member, the Mayor of Pohang, the president of the Pohang City Assembly, and the vice governor of Gyeongsangbuk-Do Province.

“This is a critical start for us to smash the silo and work with local leaders to boost Pohang’s creative economy,” said POSTECH President Yongmin Kim at the ceremony.

The APGC-Lab is a start-up launch lab supported by the Association of POSTECH Grown Companies (APGC) which consists of approximately 100 venture companies founded by POSTECH members and alumni.

Based on the idea to “Bring Your Ideas into the World”, APGC-Lab will facilitate entrepreneurship at POSTECH and accelerate start-ups run by POSTECH students and professors. The APGC-Lab currently occupies 15 offices and meeting rooms at POSTECH for incubating start-ups with broad networks in both South Korea and Silicon Valley.

Unlike most of the venture companies which are headquartered in Seoul, exBrain is a software development start-up headquartered in Pohang. Co-founded by POSTECH undergraduate student Jinyoung Choi who is a manager of the APGC-Lab, the company provides internet security services that utilize Deep Learning artificial intelligence technology.

“We want to deliver intelligence to the world,” said Choi. “exBrain will define the method of information and intelligence to solve a variety of real world problems like health care and poverty.”

APGC will offer practical help such as entrepreneurship training, venture mentoring, angel funding, and management consultation. Two programs provided now are Tech+Innovation and Tech+Star.

Tech+Innovation helps students join a new business project proposed by APGC companies to give students the

wave signal through the sensor signaling element, which can be sent to a mobile application.

Taiwan Tech achieved a four-peat in the iF Product Design Awards by gaining the highest total score among this year’s winners of these well-known awards presented by an international consortium of design and industry. The school had 18 items selected among the top 300 and five making the top 100, easily grasping the top honors for the fourth consecutive year.

experience of working in a start-up organization. The program’s ultimate goal is to convert the pilot project into a start-up for students to join after graduation.

Tech+Star incubates start-ups created by POSTECH students using a broad network of POSTECH alumni and attracting both governmental and non-government start-up-related organizations around the world.

POSTECH has also started POSTECH Holdings Co. Ltd., along with APGC, with the aim to establish more than two subsidiary companies each year, promote twenty subsidiary companies in 2020, and eventually get more than five companies listed on the KOSDAQ.

To realize a creative economy and reinforce Pohang’s industrial competitiveness, POSTECH’s APGC-Lab will foster hidden champions and attract them to Pohang in collaboration with the City of Pohang and related organizations.

Among 3,249 participating entries from 55 countries, “SS Shapewear” intelligent wearable technology developed by MBA students attending the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST, Taiwan Tech) stood out at this year’s iF Product Design Awards. By combining cutting-edge technology with fashionable

Asia & Oceania

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Scientists at The University of Nottingham are using advanced X-ray micro CT scanners on plant roots to unearth answers to one of the biggest challenges facing the world today—global food security.

A brand new facility will help visualize roots in 3D, enabling scientists to learn how to design plant roots so they can interact better with soil and capture water and nutrients more efficiently.Malcolm Bennett, professor of plant sciences, said “For the first time in 10,000 years of plant breeding, we can see a plant’s root architecture directly in the soil, as it is in the field, and use this information to select the most efficient varieties for farmers to grow.”

The university’s new Hounsfield Facility uses non-invasive technology to delve into the “Rhizosphere”—the thin layer of soil directly influenced by the proteins and sugars released by roots and inhabited by microorganisms that live off discarded plant cells.

The Nottingham scientists are using Computed Tomography (CT) equipment and novel image analysis techniques to understand how roots of different crop varieties take up water and nitrogen. The aim is to find plants that use water and nutrients most efficiently to produce higher yields in more challenging conditions, such as drought and flooding.

The Hounsfield Facility is equipped with three CT scanners capable of imaging objects as fine as a soil particle or a root hair to a fully mature root system. It has

a fully automated greenhouse, which is manned by the laser guided robot, needed to feed the 1 meter long, 80 kilogram samples to the largest scanner.

The research center has been named after Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, the electrical engineer from Nottinghamshire, who shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his part in developing the diagnostic technique of X-ray Computed Tomography.

With these scanners and specialized image analysis methods Nottingham researchers can image the structure of plant roots in a non-destructive way growing through soil throughout the life of the plant—from seed to flowering.

Sacha Mooney, professor of soil physics said “We have finally overcome a major obstacle to our research. The opacity of soil prevented us from being able to see how roots actually grow in their natural environment. Using X-rays we can now ‘see-through’ the soil and visualize roots in 3D, offering new insights into the previously ‘hidden half’ of a plant. These new imaging technologies combined with biological resources have helped to create a world-leading facility with the tools that will radically improve our efforts to increase crop performance.”

There’s a small high resolution scanner for visualizing fine details such as single roots, root hairs and the soil around them; a medium-scale micro CT scanner to image an entire root system; and a large custom designed CT system to look at plants such as wheat throughout its whole growth cycle from seed to flowering—bringing the field closer to the lab than ever before.

The scanners can separate one root system from another when multiple plants are grown in the same pot. This leads to 3D models showing the interactions between neighboring, and even touching, root systems as they exist in an agricultural field competing for water and nutrients.

The new center has been funded by the European Research Council, BBSRC, the Wolfson Foundation and The University of Nottingham.

X-ray vision gets to the root of global food security“World Education Award 2014” for India’s IIT Gandhinagar

Ahmedabad, India: Portable houses and protective shoes for saltpan workers, mattresses for bedsore prone people and chairs for children with cerebral palsy, are just some of the products jointly developed by students of IIT Gandhinagar in India, California Institute of Technology and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

The projects were a part of a collaborative course called “Disruptive Design: Design for the Developing World”. The 45 students at the three institutes collaborated on projects that used the power of design and engineering to make a difference to communities in the developing world.

The Disruptive Design course is one of several initiatives at IIT Gandhinagar to internationalize its curriculum, which also includes extensive study-abroad opportunities for its students, a vibrant visiting faculty program, as well as collaborative courses. The institute’s outstanding performance in globalizing its curriculum was awarded the “World Education Award 2014” at the World Education Summit in New Delhi, in August 2014. Co-taught by Caltech Prof Ken Pickar and IIT Gandhinagar Prof Bhaskar Bhatt, the course involved an intensive immersion in fieldwork and research. Students from different institutes formed collaborative teams with expert mentors. The California students and faculty visited IIT Gandhinagar to study local conditions and needs and the teams jointly simulated real world practices. The classes met through video-conferencing twice a week in a virtual meeting room for seminars by professors as well as guest speakers from both India and America.

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Scientist using advanced X-ray micro CT scanners

Asia & Oceania

23 | WOW News

Amrita University’s flagship e-learning platform “A-VIEW” (Amrita Virtual Interactive E- Learning World) has been hailed as one of the world’s major internet innovations by Cisco, the worldwide leader in networking and internet applications.

Cisco identified and profiled the 40 best global public-sector examples of how the Internet applications are improving the lives of citizens everywhere. From India only two projects have been selected: The A-VIEW platform and the national citizen identification Aadhar project. Amrita University’s A-VIEW is supported by the Government of India as part of its National Mission on Education (NME-ICT).

Currently, more than 5,000 colleges all over India are using A-VIEW. Direct classes from IIT teachers are being transmitted live using A-VIEW to

thousands of students all over India. Over 6 million training hours have been clocked using A-VIEW; this is bringing tremendous ICT awareness in the country.

A-VIEW is a nationally proven internet-based collaborative video-conferencing platform for online training. It is being used for large-scale online classrooms, meetings, trainings and workshops. A-VIEW software allows collaborative, synchronized sharing of many types of multimedia content, including video and audio of lectures, text, associated videos, written instructions, and slideshow presentations. The multi-disciplinary research institution Amrita University has the rare distinction of developing several inter-disciplinary social innovations.

A-VIEW can be used free across India for online classes, meetings and training in various sectors; it has won several awards and recently bagged the award for the Online Education Platform Provider category at the 2014 South Asia Education Summit

Amrita University A-VIEW recognized as

global leader in internet innovation

Asia & Oceania

The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology announced on September 26 that Hokkaido University was one of 13 universities chosen for its Type A Top Global University Project.

The project aims to accelerate the internationalization of the educational system of Japanese universities which have the potential to be ranked within the top 100 universities in the world by financing global initiatives during the next decade.

Hokkaido University’s strategy for internationalization is called the “Hokkaido Universal Campus Initiative (HUCI)”, and will introduce two main activities: Learning Satellites and the Hokkaido Summer Institute. A budget of JPY400,000,000 for the first year will put HUCI into motion from October, and will allow Hokkaido University (HU) to lay a foundation for this initiative until 2023.

Award. Over 100,000 teachers have so far been trained using A-VIEW; and thousands of students get trained by the best teachers in India. Amrita University’s A-VIEW and IIT Bombay have joined their hands for several years in coordinating teacher training workshops, now popularly known as T10KT program.

Professor Kamal Bijlani, the architect of the A-VIEW project says “It brings immense satisfaction to know that A-VIEW is inclusive and brings education to the doorstep of so many types of people all over India; women and elderly are able to receive training at centers close to their homes. It is essential to invest in customized internet-based solutions for a country like India with a huge population.”

Developing A-VIEW has been possible at Amrita University as many experienced and skilled professionals from various countries have returned to Amrita University and are now dedicated to working for India.

Hokkaido University selected for Top Global University Project

Learning Satellites (LSs) are classes jointly presented by Hokkaido University (HU) academics and world-class researchers at international learning satellite locations. The educational programs are structured around themes that seek solutions to global issues.

Classes are open to students and credited auditors of HU and students of collaborating universities, and combine both study opportunities at either a partner university, or an off-campus field research location.

In the next decade, more than 60 joint courses are slated to be established throughout the world. In order to facilitate the joint presentation of classes, HU is developing joint certification programs and joint research programs in collaboration with it partners. In addition, the university is re-structuring its employment system in order to set up contracts with its

partners so that their world-class researchers can have dual employment as lecturers of both their home institution and of HU.

The Hokkaido Summer Institute in combination with the Learning Satellites initiative makes the HU campuses and facilities accessible to the faculties of world-class institutions to allow them the opportunity to collaborate with HU faculties in Hokkaido and conduct educational and research activities.

Beyond the classroom aspect, events that stimulate collaborative research activities between invited researchers and HU faculty will be offered. These events include: Symposia by prominent researchers such as Nobel laureates, research seminars held by the hosting department, and cross-departmental thematic seminars and poster sessions. As summer is a very pleasant season in Hokkaido, many social events will also be offered.

Kazakh scholars reveal health-promoting non-cow milk

What do you know about mare and camel milk? In the Republic of Kazakhstan, in addition to cow’s milk, camel and mare milk consumption has proliferated among the population. Kumys and shubat are ancient beverages of Kazakh people, which are made from fermented mare and camel’s milk, and are sparkling white with a sour flavor. Kumys and shubat are very good for health. They are being used in the treatment of tuberculosis, diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, nervous and immune system, heart, and blood vessels.

Creation of traditional technologies of biologically valuable products, including mare and camel’s milk, is an important area in the modern Kazakh food production sector. However, production of such products is still based on artisanal traditions, and strains which are being used in the production of kumys and shubat are usually not typed. Current starter cultures are primarily developed for cow’s milk and are not optimal for the milk obtained from other species.

In this regard, scientists from Kazakh National Agrarian University have started selection and study of potential strains for starter cultures.The obtained starter cultures, in addition to the technological, nutritional and probiotic effect, will be adapted to camel, mare and goat’s milk because the micro-organisms used in these ferments were derived from shubat and kumys.

As a result, a unique, environmentally safe starter culture has been created that can survive in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby showing a high percentage of probiotic effect.

The research will address microbiological and technological aspects and is expected to shed light on the taxonomic characterization of strains belonging to the starter cultures. These studies will create a basis for international co-operation with leading scientists in this field.

Researchers have discovered the eye of the fly may hold the key to anti-fogging materials.

Self-cleaning windows and glasses that don’t fog up are among the innovative applications that could soon appear after University of Wollongong (UOW)researchers turned to the common house fly for the inspiration behind a new anti-fogging material.

The material, developed at the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM) led by Professor Shi Xue Dou, could also be used as a coating to prevent ice build-up that leads to interruption of supply and service on high-voltage overhead power lines and telecommunications networks.

The common green housefly can see clearly in dusty and wet environments and when the researchers put it in under a microscope in a humid environment they found condensation occurred only on its body and not its compound eyes.

Inspection under a high-powered scanning electron microscope revealed the surface of the eye was made up of thousands of small hexagonal shapes and within each of those hexagons there were still more hexagonal shapes.Associate Professor Jung Ho Kim said they knew that zinc oxide has a similar hexagonal structure so the team set about building a material to mimic the fly’s eye to replicate its anti-fogging and anti-contamination properties.

The zinc nanoparticles assembled into hexagonal shapes similar to the fly eye was tested and found that it was similarly superhydrophobic, or could not be wet with water, which would allow the material to be developed into coatings that are anti-fogging, anti-corrosive and self-cleaning.The process used to construct the material is also feasible for low-cost, large-scale production.

Researchers have long studied nature to find answers for developing new materials to address common problems such as moisture build up that can wreak havoc on small electronic components and devices.

“Nature is great teacher,” Professor Jung Ho Kim said. “Anti-fogging and anti-contamination coatings have a potential range of applications from self-cleaning windows on your car or home right through to windows on planes.”

Fly eyes inspire anti-fogging materials discovery

WOW News | 24

The UOW research team involved in the anti-fogging materials research including back row (far left) Professor Shi Xue Dou who is the Director of the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials.

Asia & Oceania

The common green housefly can see clearly in dusty and wet environments. Photo courtesy: Marcelo Cesar Augusto Romeo at Flickr

Alliance University, Bangalore, was awarded the Best Private University of the Year 2014 by ASSOCHAM—a highly reputed, national-level industry and trade body. The award was given in recognition of the several factors that have strongly contributed to the excellence of Alliance as a university in the field of higher education.

The award considered several parameters on which Alliance University was rated the top: Delivering quality education, innovation, research, infrastructure, faculty,

curriculum, placements, international collaborations and ICT. Alliance University has emerged as one of the fastest growing private universities in India. The university has made exceptional progress across several key parameters: Highly accomplished faculty, international linkages, excellence in research and scholarly development, world-class infrastructure, career counselling and placement facilitation, recruiter satisfaction, and rankings by various agencies.

Alliance University India’s best private university

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At the end of July, RANEPA hosted the Third International Educational Forum “Presidential Academy Summer Campus” in Kazan, dedicated to the topic of “Education of the Future”. For the duration of one week 250 best students from 21 regions of Russia and universities abroad listened to lectures and seminars of prominent Russian and foreign experts, top managers of major companies and high-level government officials. With the main theme of the forum being “Education of the Future”, the forum’s objective was to produce an image of what a university might look like in the year 2040, in short - project “University - 2040”.

Participating students were divided into 6 teams and tasked with preparing and presenting their “University – 2040” visions. The organizers of the forum made sure participants had the background knowledge necessary in order to successfully carry out the given task. In order to understand the context and formulate a vision about the trends of the modern world, lectures and workshops were held by representatives of different areas of expertise. Tutors and mentors from the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, together with the forum moderators, helped to carry out effective work in teams.

Visions brought forth by the forum teams all shared a common emphasis on technologies of the future and their practical application, the independent choice of educational paths by the students and the absence of age criteria. According to the participants,

the concepts of distance education and learning might become a thing of the past while the formal structures of the university will be replaced by a lively and vibrant environment with a continuous educational process.

A vote of the participants at the end of the forum revealed the winning project—“Univerpolis”. The team with this project devoted special attention to the topic of health care and the use of optical technologies and affordable energy sources. In their university of the future, all participants of the educational process (students, professors, experts, and tutors) will cooperate with one another. Also, a health care council will be established— tasked with raising healthy youth.

Another important element of the university will be business—the main investor into university education. Finally, the university itself will be a part of a single educational city and a unique student environment.In the colorful presentations of other teams, such essential topics as energy, demography, and artificial intelligence were also given attention in the context of their prospective relation to the education of the future.

The forum attracts more attention each year and not only from active and talented students but also from the general public. As for the participants themselves, this experience is priceless as they have the opportunity to directly interact with the elites of the educational world, businesses, and the trend-setters in politics and economics.

27 | WOW News

Russian students envision university education in 2040

Asia & Oceania

Two students of Vellore Institute Technology in India, Ms Sudha GARIMELLA and Ms Srilavanya PALETI, have invented a network-based, new in-vehicle device for travelers. They have demonstrated how to provide services to traveling passengers without using the Internet, for which they have received US patent.

In their path-breaking invention, the students have built a hardware system with embedded wireless capability, which is placed in strategic locations in vehicles so that any end user can contact any fellow unknown passenger via their mobile phones. As the proposed system uses ad hoc networking based services, it does not need any Internet connectivity.

This useful invention allows sleeping passengers to be alerted through mobile vibration, audio playing etc upon reaching their destination; it also offers online Pantry Services through ad hoc network, the unknown passengers travelling in the vehicle can share their hotel accommodation, can play multi-player games with unknown passengers and can identify the nearest doctor within the vehicle in case of medical emergency.

The Union Minister for Railways, Mr D. V. Sadananda Gowda, has appreciated the invention and congratulated the students. VIT University has now become the destination of many leading industries for research and innovation. Leading industries like IBM, CISCO, Microsoft, Schneider Electric, NxP Semiconductors, Danfoss, and QMax Technology have established their centers of excellence at VIT University, Vellore campus, Tamilnadu, India. This is to enhance the industrial research activities, increase the number of patents, and motivate innovative projects etc on campus.

India’s VIT students’invention gets US patent

Team Recon from the School of Aeronautical Sciences, Hindustan University, won the Most Innovative Design Award 2014 International Aerial Robotics Competition, Mission 7, in September.

The competition was conducted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle System International, Yantai, China, and 30 teams from across the globe participated.

Launched in 1991 on Georgia Institute of Technology campus, the International Aerial Robotics Competition (IARC) is the world’s most reputable university-based robotics competition; and the one that has been running longest.

Collegiate teams supported by industry and government present autonomous flying robots in an attempt to perform missions requiring robotic behaviors that have never been exhibited by a flying machine before.

Hindustan University students win Most Innovative Aerial Robotics Design Award

From left to right: Nithya Priya. K, Aasish. C, Razeen Ridhwan , Dr Dalbir Singh Faculty Advisor, Dr Dilip A Shah Head of Deparment, S. Bharath Raj , Prasanna Linci, Punita Kumari

Initially introduced to Brunei Darussalam in the 1980s and 1990s as a prized resource, the Acacia plant has resulted in unexpected consequences to the biodiversity of the country. Acacia trees have now become an alien invasive species to rare local Kerangas (heath) forests in Brunei, as discovered by researchers at the Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research (IBER) in Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). Originating from the Oceania region, Acacia is valued for its quick growth and as a timber supplement—a great choice for forestry plantations and stabilizing soil after anthropogenic or natural disturbances.

However, due to its vigorous growth, Acacia can become an invasive pest, outcompeting native flora and putting pressure on native ecosystems. In Brunei Darussalam, observations suggest that Acacia—assisted by fire—is spreading and will ultimately severely degrade the forest’s biodiversity, in addition to preventing regeneration of native Kerangas plant species.

The finding, reported by Dr Rahayu Sukmaria Sukri, Associate Professor Dr Kushan Tennakoon, Associate Professor Hajah Zohrah Haji Sulaiman, and their team of student researchers from the bachelor’s and master’s programs, calls for remedial action to manage the population of Acacias in Brunei and subsequently restore native forest types.

Funded by a research grant from UBD and possibly the first systematic investigation undertaken in Brunei Darussalam on invasive plants, the

Brunei’s UBD first to discover Acacia’s threats on native Kerangas forests

project has drawn international interest for collaboration from distinguished institutions such as the University of Aberdeen, Federation University and Cambridge University.

Remarkably, despite being fire-dependent, a high density of newly germinated Acacia seedlings have been recorded in invaded areas, even with the absence of recent fires. This is a cause for concern as it indicates that Acacias can still grow in areas without fire triggers and therefore thrive further.

Clearly, the impact of the rapid regeneration of Acacias is likely to have a significant impact on Brunei’s biodiversity. According to principal investigator and tropical forest ecology expert of the project, Dr Rahayu, “One of the most detrimental effects of Acacia is that it increases the flammability of an invaded area, thus increasing fire occurrences that can potentially destroy nearby intact forests.”

The UBD team predicts that Acacias will negatively lower fauna diversity and affect other ecosystem attributes such as soil properties, biogeochemical cycling and water supply. Amongst many key traits which allow Acacia to dominate in an invaded area, a crucial one is their ability to convert nitrogen in the atmosphere into fixed nitrogen compounds which can then be taken up via its roots, enabling them to survive in even degraded soil where few other plant species would thrive.

On top of that, the leaf litter of Acacias shows negative allelopathic properties, secreting biochemicals that can inhibit the growth and establishment of native plants. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recorded 22 invasive species of insects, birds, fish and plants in Brunei, six of which are plant species. Yet, with its marked aggressive effects on the local environment, Acacia has not so far been included in the list.

Close to 100 youth leaders from 51 ASEAN universities arrived at Thailand’s Mahasarakham University on August 20, 2014, to take part at the MSU - ASEAN Youth Leaders Camp 2014 that was held for 10 days from August 20–30 at Mahasarakham University, Samut Songkram Province.

MSU-ASEAN Youth Leaders Camp 2014 was a challenging and meaningful adventure that aimed at helping ASEAN students develop their leadership potentials through participation in a series of workshops and experiential learning opportunities.

Through learning sessions and hands-on experiences, visiting ASEAN Exchange Students not only acquired understanding on leadership techniques, team building and effective communication, but they also experienced authentic Thai culture in an educational setting.

ASEAN-YLC 2014 also supported the MSU Going Green University Project as participants were given the opportunity to enjoy the campus tour using MSU bicycles in cooperation with the MSU Bicycle Center of the Division of Students Affairs.

ASEAN-YLC 2014 participants also visited MSU Silk Innovation Center, the finest innovation center of MSU, producing beauty products from silk. This environmental, innovative exposure led the youth to make a simple souvenir by themselves out of cocoon, which all of them enjoyed.

It is worth noting that Mahasarakham University will be co-hosting 8th QS WorldClass seminar in collaboration with QS Asia from March 25–27, 2015, at JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, Phuket, Thailand.

Mahasarakham University hosts largest ASEAN Youth Leaders Camp

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Professor Hai-Han Lu of Electro-Optical Engineering and his research team at Taipei Tech (National Taipei University of Technology) spent 2 years developing an ultra-high-speed visible light wireless network that is 1,000 times faster than 4G. With this new technology, downloading a full-length film will take less than a second!

The ultra-high speed visible wireless network features two breakthroughs: 10Gbps transmission rate and up to 17.5 meters in transmission distance. Taiwan will be the first country to propose ultra-high-speed red light communication. The technology is expected to inspire vast entrepreneurial opportunities.

Professor Lu pointed out that visible light is able to transmit freely in space thus not only does the new technology solve the last mile problem of optical fiber internet, but it also reduces radiated electromagnetic interference without having to install cables, making the home environment tidier and more comfortable.

In the future, visible light can be applied to signal transmission in different settings, such as hospitals, refineries, aircraft cabins etc, as well as resolve accidental signal disconnection problems in the high-speed rail system.

For example, in the future all one needs to do is to turn on the power and target the laser light to enjoy cable-free super-speed internet access.

In addition, it will only take 0.45 second to download a 4GB file and the same technology can be applied to cloud computing. The technology is scheduled to launch next year and is estimated to be worth over US$3,000,000.

Professor Lu said that the most expensive part is the transmitter, which costs about US$322. The whole system, however, only costs less than US$1,600. The connection fee will cost about US$33 per month after the transmitter is commercialized and users can install the system at home or in the office.

The research and development of this project spanned across electro optical engineering and communication technology, creating many successful stories in photonics. Its success also contributes to R&D in the visible light communication field.

Professor Lu and his team published 6 articles related to the newly discovered visible light red laser transmission from 2012 to 2014 in the journals Optics Express and Optics Letters; and one article was the most downloaded article in the May 2012 issue of Optics Express. In 2014, Professor Lu’s team was invited to become a member of SPIE (Society for Optics and Photonics). Their pioneering work has garnered recognition and attention internationally and helped promote Taiwan as a hub for development and research.

31 | WOW News

First time globally – Taipei Tech introduces laser wireless transmission technology

India’s SRM University scholars’ invention to give women peace of mind

Professor Lu and his students

Asia & Oceania

Researchers from SRM University, India, have devised an innerwear with an ingenious design in order to protect their fellow countrywomen against sexual assaults. The invention combines the disciplines of micro processing, controls, electronics and communications.

“SHE”, which is being patented, is an innerwear, or bra to be precise, actuated with sensors and electric shock circuit board, and sensitive to squeeze or pinch on the women’s bosom.

The entire electronics is contained in the bi-layer fabric; the first layer provides insulation to the woman, while the current flows in the closed loop. When pressure is applied by touch, the closed loop gets actuated, and the circuit breaks causing a 3800kv electric shock capable of causing severe burns. Almost instantaneously, the device sends out a message to alert the dear ones of the victim, and the police with location, through an embedded GPRS system.

The team is trying to make the device more compact and wearable, and interface the system with a smart phone using Bluetooth and infrared, so that stress messages can be sent out instantly.

SRM University is one of the top ranking universities in India with over 40,000 students and more than 2,700 faculty members across four campuses, offering a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs in engineering, management, medicine and health sciences, and science and humanities.

Foreign faculty, flexible and dynamic curriculum, exciting research and global connections are the features that set SRM apart. Students have a wide choice of cutting-edge programs, including nanotechnology, bioinformatics, genetic engineering, remote sensing and GIS, embedded systems or computer forensics to choose from. Most of these courses are offered in close collaboration with foreign universities. The university is accredited with the topmost “A” grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) which is an autonomous national body.

The recently set up Malaysian Super Satellite Campus (MSSC) on the grounds of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) had its beginnings in 2013 when the Kyushu Institute of Technology (KyuTech), Japan, decided to oversee all MSSC programs between them including their joint and collaborative cutting-edge research projects, the exchange and mobility of their teaching and research staff, administrative and other like personnel, as well as joint initiatives in education, including new establishment of collaborative dual degree programs to name a few.

Their 20-year historic association dating back from 1994 to the present on successful significant landmark projects and other forms of collaboration had spurred Kyutech to finally set up a base on the premises of UPM, a leading research university with a commendable 83-year history and niche in agriculture—as a much justified rationale for their action.

In 2002, a new MoU to further enhance the existing MoU was signed. It included among others, agreements on exchange of academic knowhow, materials and information, joint publications, joint supervision of PhD and MSc theses and collaborative research on the reduction of greenhouse gases from the palm oil industry.

During the subsequent year, the two sides struck several more deals in research collaboration, which paved the way for the signing of a very significant MoU between the Advanced Industrial Science and

Technology Institute (AIST), Japan, UPM and KyuTech in 2009 resulting in the setting up of a Biomass Technology Centre. Subsequently the AIST-UPM-Kyutech agreement led to the setting up of a Compost Pilot Plant at UPM in 2010 and a Bioplastic Plant at SIRIM in 2011.

The UPM partnership with KyuTech has logically progressed and matured to the point of a complete comradeship climaxing with the setting up of the MSSC to facilitate and support academics, researchers, postgraduate students and avant-garde projects from both institutions and beyond. There is no doubt that the positive engagement in research activities, social networking, collaboration and consultancies between and among the partners will ensure a valuable archive contributing to the important legacy of a sustainable existence for KyuTech, UPM and the nation!

WOW News | 32

Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University runs for health and dreams!

Move your feet! Stimulate your brain! Run and have fun! Exercise and eat breakfast together! With the enthusiastic encouragement, support, and funding from an anonymous alumnus, students in the Department of Electrophysics at National Chiao Tung University organized the RUNWAY team to launch the “Exercise and Get Free Breakfast Program”. NCTU students who complete a run around campus and check in with three

fingerprint readers within one hour will receive a free breakfast.

Last year, the alumnus noticed that many college students did not have a habit of exercising regularly or eating breakfast. In addition, the tendency to stay up late has taken a huge toll on students’ health and their academic performance. Therefore, he decided to provide funding for making some changes that will enhance future competitiveness of NCTU students.

Professor Long Hsu and his graduate students of the Department of Electrophysics were all deeply moved and inspired; hence they carried it out by integrating the knowledge of computers, the Internet, and fingerprint readers. The goal was set to encourage students who sleep late and exercise little to leave their beds and enjoy exercising and the beauty of mornings.

Once students register their fingerprints, they are qualified to

participate in the program for an entire year. Students only have to run around the school once, and check in on the three fingerprint readers located around the campus, then they will be eligible for the free breakfast.

Since the program was initiated in February 2014, more than 5,000 students have participated. The event has enabled NCTU students to have more energy and cultivate healthy exercise habits, and also to encourage students to wake up to exercise before sunrise and enjoy the scenery in the early morning.

This program has not only promoted health and exercise, but has also inspired students to realize their dreams and sharpen their organizational skills. The RUNWAY team hopes that the combination of technology and exercise can attract the participation of more students. There are no time limits to the activity. Just press the reader and run, and let a beautiful day begin with the joy of exercise!

Japanese university sets up satellite campus in Universiti Putra Malaysia

Asia & Oceania

WOW News | 34

Silliman University in central Philippines inaugurated on September 25 the Simulation Laboratory and Resource Center which features life-size robots and state-of-the-art medical equipment suitable for both clinical and disaster-response simulation in a hospital setting.

The new laboratory was made possible through a grant of US$500,000 from the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad of the United States Agency for International Development (ASHA-USAID). The grant was extended to Silliman through the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA).

With the grant, the university expanded its original one-unit Intensive Care Unit Simulation Laboratory located to a five-unit Simulation Laboratory and Resource Center. The Laboratory now has two intensive care units, one neonatal/pediatric care unit, a virtual operating room, and a labor and delivery room.

Silliman University president, Dr Ben S. Malayang III, said the Laboratory seeks to address the challenge of healthcare professionals to be more adaptable to scenarios, including emergencies and disasters, which may require more than just conventional thinking.

Silliman University inaugurates first simulation lab supported by ASHA-USAID in the Philippines

“The challenge of health care providers is the unpredictability of a world that’s faced with new threats to human life, new diseases that are a result of climate change... It was for this reason that Silliman University committed itself to pursuing a project that provides a simulation, not just of bedside conditions or of Asian symptoms, but of the whole hospital setting itself,” he explained.

ASHA-USAID Program Officer Ms Andrea Molfetto visited Silliman University for the first time and expressed excitement over the prospect of the Simulation Laboratory contributing significantly to health care education, training and research in the Philippines. She described the Laboratory as the first project of its kind supported by ASHA-USAID in a university in the Philippines.

Silliman University has been a partner of ASHA-USAID since the 1970s. Two of its projects were the the Silliman Main Library and the internationally renowned Marine Laboratory.

Crown prince of Brunei launches award-winning app for autism at ITB 1st Convocation Festival

Institut Teknologi Brunei held its first inaugural Convocation Festival 2014 on September 30, 2014, with the theme “360° graduate” which reflects the desire of the university to produce all-rounded graduates that are not only academically adept, but also equipped with marketable skill sets and values.

His Royal Highness Prince (Dr) Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the crown prince and a senior minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, and pro chancellor of Institut Teknologi Brunei officiated the first ITB Convocation festival. His Royal Highness also launched, among others, the AutiSay application for autistic children. AutiSay is a mobile application developed by a group of students from the School of Business and the School of Computing and Informatics to assist children with autism to communicate with their parents, therapists and care givers. The application is designed for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) who have social communications difficulties. The students have worked closely with the Society for the Management of Autism Related Issues in Training, Education and Resources (Smarter) Brunei to create the application. The AutiSay app was the winner at the Brunei ICT Award (BICTA) 2013 for the Tertiary Category. It also won Merit at the Asia Pacific Information and Communication Technology Alliance (APICTA) 2013 competition. Through the ITB entrepreneurship mentoring program, the AutiSay application has been developed to become a commercial app which is now available for download.

Asia & Oceania

August 14, 2014 – On the occasion of 68th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence, the country’s president, Mamnoon Hussain, conferred National Civil Awards upon three Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) faculty members for their outstanding contributions to research and development.

Development of faculty and academic infrastructure has been a top priority of the university. The investment in faculty and infrastructure development bore fruit and the institution was declared to be No. 1 engineering university of the country by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan in its first ever ranking of universities held in the year 2006. Since then, PIEAS has maintained its top position in all subsequent university rankings organized by HEC. The university was also highly ranked in QS University Rankings Asia 2014: 106th in

Asia and 1st in Pakistan.

Located in Islamabad, PIEAS is a relatively young and small university, but it is quite quality conscious. PIEAS had its charter from the Federal Government of Pakistan in the year 2000. As reflected by its name, PIEAS offers BS, MS and PhD programs in engineering and applied sciences. PIEAS also offers MS and PhD degree programs in highly specialized interdisciplinary areas of nuclear engineering, nuclear medicine, medical physics and radiation and medical oncology.

PIEAS has been very strong in research and development work related to nano materials, nano- and micro-devices, bio-photonics, quantum optics, environmental modeling, image processing, robotics and computational fluid dynamics.

Pakistan president confers awards on PIEAS faculty members

The team believes the recipe for their success was a combination of a cohesive team, their creativity and innovation, and their impeccable presentation style.

35 | WOW News

State-of-the-art military hardware could soon fight malaria, one of the most deadly diseases on the planet.Researchers at Monash University and the University of Melbourne have used an anti-tank Javelin missile detector, more commonly used in warfare to detect the enemy, in a new test to rapidly identify malaria parasites in blood.

Scientists say the novel idea, published in the journal Analysis, could set a new gold standard for malaria testing.The technique is based on Fourier Transform Infrared (FITR) spectroscopy, which provides information on how molecules vibrate.

Researchers used a special detector known as a Focal Plane Array (FPA) to detect malaria parasite-infected red blood cells. Originally developed for Javelin anti-tank heat seeking missiles, the FPA gives highly detailed information on a sample area in minutes. The heat-seeking detector, which is coupled to an infrared imaging microscope, allowed the team to detect the earliest stages of the malaria parasite in a single red blood cell.

The infrared signature from the fatty acids of the parasites enabled the scientists to detect the parasite at an earlier stage, and crucially determine the number of parasites in a blood smear.

The lead researcher, Associate Professor Bayden Wood from Monash University

believes that in order to reduce mortality and prevent the overuse of anti-malarial drugs a test that can catch malaria at its early stages is critical.“Our test detects malaria at its very early stages, so that doctors can stop the disease in its tracks before it takes hold and kills. We believe this sets the gold standard for malaria testing,” Associate Professor Wood said.

“There are some excellent tests that diagnose malaria. However, the sensitivity is limited and the best methods require hours of input from skilled microscopists, and that’s a problem in developing countries where malaria is most prevalent,” he said. As well as being highly sensitive, the new test has a number of advantages—it gives an automatic diagnosis within four minutes; it doesn’t require a specialist technician; and can detect the parasite in a single blood cell.

The disease, which is caused by the malaria parasite, kills 1.2 million people every year. Existing tests look for the parasite in a blood sample. However the parasites can be difficult to detect in the early stages of infection. As a result the disease is often spotted only when the parasites have developed and multiplied in the body.

The next phase of research will see Associate Professor Wood’s team work with Professor Patcharee Jearanaikoon from the Kohn Kaen University in Thailand to test the new technology in hospital clinics.

Anti-tank missile detector waging war on malaria

Asia & Oceania

Last June the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Asia Pacific Business Case Competition brought together 24 universities from 16 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region to compete in the two-day competition. The students worked in their university teams to focus on real-life business cases such as Orient Overseas Container Line’s shipping in Hong Kong, Microsoft’s turnabout and crises, KFC in China crisis management, and development of banking in India.

The competition required the team to analyze a given case, identify problems, strategize, and present solutions within a limited timeframe of 2.5 hours, strictly without the use of technology.

Hong Kong University team wins HSBC case competition

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) was represented by a group of four undergraduate students of different degree programs from the HKU Faculty of Business and Economics.

Over 50 senior business executives, including more than 20 from HSBC, judged the competition. In third place was the National University of Singapore; the runner-up was the University of Auckland; and the winner of the whole competition was the HKU team! The HKU team as a whole was praised to have strong strategic abilities and a natural way of complementing each other.

The HKU team attributed their

victory to the support provided by their coach and mentor, Associate Professor Dr Thomas Ng, coordinator of the International Business Global Management program, who continually gave them invaluable feedback. The team collectively won US$10,000 in prize money.

New Delhi, India

Higher Education in India:

Envisioning the Future

January, 2015

Amity University CampusNoida, New Delhi

India

Register now atwww.qsinconversation.com

Organizing Partner

Organizer

UTM as an entrepreneurial research university is committed towards intensifying efforts in seeking creative and innovative solutions for energy savings through a culture of conservation. These efforts continue to be accentuated by the university’s Sustainability Research Alliance which aims to enable Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to function as a sustainable community, embodying responsible resource consumption and waste management, as well as integrating UTM talents and experts from various disciplines to comprehend and provide solutions in matters related to sustainability issues, nationally and globally.

In view of the current global scenario with rising energy demand and diminishing supply which have resulted in volatile energy prices, sustainable energy initiatives are becoming more significant in reducing an organization’s operating costs. Typically, energy efficiency measures employed by organizations tend to be in the form

of energy audits and implementation of energy-saving measures, which are largely technical by nature and aimed at containing the effects of rising energy costs.

UTM, however, has adopted a holistic approach for effective and sustainable energy management that is all-inclusive and multi-disciplinary by nature, achieved through the UTM Sustainability Energy Management Program (SEMP).

UTM SEMP incorporates managerial, capacity building as well as technical aspects, ranging from the integration of energy management into UTM’s organizational structure and practices, like promoting maximum demand management, to the implementation of a wide range of energy improvement options, like retrofitting lighting fixtures and air-conditioning systems.

Through the implementation of this holistic approach, UTM managed to achieve more than 10% reduction in

its energy efficiency index (EEI) for the year 2012 and 2013 in comparison to the baseline year of 2009. This is equivalent to a cumulative savings of 21 million kWh, or a total monetary savings of RM 6.6 million between the year 2010 and 2013, since the implementation of the UTM Sustainable Energy Management Program.

With concerted effort of all parties involved, UTM SEMP has yielded some commendable and significant results. UTM now has 30 Certified Energy Managers. The university is also the proprietary owner of the in-house Electrical Billing Management System (EBMS) that monitors the electrical consumption of each building in UTM.

In 2013, UTM was awarded the Energy Management Gold Standard (EMGS) 2nd Star rating under the ASEAN Energy Management Scheme (AEMAS). This is the first ever 2nd Star recognition awarded to any organization in ASEAN.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Spearheads its own Sustainable Energy Management

WOW News | 36

In 2012 Ural Federal University won the rights to host the 29th International Young Physicists’ Tournament (IYPT). The election by exhaustive ballot took place on July 27, 2012 in Stuttgart, Germany, during the assembly of the IYPT International Organizing Committee. The university is currently establishing the Local Organizing Committee for the IYPT 2016, and its representative joins the Executive Committee of the IYPT on November 1, 2014.

The IYPT, sometimes also referred to as “Physics World Cup”, distinguishes itself as the world’s most difficult and

demanding science competition for pre-university students. Within the frames of the IYPT student teams consisting of five members present and discuss their solutions to 17 problems. The competition is research-based and most work is done before the World Cup as such. The quality of presentations is generally much higher than secondary school level and more often than not demanding for university students, lecturers and professional researchers.

Since its inception in 1988, the tournament has been attended and supported by Nobel Prize winners, presidents of national and international physics societies, national ministers, international ambassadors, key executives of multinational companies, the Director General of CERN, and other high profile individuals.

The growing global success of the IYPT is inextricably linked to its multi-award winning format conceived by the tournament’s Founder Evgeny Yunosov. The first International Young Physicists’ Tournament was organized in Moscow in 1988, and the IYPT flag is now passed from country to country. Many of the previous tournaments were hosted

by globally renowned universities such as the University of Groningen (Netherlands), Vienna University of Technology (Austria), or Nankai University (China).

In 2015, Ural Federal University will receive the IYPT flag from the preceding host, Suranaree University of Technology. Upon the completion of the tournament, it will ultimately transfer the flag to the IYPT 2017 host, National University of Singapore.

The IYPT 2016 will highlight the first time since the 6th IYPT in Protvino when the IYPT was hosted in Russia. It is expected that the teams from over 30 countries from across the globe will join the 29th IYPT in 2016. With a steadily growing participant pool and two more years of preparation, the 29th IYPT 2016 can become the largest IYPT ever in terms of teams and global reach.

Ural Federal University has a broad experience of hosting large-scale international events, including the ACM International Collegiate Programming Championship-2014, which was attended by 122 university teams from 44 countries. The upcoming IYPT 2016 will help to attract the brightest young talents to Ekaterinburg, turning the city into the “World Capital of Physics”.

UrFU to host the International Young Physicists’ Tournament in Russia again after 23 years

Asia & Oceania

37 | WOW News

The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus is developing new technologies for high-speed optical fiber communication systems to overcome cost and performance limitation of existing techniques.

A team of researchers from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, led by Dr Amin Malek Mohammadi, have designed and developed a new multiplexing technique that requires only one modulator for any number of users, which will reduce the cost significantly.

Fiber optics is one of the most essential aspects of modern communications. Data transmission using optical fiber is very efficient over long distances (up to thousands of kilometers), and a single fiber can carry multiple data streams represented by different wavelengths (color) of light simultaneously. However, there are some bottlenecks on the information superhighway.

Early optical fibre technologies encoded data as “wiggles” within a single channel but in recent years a number of other methods have been used to transmit the information (either voice or data) from more than one source to more than one destination on the same transmission medium much as a large water pipe can carry water to several separate houses at once.

Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), for example, uses a number of lasers to encode strings of data on different colours of light then sends

them through one fibre together.“The major disadvantage of WDM is the spectral inefficiency because of large number of wavelengths required. The use of different wavelengths requires different light sources and photo detectors thus adding to the cost of the system,” said Dr Amin Malek Mohammadi, head of Electrical, Electronic and Applied Mathematics Research division.

The proposed multiplexing technique has smaller spectral width; therefore it leads towards better spectral efficiency and dispersion tolerance in comparison to existing techniques such as TDM and WDM. This novel technique supports many users per wavelength (WDM channel). Consequently, the capacity utilization of the WDM channels can be increased tremendously.

“Our research findings have already been presented in international conferences and published in major international journals in the area of telecommunications,” said Dr Amin Malek Mohammadi.

The team have already proved the concept of their technology and are now negotiating with industry to trial their product.

With funding from The University of Nottingham, Ministry of Science and Innovation of Malaysia, and private sector organizations in the country, the UNMC photonic laboratory is working with other universities across the world to design and develop new technologies in the area of telecommunication.

University of Nottingham Malaysia manages to make fiber optics run even faster

Asia & Oceania

Inaugurated in October 2013 with 14 students from the Executive Post Graduate Program in Management (EPGP), IIM Bangalore launched its mentoring initiative called “Shikshu” on a much bigger scale in September 2014, targeting the entire EPGP Class of 2014/15 with a batch size of 58.

“Shikshu”, which means apprentice in Sanskrit, gives EPGP students the rare opportunity of experiencing first-hand how a CEO’s office works. “It is unique because it ensures that EPGP student and IIMB alumni participants are matched based on commonalities in their personal and professional profiles,” says Professor G Shainesh, Chair of Executive Post Graduate Program in Management, IIM Bangalore.

The engagement initiative has several of IIMB’s alumni, who work at the top echelons of various reputed organizations, mentor the EPGP students, who spend a day at the offices of the alumni, attend meetings and interact with senior executives at these offices. It connects EPGP students, for one full day, with alumni mentors who are willing to provide advice on career exploration on how to bridge the gap from student life to work life. The mentors remain in touch with the students after the project to set expectations.

The engagement initiative uses job-specific situations as the practice fields and rehearsal halls for learning complex skills. “The student has an opportunity to talk with his/her mentor, develop work scenarios that are effective and productive, and seek feedback about improving his/her skills and knowledge,” Shainesh adds.

“I must state that Shikshu is a wonderful initiative. In fact, I wish it were there when I was a student at IIMB,” exclaims Bhargav Dasgupta, an alumnus of IIMB’s batch of 1992 and CEO, ICICI Lombard.

“I got first-hand experience of IBM—its mission, culture, organizational structure, and operational style. I got a peek into the opportunities and challenges of doing business in India

Connect with a mentor, prepare for the real world

and how a business leader plans for the future. This is a rare opportunity and a connection that I will leverage in the future,” says Sandeepan Sarkar, who shadowed Amit Sharma, vice president and general manager – operations, IBM India/South Asia.

Rakesh Godhwani, head of Alumni Office at IIM Bangalore, says “The Shikshu program is a wonderful initiative to engage our alumni and

use their rich experience in helping the students learn beyond the classroom.

“To be able to shadow a CEO for a day, see how she/he operates and captains the company could be transformational for students and hopefully turn them into better leaders of tomorrow. The alumni of IIMB have been a pillar of the institute, and the Shikshu program is a great example of how they can add value to the EPGP program.”

local and regional conditions of water resources and socio-economic conditions, whereby a sustainable world for the present and future generations is ensured.

For the significant benefit of salvaging archeology, architecture and historic cities, CIIT, in partnership with UNESCO, is carrying out a 12-month study to collect and analyze data of bio-growth and its impact on archaeological sites of Sirkap and Dharmarajika in Taxila, Pakistan. These recent developments line up with the phenomenal progress of CIIT in the academic world in a short span of 14 years.

The CIIT drive to act with significant ambition and resilience accounts for the 8 fully functional campuses with a student population of more than 33,000 studying in 96 academic programs, more than 2,600 highly qualified faculty members, including 761 PhDs who have published 3,541 research papers.

Another significant feature of substantial change is CIIT ranking among top 250 universities in QS Asian

Two international developments at the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT)—the establishment of UNESCO Chair in Knowledge Systems for Integrated Water Resources Management and partnership with UNESCO for the protection of cultural heritage—are being seen as catalysts for creating heightened awareness and innovative solutions in this region.

Standing with the select global community of 80 other Water Chairs, CIIT feels the sense of urgency to proactively engage with the issue of water management, considering

Prof Kwong Yim-tze of Lingnan University has attained the highest honor for university teachers in Hong Kong after receiving the Award for Teaching Excellence. He is one of the three recipients of the annual award organized by Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee, which oversees the development of the eight tertiary institutions funded by the government.

“Prof Kwong’s dedication and learner-centred approach have been highly regarded by students and colleagues throughout the years. As a professor of Chinese, translation and philosophy, he is at home in all of these disciplines, and could well teach other humanities subjects if called upon to do so. He epitomizes the essence and broad-based notion of Lingnan’s liberal arts education,” said President Leonard K Cheng of Lingnan University. Prof Kwong has much to say about liberal arts university teaching. Guided by the question “how best do students learn?” instead of “how best do I teach?”, he teaches with inspiring ardor and surgical objectivity, engaging

Rector CIIT Dr S. M. Junaid Zaidi, H.I., S.I. and DG UNESCO Irina Bokava signed an agreement for the establishment of UNESCO’s Water Chair at CIIT Wah Campus

At a ceremony held on September 10, Prof Charles Kwong (right) receives the Award for Teaching Excellence 2014 from Mr Edward Cheng, chairman of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong.

Pakistan’s COMSATS Institute

of Information Technology joins UNESCO’s “Water

family”

WOW News | 38 Asia & Oceania

University Rankings 2014, attaining 3 Stars in QS Star Ratings 2013, 4th position among 132 universities of Pakistan in Higher Education Commission Ranking 2013, 3rd position in Research Publications published in Thomson–Reuters Web of Science 2012, and 1st position as Computer Science and IT university of Pakistan.

students in a shared exploration of knowledge that emphasizes independent reasoning and critical inquiry. He sees himself as a senior fellow student:

“a teacher is a student with a licence. Teaching is not one-way, magisterial instruction, but fostering, interacting and co-learning.”

Beyond pedagogical excellence, Prof Kwong stands in the great tradition of life-transforming teacher-mentors. To him, a humanities teacher must help students develop critical intelligence and the moral, cultural, emotive, aesthetic senses required to act responsibly for the good of society.

He believes that teaching is not limited to the classroom; intellectual, spiritual and emotional mentoring is even more enjoyable and valuable, albeit less visible. “A university teacher is not a preacher, but there are times when a drifting spirit or ruffled mind seeks advice in deeper matters of life.

Dialogues in the office, walking with students in the January snow – these are among the dearest episodes of my teaching, from the US to Hong Kong,” he said.

As a writer, Prof Kwong is one of the best classical Chinese poets today, widely admired for blending classical beauty and modern vitality with profound wisdom. He has published 2,200 poems in 22 collections, and two collections of modern Chinese prose.

Lingnan University professor receives Best University Teacher in Hong Kong Award

“Ensuring that our female graduates have the skills and knowledge in innovation, research, science and technology to effectively contribute to our nation is a vital aspect of the HCT’s strategic direction, and is in accordance with the UAE Vision 2021 document which says that ‘More Emiratis will enter higher education, where they will enrich their minds with the skills that their nation needs to fuel its knowledge economy’,” said Dr Tayeb Kamali, the vice chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology.

“By making these investments in a range of Engineering courses, and training new generations of highly skilled engineers, the Higher Colleges of Technology are showing their dedication to the development of the Emirati workforce and displaying an awareness of the need to meet the growth in the engineering sectors across the UAE,” added Dr Kamali.

Since 2011 female HCT engineering students have competed in the annual UAE Innovation Challenge, a joined initiative by the HCT and Northrop Grumman Corporation, to design, build and fly unmanned aerial vehicles, as wholly female teams and as mixed teams. The winning teams from the 2013 and 2014 Challenges, who traveled to the USA as part of their prizes, were comprised of both male and female students.

Another motivating factor for women is that many HCT engineering students are sponsored during their degrees by large corporations in the oil and gas and general engineering sectors, such as the Western Region Development Council, ADNOC, ADCO and others.

The traditionally male-oriented field of engineering is taking on a new look at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), with the federal institution experiencing a six-fold increase in the number of female students enrolling in this male bastion.

The HCT’s Faculty of Engineering Technology & Science has almost 5,000 students studying engineering courses, making it the largest engineering teaching institution in the UAE. The attraction of strong, industry-relevant degree choices and good employment opportunities are two leading factors for these robust enrollment figures.

Not surprisingly, the attractions of this in-demand profession are extending to women, with female students making up over one quarter of the HCT’s total number of engineering students. Enrollments by female students in HCT Engineering courses have increased by almost 510% from the 2008/09 academic year (206 students) to the current year (1254 students).

Across all its engineering courses the HCT is experiencing a groundswell of interest from female students leaving high school. All of the HCT’s Women’s Colleges offer a range engineering courses, with disciplines such as electronic, electrical, mechanical, and aviation engineering proving to be particularly popular.

Many female students see engineering studies as an extension of their childhood interest in electronics, while others see the field as part of the UAE’s modern culture which enables Emirati women to take on such roles.

Dr Tayeb Kamali, vice chancellor of HCT (extreme right) with female students

Bahrain’s AGU the only university outside Saudi Arabia to receive Arab world’s highly acclaimed NCAAA accreditation

Since its inception as a pioneering institution and model for the collaboration of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) in the early 1980s, Arabian Gulf University (AGU) has demonstrated its commitment to delivering high-quality, specialized, innovative and strategic programs in medical, technological and educational fields to meet the manpower development needs of the region.

Recently, the university received full accreditation from the Saudi National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA)—now the only university outside Saudi Arabia to have been accredited by NCAAA which is well-known for its rigor and prestige in the Arab world.

AGU is ranked first in Bahrain, 7th among GCC countries, and 9th among Arab countries, according to the latest QS rankings. AGU faculty members are highly acknowledged and internationally recognized research scholars in the fields of science and education. They have a considerable output of scholarly publications, conference and workshop participation and presentations.

Despite the relatively modest number of faculty members, AGU has been the major contributor to research in Bahrain and to health-related research in particular.

Female enrolments in UAE’s HCT engineering courses increased by 500%

WOW News | 40 Middle East & Africa

RESEARCH

TECHNOLOGY

KNOWLEDGE

QUALITYCOMMUNITY

The Connections to Success

King Khalid University

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

www.kku.edu.sa

King Khalid University (KKU) rector, Dr Abdulrahman Al Dawood, received a congratulatory letter from QS Quacquarelli Symonds for KKU’s outstanding higher education achievements in the year 2014—becoming Saudi Arabia’s top performer in rankings.

“Amongst Saudi institutions in QS top 700 ranked universities in the world, King Khalid University has risen the highest number of places in 2014, a rise of over 30 places in total,” said Ben Sowter, head of QS Intelligence Unit.

The university’s reorganization appears to have led to a dramatic increase in faculty/student ratio in 2014—a major contribution to KKU’s overall uplift.It is worth noting that KKU remains a world leader in international faculty at position 31 worldwide for that indicator, only once place away from the Kingdom’s top score.

King Khalid University has adopted a new strategic plan that includes a number of strategies that are expected to significantly improve the quality of its programs. The plan is designed to build on current activities to develop a widely recognized “University of Excellence” with strength in teaching and learning and significantly expanded research and postgraduate programs.

The plan is built around six broad strategic goals, including comprehensive quality development throughout the university; improving technical, financial and administrative performance; developing and extending rigorous postgraduate programs; continuous improvements in quality of teaching and learning; developing improved university infrastructure; and effective partnerships with the community.

King Khalid University Saudi Arabia’s No 1 performance improver

Lebanese American University scientists find new ways to combat stubborn bacteria

Scientists from the Lebanese American University and the University of California, Davis, have sequenced the whole genome of disease-causing bacteria found in Lebanese patients, opening the door to new avenues in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

“In order to be able to fight infections caused by bacteria and to help in limiting the spread of those pathogens in the community and in hospitals, we need first to understand the properties of the causative agent,” explains Sima Tokajian, associate professor of microbiology at LAU, who carried out the sequencing of the bacteria.

The team of scientists analyzed 40 strains of bacteria collected from patients in Lebanon, including Staphylococcus aureus, which causes skin infections, Streptococcus pyogenes, which causes sore throats and Escherichia coli, which causes urinary tract infections.

Tokajian carried out the whole genome sequencing during a sabbatical at the UC-Davis, working alongside Professor Jonathan Eisen at the UC-Davis Genome Center, Dr David Coil, the project scientist at UC-Davis’ Eisen lab, and Guillaume Jospin, a bioinformatics engineer at the lab.

As a first step in encouraging widespread use of the technique in diagnosis in Lebanon, the equipment used to carry out the whole genome sequencing was acquired by LAU and installed at the university’s Byblos campus.

“Now, I can sequence the whole genome within two days and get a detailed overview,” says Tokajian.

Intricate knowledge of a bacterium’s genetic makeup is necessary because it can offer clues as to how microorganisms that cause diseases operate—a process known as pathogenesis. For instance, disease-

causing bacterium can have genes that allow them to secrete toxins, others that help overcome immune system defenses and some that make them resistant to antibiotics.

Doctors and scientists around the world have grown increasingly concerned with antibiotic resistance —a process through which bacteria become unresponsive to the most powerful drugs. A recent report by the World Health Organization confirmed the trend, and scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned of an imminent or even ongoing “post-antibiotic age”.

Tokajian’s research will help combat pathogens, which are known to usually have high growth rates—doubling its population every 20 minutes in the case of E. coli, allowing them to adapt and develop resistance. She reveals that her research is aimed at typing bacterial pathogens, identifying resistance mechanisms, looking into virulence factors and determining whether they are hospital or community acquired.

The use of whole genome sequencing can revolutionize the fight against antibiotic resistance by helping doctors identify the best treatment of choice, hence minimizing the use of broad spectrum antimicrobial agents.

“Collaboration between the LAU genome lab and the university’s affiliated hospital, LAUMC-RH, will help to better understand the epidemiology of these infectious diseases and, hopefully, lead to the development of better control measures,” Tokajian pointed out.

43 | WOW NewsMiddle East & Africa

September 15, 2014 – The first copy of the 10th edition of the QS World University Rankings 2014/15 was

presented to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, Prime Minister and Vice President of UAE, one day before its official release date, by Ashwin Fernandes, head of client relations at QS Asia Quacquarelli Symonds.

The meeting was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of Dubai Executive Council; Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; and

Ruler of Dubai first to receive copy of QS World University Rankings 2014/15

WOW News | 44

The Japanese company Fujitsu has signed an agreement with King Abdulaziz University (KAU) under which it will contribute to building the first High-Performance Computer (HPC) at KAU, which is to be named “Azziz”.

The company will provide KAU with services and solutions for micro-precision obstacles and constraints, which could face the university in areas that require high computational speed and huge storage spaces.

“Azziz” will contain advanced processors of high-precision quality, and will include multiple servers with a storage capacity. The university intends to make the best use of the super computer through enhancing research capacity, providing essential services requested by some government sectors, as well as providing other commercial services.

On another delightful note, KAU was recently award 5 star rating by QS Stars, a global system that evaluates universities’ performance on an individual basis. KAU received the mark of excellence (5 stars) in employability, teaching, facilities, internationalization, access, and innovation.

KAU owes this remarkable achievement to the great efforts of its vice president for development, Professor Abdulfattah S. Mashat.

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz University soon to own most powerful computer in the Middle East

Qatar University (QU) and Qatar Fuel Additives Company Limited (QAFAC) signed a three-year sponsorship agreement on 29 September 2014 to establish a Professorial Environmental Materials Chair. The Chair will be housed at QU’s Center for Advanced Materials (CAM).

The agreement was signed by QU President Prof Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad and QAFAC Chief Executive Officer Nasser Jeham Al-Kuwari in the presence of CAM Director Dr Mariam Ali Al-Maadeed, as well as several officials from QU and QAFAC.

In the terms of the agreement, QU will provide consultation services to QAFAC, as well as training courses for selected QAFAC employees, while QAFAC will fund the Chair position during the three-year term.

Prof Al-Misnad welcomed the audience saying, “We are pleased to sign this agreement which will

Qatar University signs Chair agreement with industry

definitely enhance the research on materials science and technology. By developing a strong platform of mutual cooperation with QAFAC, we demonstrate our commitment to supporting the industrial sector in Qatar. This agreement will be an effective tool to bridge the relationship between academic education and industry. It will serve to attract Qatari students to science and boost their sense of responsibility to contribute to the National Vision and the future of Qatar.”

Mr Nasser Al-Kuwari said “QAFAC is proud to partner with Qatar University on this initiative as we have been cooperating with the university over many years on various subjects. One of QAFAC’s core values is ‘green thinking’ and we are aware of the country’s challenge to reduce the CO2 emissions hence it became obvious to us that sponsoring a professional Chair in the CO2 Environmental studies, emission control and utilization would be the right choice and in perfect alignment with Qatar National Vision 2030.”

Commenting on the agreement, Dr Al-Maadeed noted “This agreement will offer knowledgeable support to energy and industrial sectors as well as to learning community in Qatar. It will also serve to strengthen research projects and provide knowledge and experience that meet the needs of industry and society.”

Middle East & Africa

Qatar University President Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad (left) with QAFAC Chief Executive Officer Nasser Jeham Al-Kuwari (right)

From left to right: The UAEU Vice Chancellor, Dr Ali Al Noami; Ashwin Fernandes, head of client relations at QS Asia; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai; and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education.

Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gargawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs. UAEU Vice Chancellor Dr Ali Al Noami was also in attendance.

“Selecting the UAE to launch a significant report as the QS World University Rankings reflects our ambition to enhance educational competitiveness of universities in UAE and in the region in general,” said Sheikh Mohammed. “Climbing up international rankings and developing the country’s scientific centers is the way to improving our economic capability and best utilizing our human resources.”

UNIVERSITYOF JORDANTHE

THE UNIVERSITY OF JORDAN Amman 11942 Jordan- Call: (+962 6 5355000) - Fax: (+962 6) 5355522

www.ju.edu.jo - admin@ju.edu.jo- www.ju.edu.jo/newsletter

Marvelous campus and vibrant atmosphere

International reputaton in employability

A Comprehensive university with national &international prominence

World-Renowned language center for teaching Arabic to foreign students

The humble date palm is ubiquitous throughout the Gulf Region, and in the United Arab Emirates in particular. It conjures up images of hot and dusty desert oases complete with cooling waters and thirsty camels.

Arabic hospitality would be incomplete without the sweet taste of dates to balance the flavor of the traditional coffee served to each and every guest. The UAE is the fourth ranked date-producing country in the world, with a harvest accounting for nearly one million metric tons a year.

The pit of a date can make up nearly 15% of its total weight. The UAE produces approximately 70,000 tons of date pits every year for which there isn’t always any obvious use. In fact, typically this apparent waste product of date production is either discarded or, on occasion, used as animal feed. Even then it needs to be soaked thoroughly for several days to make it soft enough for the animals to eat. As a result, date processing factories sell off unwanted date pits for almost no cost.

A recent discovery here in the UAE, has suggested a more practical and potentially lucrative use for date pits. It could help in the raising of animals without the need for expensive commercial antibiotics.

Researchers at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) have discovered that compounds from unwanted date pits can be effective in inhibiting a range of pathogenic bacteria in chickens—holding out the future possibility of treating pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella and E-coli without recourse to expensive antibiotics. This breakthrough has already been granted a European patent.

United Arab Emirates university researchers unleash the power of dates

University of Jordan archeologists unveil historic find

Excavation works conducted by a team of staff and students from the Faculty of Archeology and Tourism at the University of Jordan has unraveled a unique site from the Neolithic Era believed to be an agricultural village of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period (8500–4500 BC).

The architecture is reminiscent of the “grille buildings” at the early Neolithic site of Çayönü, in eastern Anatolia. The site is located on “Tell Abu es Suwwan” in the Governorate of Jerash which is also home to the ancient Roman city of Jerash.

Notably, as part of its curricula, the Faculty of Archeology

conducts excavations at different archeological sites in the country to provide practical training for its students. These excavations are supervised by faculty members.

On another delightful note, the university’s Faculty of Dentistry has been recently recognized by the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) to have European standards in dental education, with a curriculum in agreement with EU guidelines (ADEE standards). The recognition certificate was granted after the Faculty of Dentistry completed a self-assessment of the curriculum followed by a comprehensive review by a team of peers from European centers of dental education.

47 | WOW NewsMiddle East & Africa

Archeologist from University of Jordan

Professor Ahmed Hussein from the College of Food and Agriculture at UAEU and his research team have discovered that date pits degraded by fungi can be as effective as synthetic antibiotics.

Currently the poultry, fish and livestock industries supplement animal feed with synthetic antibiotics to improve the growth of the animals and the efficiency of their feeding cycle. These synthetic antibiotics also protect the animals from both pathogenic and non-pathogenic enteric microorganisms. However, the use of synthetic antibiotics can cost the various industries billions of dollars every year.

According to Professor Hussein, who teaches poultry nutrition in the Department of Arid Land Agriculture at the university, “Commercial antibiotics add to the cost of raising chickens for food, but the ‘waste

product’ date pit could be fed to poultry as a supplement instead.”

Professor Hussein is quick to point out that such research may be only the start of even greater discoveries and important breakthroughs; something that UAEU, with its state-of-the-art facilities, highly qualified faculty and motivated students is well placed to achieve.

“Life Makers” of Jordan’s University of Petra win Microsoft prize

University of Petra team “Life Makers” won the 3rd prize in Pan-Arab Microsoft Imagine Cup 2014 semi finals.The competition was held in Doha, Qatar.

The Imagine Cup is an annual global student competition by Microsoft that brings together students to use their creativity, passion and knowledge of technology to solve global challenges. Tapping into the growing ICT talent pool and young student crowd across the Middle East, Microsoft Middle East hosted the first ever Pan-Arab Imagine Cup 2014 in Qatar.

Over a 3-day period, 23 student teams from 12 countries across the Middle East and North Africa region came to Doha to compete in the semi-finals. All teams in attendance had the chance to present their projects over a 2-day qualification period, and only 6 teams would qualify for the final round in the two categories of World Citizenship (projects that would have a lasting impact on the betterment of humanity) and Innovation (projects with a focus on technology innovations that would advance user experiences across a breadth of technology branches).

The six finalists were form Jordan, Tunisia, and Qatar for the World Citizenship category; and Egypt, Bahrain and Tunisia (again) for Innovation.

Microsoft Jordan announced the winners of Imagine Cup 2014 Jordan during a ceremony held under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania at the King Hussein Business Park.

“Life Makers” team of the University of Petra, Jordan.

 

WOW News | 48

Dr Habiba Al Safar, an Emirati biomedical engineering assistant professor and researcher at Khalifa University, UAE, received the first Emirates International Award of Genetic Diseases Prevention in the category of Best Scientific Researcher in the field of Genetic Diseases Prevention.

The award ceremony took place on the sidelines of The 5th National Genetic Diseases Conference that was organized from September 14–17 by the UAE Genetic Disease Association (UAEGDA), under the patronage of HH Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Social Development and president of UAEGDA.

During the past few years, Dr Habiba’s research has been focused on identifying the genomes responsible for the spread of one of the most common diseases in the UAE, diabetes type I and type II, in addition to the complications caused by the disease in many of the

UAE’s citizens, especially cardiovascular diseases.

Dr Habiba has also conducted a series of awareness activities. Her efforts have led to the participation of Khalifa University students, where they accompany diabetes patients to follow up on their condition. She has also conducted a number of awareness lectures that shed light on the risks of diabetes and the importance of prevention.

Dr Mariam Matar, founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of UAEGDA said that the well-deserved award was offered to the Dr Habiba for her humanitarian and medical efforts in the field of genetic diseases. Dr Matar also expressed her joy with the award and the event that embodies the true cohesion of determination in the fields of humanitarian, preventive and therapeutic efforts, from a genuine humanitarian perspective.

Khalifa University faculty member named best UAE researcher in genetic diseases prevention

Middle East & Africa

“It is with such a great pleasure and honor that I received this award,” said Dr Habiba, “I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the UAEGDA for their confidence in me, which will definitely inspire me to continue to conduct research to find effective solutions to some of the health problems faced by UAE citizens.”

“We are very proud of Dr Habiba’s achievement,” said Dr Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Khalifa University’s executive vice president. “This award adds to the list of other major accomplishments achieved by Khalifa University students and faculty members. I am proud that Khalifa University is home to some of the brightest Emirati minds such as Dr Habiba, who will contribute in supporting the university’s research efforts in the fields of technology, health, science and security. This will lead to achieving the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision in establishing the knowledge-based economy.”

UNESCO to assign Iraq’s University of Kufa as chair on intercultural dialogues

University of Kufa was recently nominated for the UNESCO chair on interreligious/intercultural dialogue (Sunni-Shiaa). The final agreement between UNESCO and the University of Kufa will be signed soon.

The University of Kufa, founded in 1987, is a research university of high international standing. It is reputed not only for its remarkably diverse range of subjects, but also for its research-led teaching and outstanding scientific environment. Kufa’s excellence initiative to promote top-level research has had a positive impact on almost of the higher education institutions in Iraq.

The university expanded to become one of Iraq’s largest, and it currently hosts over 25,000 undergraduate and 2,500 postgraduate students, and 1,900 faculty members.

WOW News | 50 Middle East & Africa

Lebanese USEK first outside Americas to participate in ACE Internationalization Laboratory

Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, along with 12 other colleges and universities, has been named to the American Council on Education (ACE)’s 12th Internationalization Laboratory Cohort. USEK is the first university outside the Americas to participate in this laboratory.

Over the next 20 months, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik will develop strategies for campus internationalization by forming leadership teams to work on strategic planning and student outcomes; attending community meetings in Washington; participating in site visits and peer reviews; and participating in monthly phone calls with ACE staff.

The university’s aim of participating in the laboratory is to elaborate a comprehensive internationalization strategy that would go in par with the university’s overall strategy. The laboratory would help USEK assess its current state of internationalization, and by exchanging ideas and expertise with the ACE and with other participating universities, USEK will

integrate internationalization within its strategic fabric.

“The 12th cohort is the largest we’ve seen so far, and hosts the first HBCU and first institution from outside the Western Hemisphere,” said Barbara Hill, senior associate in ACE’s Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement. Since 2002, 92 institutions have participated in the program. This year’s cohort met for the first time on August 29.

Separately, USEK is now the leading university in Lebanon to adopt an E-Portfolio platform for its faculty, staff and students and to provide them with the opportunity to add collection of work over time that showcases their skills, abilities, values, experiences, and competencies.

On the occasion of launching of the platform, USEK organized a workshop in collaboration with the University of Liverpool on using E-Portfolio in higher education. The workshop was conducted by Dr Trish Lunt, educational developer at the Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of Liverpool.

The workshop presented some different ways in which e-portfolios have been used successfully in higher education. Participants were invited to consider how they could most effectively make use of the pedagogical opportunities which e-portfolios present, and what needs to be done in preparation for implementation.

Workshop on Using e-portfolios in Higher Education, September 15 and 16, 2014

University of Johannesburg launches the first African integrated emergency medical care simulation lab

African and Asian paramedics face similar scenarios in cities or rural areas due to economic demographics. The first African integrated emergency medical care simulation lab, where the entire patient journey can be trained with multi-disciplinary teams, launched in September 2014 at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in South Africa.

In many parts of Africa and Asia, road accidents and general trauma-related cases are increasing, due to more scooters and motor vehicles on the roads, says Prof André Swart, executive dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg.

“At our new emergency medical care simulation laboratory, we can simulate a road accident site as well as the entire patient journey from the accident, to the ambulance, to the Emergency Department, the ICU, to a general ward

Diagnosing a critically ill patient: Training at the newly-launched UJ simulation lab

and even a transfer to another medical facility. “Diagnostic assessments and laboratory tests are an integral part of the simulations. However we also emphasise caring for the patient as an individual. We teach our students to understand the patient’s economic context and interact respectfully with him,” says Swart.

The UJ simulation lab was launched on September 2, 2014, with partners Philips and the South African Department

UJ emergency medical services students train for technical small boat rescue. They are trained in emergency medical care and in diverse technical rescue techniques, which is available at few universities globally

of Higher Education and Training (DHET). Philips Healthcare Africa Region equipped the lab with medical equipment, diagnostic devices and programmable manikins. Philips staff will be trained at the lab as part of the partnership.

The DHET provided significant funding for staff and infrastructure development. The high-fidelity, life-like manikins can be programed for diverse conditions—from a mother in labor to a 60-year old patient with signs of heart failure.

51 | WOW NewsEurope & Americas

For the third year in a row, the MIT Technology Review has published a list of the new generation of the most talented young people in Mexico as well as the most original and high-impact projects in the country. Five of the 10 Innovators under 35 are alumni and students of the Tecnológico de Monterrey.

During EmTech 2014, the most important emerging technology event in the world, the most innovative people under the age of 35 (Innovators under 35) were recognized by the MIT Technology Review, of whom 5 were Tecnológico de Monterrey students and alumni.

This prize is awarded every year by the Spanish edition of the Technology Review of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to inventors, entrepreneurs, pioneers and visionaries.

Daniel Alberto Jacobo-Velázquez, 31, researcher and lecturer at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, developed an alternative system to convert GM vegetables into biofactory food molecules of tremendous pharmaceutical interest.

Scott Miguel Munguía Olvera, a 24-year-old chemical engineering student, designed a technology for the production of bioplastics from avocado seeds, with which he founded a company dedicated to the development of biodegradable plastic.

Caleb Antonio Rascón Estebané, electronic systems engineering alumni,

32, developed a robotic system capable of detecting, hearing and locating several sound sources with fewer microphones.

Guillermo Ulises Ruiz Esparza, biotechnology PhD, 25, developed a therapy to improve the efficiency of drugs in heart failure in order to provide effective new treatments and non-invasive surgery options which are less costly.

Blanca Lorena Villarreal Guerra, created a robotic nose that detects and follows the path of an odor source, which can be used to identify the direction from which gas leaks are coming. At 27, she has a bachelor’s degree in mechatronics engineering and a PhD in information and communication technologies.

MIT Technology Review is an independent publication owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Founded in 1899, it is the oldest technology magazine in the world. Its mission is to promote the understanding of emerging technologies, and analyze their commercial, economic, social, and political impact.

The outstanding relationship between the Tecnológico de Monterrey and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology dates back to 1914, when Eugenio Garza Sada graduated from MIT and decided to, with the help of a group of businessmen, found the Tecnológico de Monterrey.

University of Guadalajara holds the all-time record – highest number of postgraduates in Mexico

Last September, another three masters and two doctorates from the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) joined the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT for its acronym in Spanish) National Program for Quality in Postgraduates Degrees (Programa Nacional de Posgrados de Calidad – PNPC in Spanish). With this five accredited programs, the UdeG counts with 113 postgraduates recognized in the program of the CONACYT, maintaining the highest amount of accredited postgraduate degrees in Mexico.

The PNPC has the purpose of recognizing the specialty programs, masters and doctoral degrees in different areas of knowledge which include basic academic core, higher graduation rates, high scientific and technological infrastructure, and productivity, allowing them to achieve relevance of its operation and optimal results.

The PNPC membership offers the possibility of scientific quality training. According to María Luisa Bátiz García, coordinator of research and postgraduate programs at UdeG, this recognition “opens up opportunities for the training of more researchers, which is key for the development of the country and for the generation of knowledge.” This recognition also brings a benefit to students, she said, because they can get scholarships granted by CONACYT.

The programs recently incorporated to the PNPC are: Master of Science in occupational health, Master of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Master of Socioterritorial Studies, PhD in Humanities and PhD in Behavioral Science.

Tec de Monterrey students crowned the most innovative young people in Mexico

(From left to right) Daniel Jacobo, Scott Munguía, Blanca Lorena Villarreal, Caleb Rascón and Guillermo Ulises Ruiz Esparza, the students and alumni from the Tec de Monterrey who were awarded the 2014 Mexican Innovators under 35 prize.

WOW News | 52 Europe & Americas

CETYS University was recently granted accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, also known as ACBSP.

In the context of the 53rd anniversary of CETYS, Dr Fernando Leon Garcia, president of CETYS, received the Certificate of Accreditation presented by Dr Steven Pascale, director of accreditation for ACBSP.

ACBSP accreditation certifies that the teaching and learning processes within the School of Business at CETYS University meet the rigorous educational standards established by ACBSP. The accreditation covers undergraduate and graduate business programs at all CETYS campuses.

At DTU (Technical University of Denmark) Fotonik, researchers have developed an optical fiber-based light source covering a wavelength range previously unreachable using a fiber laser. The research findings have been published in an article in the recognized scientific journal Nature Photonics.

In developing a new supercontinuum light source, the researchers have set a world record: The light source covers three octaves of a wavelength area of the infra-red spectrum—an area referred to by researchers as the “molecular fingerprint region”—which has not been reached with a fiber laser before. The high-intensity light source covers a wavelength spanning from 1.4 to 13.3 microns, and because the light is formed in a special and newly developed glass fiber (a soft-glass fiber), it can be directed and focused on a sample.

The light source is ideal for use in a number of areas of spectroscopy which involve illuminating a sample and

Only three other higher education institutions in Mexico have ACBSP accreditation.

“It is a great accomplishment, a recognition of your outstanding academic process; it is a great accomplishment for your students and faculty. Each and every one of you are making the world a better place”, said Dr Parscale during the event.

Commitment, continuity, quality, competitiveness and community were mentioned by the president of CETYS as key elements behind the university’s role as a driving force of the region’s strategic development since its foundation in 1961.

CETYS University is an educational institution of excellence located in the state of Baja California, México. With campuses in Mexicali, Tijuana, and Ensenada, CETYS University currently offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in business and management, engineering, and social science and humanities, as well as a high school and the international baccalaureate. It is currently the only institution in Mexico accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

measuring how much light is absorbed by the sample, and in particular at which wavelengths absorption occurs. This way, you can see the substances contained in a biological sample. The light source can thus be used for quick and precise early cancer diagnostics—and for fast, accurate and robust online food quality control.

The research behind the development has, for example, been conducted under the “Light and Food” project, which is funded by the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation, now the Innovation Foundation, and in which Aarhus University, the University of Copenhagen, NKT Photonics and the food analysis company Foss Analytical participate together with DTU Fotonik.

The actual soft-glass fiber which provides the light source with its unique properties has been developed in a major EU project “MINERVA”, which involves a number of prominent academic and industrial partners in Europe.

Mexico’s CETYS University business programs accredited by US ACBSP

Danish researchers develop ground-breaking fiber laser

Kofi Annan speaks at Mexico’s Universidad Anahuac

The former secretary general of the United Nations (UN) and 2001 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kofi Annan, delivered a speech on “Challenging Businesses to Become Leaders in Sustainable Development” at the International Conference of Social Commitment (CICS) hosted by Universidad Anáhuac, on the occasion of the university’s 50th anniversary.

Over two thousand academics, executives, students as well as other special guests attended the conference.

CICS was organized by the Universidad Anáhuac’s Department of Social Commitment, which has been formed by ASUA (the largest Mexican university volunteer program), Impulsa (a leadership program focused on social commitment), TrueQmx, and the Department of Social Services.

The objective of CICS was to inspire and motivate the audience, mainly the young volunteers committed to their communities, to raise awareness and motivate others to collaborate and take action through activities that may benefit the most vulnerable groups in our society.

Welcoming Kofi Annan, Fr. Jesus Quirce Andrés, LC, rector of Anahuac University, said “Your presence encourages us to be more committed to Mexico and to the world.” He also said “At the university we strive to achieve a society that generates the common good. Your global leadership invites us to continue working for a better world.”

“I am very happy to be here at the Anahuac, on its 50th anniversary, and in Mexico. Being here reminded me of my student days in Ghana,” said Kofi Annan.

Throughout the conference, former UN secretary general reflected on the problems facing the world today, such as wars between states, international terrorism, environmental degradation, poverty and disease. Moreover, the Nobel Peace Prize winner spoke about the work done by NGOs and about the importance of involving them more in society, as governments require the participation of these agencies.

Dr Fernando Leon Garcia, president of CETYS, receives the Certificate of Accreditation presented by Dr Steven Pascale, director of accreditation for ACBSP.

A simple urine test for human papillomavirus (HPV) could offer a more acceptable, non-invasive alternative to the conventional cervical test and improve screening uptake, researchers from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have found.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. Up to 80% of sexually active women are infected at some point in their lives and infection with specific “high risk” strains of HPV has an established link to cervical cancer.

Current screening by cervical cytology (smear test) is invasive and time-consuming—and in recent years, cervical screening in the UK has fallen below 80%, particularly amongst women aged 25–30.

Several studies have suggested that detecting HPV in urine may be a feasible alternative to cervical sampling, but the accuracy of such a test is still uncertain.

So a team of researchers based in London and Spain, led by QMUL’s Dr Neha Pathak, analyzed the results of 14 studies involving 1,443 sexually active women to determine the accuracy of testing for HPV on urine samples compared with cervical samples obtained by a doctor. The quality of the studies was generally high.

Compared with cervical samples, urine HPV testing had an overall

Queen Mary University of London researchers offer non-invasive alternative to conventional smear test

sensitivity of 87% (the proportion of positives correctly identified) and a specificity of 94% (the proportion of negatives correctly identified). Urine testing for “high risk” HPV types 16 and 18 (those that cause the majority of cervical cancer cases) had an overall sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 98% compared with cervical samples.

Accuracy increased when “first-void” urine samples were collected (the first urine of the day) compared with random or mid-stream samples, probably because first void urine samples contain higher levels of DNA.

“The detection of HPV in urine is non-invasive, easily accessible, and acceptable to women, and a test with these qualities could considerably increase uptake,” say the authors.

They stress that their results should be interpreted with caution “due to variation between individual studies” but say that when HPV testing is considered for cervical cancer screening, “urine-based testing should be considered as an accurate and acceptable alternative that could increase screening coverage.”

They propose that testing urine for HPV “could accurately replace cervical testing for HPV in this context” and call for further studies and a “standardised method of urine HPV detection” to be developed.In an accompanying editorial, researchers at the University of Manchester say urine testing for HPV is a promising screening option that deserves further evaluation.

In well-resourced health systems, they suggest self-sampling “could be used for women who are reluctant to attend for regular cervical screening.” While in lower income countries that lack infrastructure, “self-sampling might even be beneficial and cost-effective for all women who are eligible for screening.”

More research is now required to identify the true clinical performance and acceptability of urine testing for HPV in both settings, they conclude.

Dr Neha Pathak

1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner speaks at Mexico’s Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana

On his visit to Mexico, the renowned Argentine activist and human rights defender, Doctor Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1980, gave a speech to an audience of more than 200 university community members and people in general at a conference held in Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana on September 19.

Dr Adolfo Pérez Esquivel talked about some of the most contemporary issues, such as war, hunger, drug dealing and the desperate need of creating a true peace policy in our societies, which has to be anchored around the first steps of education. Pérez Esquivel, also known to be an architect and a sculptor, sought the cooperation of world powers to join the efforts of human beings to eradicate hunger and poverty once and for all. “People have to stand up for themselves, take conscience if they really want peace, to organize it, defend it, and build it up together; there is no other way.”

Pérez Esquivel also highlighted that a lot of the current armed conflicts are sponsored by drugs and drug dealers. “When the people accept themselves as the protagonists of the story they are willing to change, we can make a difference. There is also a need in which we have to generate conscience that drugs are not liberating, but enslaving.”

He finally commented that he did not know if the world will ever live in peace, but he stated that “At least we can accomplish coexisting situations that can extend to dialogues and take conscience in schools and universities. Because no matter how many laws or protocols exist, if they are not applied and taken into consideration with the life values that each and everyone of us and our societies has, this will not change.”

Doctor Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, who has been awarded the Nobel Prize in defense of human rights, has been working for this cause in several Latin American countries.

53 | WOW NewsEurope & Americas

Archaeological discoveries in Nepal confirm early date of Buddha’s life

Archaeologists working in Nepal have uncovered evidence of a structure at the birthplace of the Buddha dating to the sixth century BC. This is the first archaeological material linking the life of the Buddha—and therefore the first flowering of Buddhism—to a specific century.

The discovery, led by Durham University in England and the Pashupati Area Development Trust in Nepal, has resulted in debates around the need to balance the preservation of heritage alongside the potential economic benefits of Buddhist pilgrimage.

The pioneering excavations within the sacred Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini, Nepal, a UNESCO World Heritage site long identified as the birthplace of the Buddha, uncovered the remains of a previously unknown sixth-century BC timber structure under a series of brick temples. Laid out on the same design as those above it, the timber structure contains an open space in the center that links to the nativity story of the Buddha himself.

Until now, the earliest archaeological evidence of Buddhist structures at Lumbini dated no earlier than the third century BC, the time of the patronage of the Emperor Asoka, who promoted the spread of Buddhism, from present-day Afghanistan to Bangladesh.

“Very little is known about the life of the Buddha, except through textual sources and oral tradition,” said archaeologist Professor Robin Coningham of Durham University, who co-led the investigation. Some scholars, he said, have maintained that the Buddha was born in the third century BC. “We wanted to go back to archaeology to try to answer some of the questions about his birth,” Coningham said. “Now, for the first time, we have an archaeological sequence at Lumbini that shows a building there as early as the sixth century BC.”

To determine the dates of the timber shrine and a previously unknown early brick structure above it, fragments of charcoal and grains of sand were tested using a combination of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence techniques. Geoarchaeological research also confirmed the presence of ancient tree roots within the temple’s central void.

“UNESCO is very proud to be associated with this important discovery at one of the most holy places for one of the world’s oldest religions,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, who urged “more archaeological research, intensified conservation work and strengthened site management” to ensure Lumbini’s protection.

Buddhist tradition records that Queen Maya Devi, the mother of the Buddha, gave birth to him while holding on to the branch of a tree within the Lumbini Garden, midway between the kingdoms of her husband and parents. Coningham and his colleagues postulate that the open space in the center of the most ancient, timber shrine may have accommodated a tree. Brick temples built later above the timber one were also arranged around the central space, which was unroofed.

Lumbini is one of the key sites associated with the life of the Buddha; others are Bodh Gaya, where he became a Buddha or enlightened one; Sarnath, where he first preached; and Kusinagara, where he passed away. At his passing at the age of 80, the Buddha is recorded as having recommended that all Buddhists visit Lumbini. The shrine was still popular in the middle of the first millennium AD and was recorded by Chinese pilgrims as having a shrine beside a tree.

The Maya Devi temple at Lumbini remains a living shrine; the archaeologists worked alongside meditating monks, nuns and pilgrims.

Professor Robin Coningham in the trench with Maya Devi Temple in background

Pilgrims meditate at the wall within Maya Devi Temple

WOW News | 54 Europe & Americas

Ukrain’s NTU biophysics researchers discover method for early cancer diagnosis

Ukraine’s NTU Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute scientists discover the phenomenon of piezobiosynthesis for diagnosis of cancer. Third-year collaboration of scientists from NTU “KhPI”, Kharkiv Research Institute of General and Emergency Surgery and Kharkiv Medical University has resulted in discovering a previously unknown effect in biophysics, which they have called the “piezobiosynthesis phenomenon”.

They discovered that under the influence of constant power demand the cells synthesize nucleotide ATP (adenosine triphosphate). The synthesis of this substance is caused by the piezoelectric effect (the effect of occurrence of electric voltage by surfaces of deformable solids) of the liquid-crystal structures of cell membranes, mechanically deformed by external influences. Since ATP is the energy source of cells of the biological tissue, which facilitates their movement, division and growth, the piezobiosynthesis effect explains the cell growth phenomenon when exposed to constant power demand.

The discovered piezobiosynthesis effect appears differently in healthy and diseased cells, which allows to significantly increase the sensitivity of methods for early diagnosis of cancer. For this, it is sufficient to measure piezobiopotential of cells against mechanical stresses (e.g. by placing the blood sample in a centrifuge). Piezobiopotential of cells of cell membranes present in oncological diseases is 10 times higher than normal. From this, it follows that by taking a blood sample, it is possible to measure in the laboratory piezobiopotential of cells and reveal the enlargement of cancer at the earliest stages.

The scientists of NTU “KhPI” were engaged in planning and implementation of the measurement experiments to study the piezopotentials of cell membranes under static and dynamic loads. The samples taken for the research were blood cells, liver cells and connective tissue. Having received more than 15 patents, the researchers are working towards the creation of portable information and measurement system for instant diagnosis of oncological diseases at an extremely early stage of their emergence and enlargement.

55 | WOW NewsEurope & Americas

Chile’s Universidad Mayor’s teacher training model receives US$4 million grant from Ministry of Education

UK’s Nottingham Trent University researcher creates lifelike human hearts

An innovative project for integral initial teacher education receives support from ministerial funds.

The College of Education of Universidad Mayor in Santiago, is training teacher candidates who will be prepared to understand and include in the learning process of their students, what happens in their social environment, their inner world and their use of social networking and new technologies. This integrated teacher´s profile will provide the skills to satisfy the current pedagogical needs of teaching in a complex world.

The faculty at Universidad Mayor uses a state-of-the-art model for teacher education, which trains teacher candidates on complexity in order to prepare their students to tackle the uncertainties of the 21st century.

The model has as a main objective: that future teachers develop a background in systemic thinking, which will allow them to understand that students are the outcome of their history and social interactions (external world), the way they think (inner world), and how they express themselves throughout social networks using new technologies (virtual world).

“It is a project that has taken some years to come to life, due to the important change of paradigm it requires in a conservative system. It is based in the premise that education is not merely the conveying of information, but a process of development and expansion of conscience,” says Cornelio Westenenk, dean of the College of Education at Universidad Mayor.

This innovative initiative was awarded the bid of Performance

Agreement (Convenio de Desempeño) for the Institutional Improvement Plans in the Initial Teacher Training Program of MECESUP 2013, dependent on the Chilean Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and has the objective of generating this new way of thinking in all the training programs as of 2015. The awarded funds will reinforce this model, which has been in development within the College of Education of the Universidad Mayor for some years.

Teacher candidates trained under this paradigm should incorporate the individual variables of their environment and integrate them to the teaching-learning field, thus making it a personalized and collaborative process.

The project also contemplates teaching students varied didactic approaches through practical experiences in different pedagogical fields—following the clinical practice model of health science programs—where teacher candidates are tutored by their professors inside the classroom.

Westenenk adds that the new model involves a change in the learning culture, seeking a collective transformation throughout the system by starting within the educational entity but fundamentally with that which happens within the classroom.

“The classroom must move towards a respectful environment, where diversity is seen as an enriching opportunity for all students. We want to install a holistic and integral view that reshapes the classroom into a harmonic, wholesome and horizontal place,” he concludes.

A researcher at Nottingham Trent University is using the latest 3D-printing in combination with traditional mould techniques to create prosthetic human hearts with lifelike detail, to help train surgeons before they go into live theatre.

The prosthetic hearts feature lifelike internal detail and have the varying tactile qualities of real human hearts, according to Richard Arm, an MSc Smart Design postgraduate researcher at Nottingham Trent University’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment. Using silicone gels, the different areas of hardness of the human heart—such as around the heart’s arteries and valves—are recreated using specific blends of the material.

The study has been undertaken with the support of the UK Ministry of Defence’s Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. As well as enhancing the education of trainee surgeons, it is thought the models could help teach medical students advanced anatomy and improve surgeons’ clinical skills.

“Cardiothoracic surgery is one of the main life-saving treatments taught at medical schools around the world, but its teaching often relies on basic plastic models, which doesn’t necessarily provide a realistic learning experience,” said Richard.

“This study shows how it’s possible to replicate the human heart, inside and out, and make it so realistic that it could literally be ‘operated’ on by trainee surgeons. Students would be able to make incisions to experience how it would feel and see what the inside of the heart looks like.”

The study also includes an exploration of how CT and MRI scan data could be used in the future to help 3D-print exact replicas of individual hearts.

It also looks at the potential for artificial blood being pumped into the prosthesis to enhance the realism of a mock operation.

“Richard’s research has the potential to help improve the way trainee surgeons develop their understanding of critical operations like heart surgery,” said Professor Michael Vloeberghs,

professor of paediatric neurosurgery and honorary consultant paediatric neurosurgeon at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

“This could be a real benefit to way in which we educate students, by providing them with more realistic experiences before they go into live theater.”

WOW!Movers & Shakers

Dr Mthuli NcubeSenior Research FellowBlavatnik School of GovernmentUnited KingdomPrevious AppointmentChief Economist African Development Bank

Dr Haifa Reda Jamal Al-LailPresident (New Term) Effat University Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaOngoing AppointmentPresident (New Term) Effat University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Dr Sanna DhahirDeanCollege of Humanities and Social Sciences Effat UniversityKingdom of Saudi Arabia Previous AppointmentChair, Department of English and TranslationCollege of Humanities and Social Sciences Effat University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Ir Professor You Lin XuDean, Faculty of Construction and Environment & Chair Professor of Structural EngineeringThe Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong KongOngoing AppointmentChair Professor of Structural Engineering The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Professor Wen Zhong Shi Chair ProfessorGeographical Information Science and Remote Sensing & Head, Department of Land Surveying and Geo-InformaticsThe Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong KongPrevious & Ongoing AppointmentChair Professor of Geographical Information Science and Remote Sensing The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Professor Andy C.L. Yeung Professor and HeadDepartment of Logistics and Maritime StudiesThe Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong KongPrevious AppointmentProfessor and Associate HeadDepartment of Logistics and Maritime Studies The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Miss April Wong Director of FinanceThe Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong KongPrevious AppointmentAssociate Director of FinanceThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Professor Alexandra HughesPro Vice Chancellor for Global EngagementUniversity of WestminsterUnited KingdomPrevious AppointmentPro Vice Chancellor (External) University of KentUnited Kingdom

Professor Ghaleb AlhadramiDeputy Vice Chancellor Student Affairs & Enrollment United Arab Emirates UniversityUAEPrevious AppointmentDean, College of Food and Agriculture United Arab Emirates University, UAE

Professor Frederick LeungDeanCollege of ScienceUnited Arab Emirates UniversityUAEPrevious AppointmentProfessor, School of Biological Sciences University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Professor Geralyn McClure FranklinDeanCollege of Business & Economics United Arab Emirates UniversityUAEPrevious AppointmentInterim Dean, Nelson Rusche College of Business Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas, USA

Professor Peter WernerDirectorNational Water Center United Arab Emirates UniversityUAEPrevious AppointmentDean, College of ScienceUnited Arab Emirates UniversityUAE

Professor Dennis TempletonDeanCollege of Medicine & Health SciencesUnited Arab Emirates UniversityUAEPrevious AppointmentDistinguished Professor and Chair of Pathology DepartmentUniversity of Virginia, USA

Professor Dr Angela de Mendonça Engelbrecht Dean (New Term)Pontifícia Universidade Católica de CampinasBrazilOngoing AppointmentDeanPontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas, Brazil

Professor Dr Germano Rigacci Júnior Vice DeanPontifícia Universidade Católica de CampinasBrazilPrevious AppointmentUndergraduate Vice DeanPontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas, Brazil

To submit your entry, please send an email to barathan@qs-asia.com

WOW!Jobs

Associate Professor/ Professor in Information Systems Effat University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Qualified Associate Professor/Professor in Information Security or Enterprise and Data Management. Has good record of research in international high factor journals. Willing to mentor other younger faculty and students and lead research projects in the department. Has long experience in teaching and using up-to-date teaching methodologies.

Send resume to Jobs@effatuniversity.edu.sa HR Mobile: +966557633055

Assistant Professor in Architecture Effat University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Qualified Assistant Professors in any of the following areas; Urban Design, Civil Engineering, CAAD, Mechanical Systems, or Architectural Design. Has good record of research in international high factor journals. Willing to mentor other younger faculty and students and lead research projects in their area. Has years of experience in teaching and using up-to-date teaching methodologies.

Send resume to Jobs@effatuniversity.edu.sa HR Mobile: +966557633055

Associate Professor/ Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering Effat University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Qualified Associate Professor/Professor in Communication or Electronics. Has good record of research in international high factor journals. Willing to mentor other younger faculty and students and lead research projects in the department. Has years of experience in teaching and using up-to-date teaching methodologies.

Send resume to Jobs@effatuniversity.edu.sa HR Mobile: +966557633055

Assistant Professor in Design Effat University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Qualified Assistant Professors in any of the following areas; product design, environmental design and interior design. Has years of experience in teaching in their area of specialty and/or professional experience. Willing to mentor other younger faculty and students and share or lead research projects in their area. Send resume to Jobs@effatuniversity.edu.sa HR Mobile: +966557633055

English Language InstructorsEffat University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Qualified English Language Instructors to teach pre-college students to prepare them for College entry. Has master’s degree in related area in addition to TESOL, EFL or ESL qualification. Has a minimum of four years experience in teaching English using up-to-date teaching methodologies.

Send resume to Jobs@effatuniversity.edu.sa HR Mobile: +966557633055

English Language InstructorsEffat University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Qualified English Language Instructors to teach pre-college students to prepare them for College entry. Has master’s degree in related area in addition to TESOL, EFL or ESL qualification. Has a minimum of four years experience in teaching English using up-to-date teaching methodologies.

Send resume to Jobs@effatuniversity.edu.sa HR Mobile: +966557633055

Assistant Professor in Visual and Digital ProductionEffat University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Qualified Assistant Professors in screen writing or animation. Has appropriate professional experience in the area of screen writing and/or animation. Has years of experience in teaching and using up-to-date teaching methodologies. Willing to mentor other younger faculty and students.

Send resume to Jobs@effatuniversity.edu.sa HR Mobile: +966557633055

Assistant Professor in Business Effat University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Qualified Assistant Professors in any of the following areas; Human resources management, entrepreneurship, operation/logistics and information management, or finance. Has good record of research in international high factor journals. Willing to mentor other younger faculty and students and lead research projects in their area. Has years of experience in teaching and using up-to-date teaching methodologies. Send resume to Jobs@effatuniversity.edu.sa HR Mobile: +966557633055

WOW!Jobs

Director of the Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning Effat University Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

PhD in Education with knowledge and experience in training on innovative teaching approaches, assessment of student learning outcomes, course management systems and effective online teaching methodologies and instructional technologies as well as undergraduate research.

Send resume to Jobs@effatuniversity.edu.sa HR Mobile: +966557633055

Director, Industrial CentreThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong

The University is looking for a dynamic, mature and highly competent professional to head its Industrial Centre which has some 100 staff. He/She should have a higher degree and professional qualification in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing or related disciplines with substantial industrial and management experience in large organizations.

Further details can be obtained from http://www.polyu.edu.hk/hro/postspec/14021403.pdf

Dean Positions United Arab Emirates University Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates University is seeking to appoint experienced and internationally recognized academic leaders as Deans of the Colleges of Engineering, Information Technology, Food & Agriculture, and Education, who will assume leadership roles in the university’s plan to meet its ambitious educational and research mission. executivesearch@uaeu.ac.ae

Head of Department of Health Technology and InformaticsThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong

Reporting to the Dean of Faculty, the successful candidate should be a visionary academic leader ensuring successful operation and sustainable development of the Department for the disciplines of Medical Laboratory Science and Radiography. He/She will be appointed as Chair Professor/Professor with concurrent headship appointment.

Further details can be obtained from http://www.polyu.edu.hk/hro/postspec/14072210.pdf

Chief Financial Officer United Arab Emirates University Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates University invites applications for the position of Chief Financial Officer to provide administrative leadership, strategic direction, and operational management over all aspects of the University’s financial operations. sg.office@uaeu.ac.ae

Chair Professor/Professor of Interaction DesignThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong

The successful candidate will play an innovative leadership role in liaison with the Dean of School of Design, in the formulation of a strategic vision, international profile and research direction for the discipline of Interaction Design and devise its implementation plan.

Further details can be obtained from http://www.polyu.edu.hk/hro/postspec/14082005.pdf

Job postings in QS WOW Jobs will be free of charge for the next issue (February) as well. From May issue onwards, the entries will be available at the most competitive rates.

Hurry before all spaces are taken!

For more information or to submit your entries, please contact Barathan Kandasamy at barathan@qs-asia.com.

 

 

 

 

Head of Department of Chinese and Bilingual StudiesThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong

Reporting to the Dean of Faculty, the successful candidate should be a visionary academic leader in a relevant discipline, who can ensure successful operation and sustainable development of the Department. He/She should have a high level of bilingualism in English and Chinese. The candidate will be appointed as Chair Professor/Professor with concurrent headship appointment.

Further details can be obtained from http://www.polyu.edu.hk/hro/postspec/14081505.pdf

SUMMER SCHOOL

A SPECIAL QS NEWS-2-WOW-U SUPPLEMENT

At most universities the Summer School has humble origins. It is created as a response to dormitory space that stands empty. Or to generate “spots” for some exchange agreements that are off-balance. Or to organize a course that simply cannot materialize during the regular semester for bureaucratic or logistical reasons.

At the same time, that simple summer school can be transformative both for the students and the university involved. Suddenly, there’s a campus full of international students and faculty, and the “Internationalization is great, but not here” – chorus is silenced. What was “impossible” (delivering courses in a foreign language, attracting good students and faculty from around the world) has been delivered upon. The flexibility offered by an academic program that is somehow “off the books” turns out to deliver a great new student experience; an experience that turns a trickle of inbound students for an exchange or graduate program into a steady flow.

Summer schools are often the “incubators” of change at universities. They enable experimentation with internationalization; they are a learning opportunity for staff to manage an international program; they are a “sand box” for testing new educational, student recruitment and student services paradigms. And students already cite study abroad and summer schools as the most positive parts of their university experience, making summer schools a rapidly growing and largely student-driven phenomenon worldwide.

As a result, Summer Schools have become a question of “when” rather than “if”, and the universities that already have such programs are constantly undergoing a process of re-invention both in response to market changes and in an attempt to capture the innovative power of the concept.

The QS Summer School Summit is a meeting place for the summer school and the short academic program movement. It aims to be

the spiritual home for higher education leaders who are involved in the organizing and managing of these programs, allowing them to learn from each other, share knowledge and experiences, and develop their network.

In keeping with the innovative spirit of summer schools and the fundamental simplicity of the concept, the inaugural edition of the QS Summer School Summit brings together great speakers from around the world to cover all the “basics” for organizing a summer school or a short academic program.

For experienced participants this is a chance to benchmark and compare notes; for beginners a chance to learn how it’s done. Intertwined throughout the first day of the program are short bursts of passionate promotion for Summer Schools: “The Elevator Pitch”, a 90-second time slot where a speaker can introduce their program to the crowd. As much as it is an entertaining and high-energy promotional tool, it also forces participants to ask themselves: What is my summer school really about? What makes it unique?

The second day focuses on the innovative aspects of summer schools, their transformative effects, both in the sense of the higher education business model and social responsibility, and how the process of creating a summer school should really be a creative one. Summer schools are often a pocket of “light touch” regulation that can and should be used to try new concepts and paradigms; concepts and paradigms that can later on be embedded within the institution as a whole.

All this, combined with ample networking opportunities, makes the QS Summer School Summit, organized in collaboration with the University of Malaya, an exciting new highlight on the higher education agenda. We look forward to the first of many great QS Summer School Summits!

Introducing the Inaugural QS Summer School SummitBy Pieter Stek

TM: What is the strategic importance of holding summer schools a) to Ural Federal University and b) to regional Russian universities in general?

MK: Summer schools are really of strategic importance bothfor Russian higher educational system in general and for Ural Federal University in particular. This is so for a number of reasons.

First, summer schools are one of the best (and one can also say, the cheapest) ways of attracting attention to the country, university, educational program. In this sense organizing summer schools is a crucial element of the university branding activity. By holding summer schools for undergraduates we promote our master programs; by inviting young university teachers, we enhance our international standing; by organizing schools in Russian studies, we attract attention to Russian culture or Ural region and, thus, we enhance our reputation as a globally important educational destination.

Secondly, sometimes summer schools help us to build what simply didn’t exist before. Political philosophy as a discipline in Russian universities, for example. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, this discipline in Russia was in decay for quite a long time. Marxist philosophy was not popular anymore, whereas other schools didn’t have enough roots or traditions in Russian academia.

This work has been done at UrFU through fifteen summer, winter and spring schools that we have organized from 2000–2014. The target audience was young university teachers from our region; the professors were invited from all over the world. As a result we managed not only to revive the interest in political philosophy in the region, but also to build an international masters program in political philosophy. Thus, gradually, UrFU became an internationally recognized resource for political philosophy in Russia.

TM: Do UrFU’s summer schools offer features that distinguish them clearly from the many summers schools available across the northern hemisphere?

MK: Yes, surely. First, some of our schools are oriented at studying Russia or the region. For example, our Russian studies summer school offers a unique opportunity to study Russian society, politics, culture outside of the two traditional centers of this education, by which I mean Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. That is why we call it Russian Studies in Real Russia program. Some other schools are devoted to the peculiarities of doing business in Russia in general and in the Ural region in particular. We think this is really important especially because Ekaterinburg and the Urals are one of the most economically dynamic regions of the Russian Federation. For the participants of the schools, the focus of which is not so obviously geographically or culturally defined, we try to offer some unique opportunities to work with important internationally famous scientists and scholars, whom we usually invite from all

over the world. Sometimes what we get are really unique projects. For instance, in all our schools in political philosophy we tried to combine analytic philosophy with more continental traditions of intellectual history. Those who belong to these scholarly traditions rarely participate in the shared events or even talk to each other. Some of them, however, for the first time met in Ekaterinburg. This, we believe, makes our schools unique and important not only for the region, but also in the context of the discipline.

TM: What special challenges does UrFU face in attracting speakers and students to your summer schools?

MK: Sometimes it is a bit difficult to explain where we are and who we are. Usually things like “the city where the last Russian tsar was shot” or “the meteorite fell nearby” help a bit, but it would do the justice neither to the third biggest and one of the most dynamic Russian cities nor to the University with the fourth largest research output (publications) in the country.

TM: On a personal professional level, what do you find fulfilling about staging summer schools?

MK: As for the summer schools for the young faculty, they have amazing multiplying effect. Through our schools we created multicultural community of young scholars and university teachers, who contributed greatly to enhancing the standing of political philosophy in the region.

The summer schools for the students also have this effect, although on different scale and in different sense. The word on the good university, great teachers, nice city and the fascinating programs is disseminated by the participants and contributes greatly to the positive image of the place.

That is why, both as a political philosopher and as a vice rector, I feel that summer schools experience is professionally rich and fulfilling.

Biography

Professor Maxim Khomyakov is vice rector for international relations and a director of the Institute of Social and Political Sciences at Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia. His main research interests are in the areas of internationalization of higher education and research, and in issues of toleration and multiculturalism in contemporary political philosophy. Since 2000 Prof Khomyakov has been organizing international summer, winter and spring schools for young faculty from the universities of Central/Eastern Europe, Russia, Mongolia and Central Asia.

Russian summer schools – a view from the UralsInterview with Professor Maxim Khomyakov of Ural Federal University

By Tony Martin

Speakers’ Profiles

Michael F. LyonsDirector of International PartnershipsUniversity of California Irvine, USA Michael Lyons has over 20 years of experience in international education as an instructor, administrator, advisor and consultant. Mr Lyons has lived, worked and studied in various countries within diverse regions of the world, including South and Central America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and most recently in the Middle East. He created and implemented the UC Irvine Visiting International Summer Session student program and currently manages it. He also oversees all Summer Session Partnerships. Under his direction the UC Irvine Summer Session program has experienced tremendous growth and diversification, and has solidified its reputation as a leader in the area of summer study. Mr Lyons holds a dual bachelor’s degree in humanities and cultural geography from San Diego State University and a master’s degree in international education from the School for International Training.

Sophia KrauseProgram CoordinatorFreie Universität Berlin International Summer and Winter University (FUBiS)Sophia Krause is the program coordinator of Freie Universität Berlin International Summer and Winter University (FUBiS). Prior to becoming program coordinator, Ms Krause administered financial aspects and budgets of specific Freie Universität Berlin degree programs. In 2006/2007 she designed and implemented the FUBiS winter term (now Term I). In 2008, she directed the first FUBiS on demand program and has ever since then been in charge of FUBiS tailor-made programs. FUBiS successfully completed the Forum on Education Abroad Quality Improvement Program (QUIP) in 2010. Under the direction of Ms Krause as the self-study team leader, FUBiS was found to be in substantial conformity with the Forum’s Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad.

Jeroen TorenbeekDirector Utrecht Summer SchoolUtrecht Summer School, NetherlandsJeroen Torenbeek has over 30 years of experience in international relations and international education. He is currently the director of Utrecht Summer School. Under his direction the summer school grew into one of the biggest in Europe, offering almost 200 academic courses. In 2013 the Utrecht Summer School attracted almost 3,000 international students, from over 100 countries. Before taking charge of the summer school, Torenbeek was the director of the International Office at Utrecht University for 15 years. He also chaired the Utrecht Network (one of the largest University networks in Europe) and he was the president of the European Association for International Education (EAIE). He is a partner in the consultancy firm Ziggurat BV, consulting the universities of Delft, Amsterdam, Oxford, Milano and others.

Elaine WebsterDirector Summer School and Continuing EducationUniversity of Otago, New ZealandDr Elaine Webster was appointed in 2011 as director of Summer School and Continuing Education at the University of Otago, situated in the South Island of New Zealand. Elaine is responsible for planning, marketing, development and operation of Summer School and Continuing Education. She maintains a robust and viable program for both international and domestic students, and Summer School under her leadership provides students with a unique and highly valued experience. Elaine is known for her innovative and relationship-based approach, and is currently active in the development of a program specifically for global markets.

Coming to university study as a mature student with a background in creative small business and the community sector, Elaine appreciates the value of diversity in the student body and of alternative pathways into tertiary education. Elaine lectured in sociology and later worked in research management after completing her doctorate in 2006. Her research interests include lifelong learning and student and community engagement.

Prof Maxim KhomyakovVice-rector, Ural Federal UniversityEkaterinburg, RussiaProfessor Maxim Khomyakov is a vice rector for international relations and a director of the Institute of Social and Political Sciences at Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia. He is also adviser of the director of Higher School of Economics, Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Previously, he worked as a vice rector for internationalization and as director of Ural centre for advanced studies and education at Ural State University, and organized a number of European and trans-European projects in the spheres of higher education, political philosophy and religious studies. In 2007–2008 he was a visiting Marie Curie professor at European University Institute, Florence, Italy. His main research interests are in the areas of internationalization of higher education and research as well as the issues of toleration and multiculturalism in contemporary political philosophy. Since 2000 Prof Khomyakov has been organizing international summer, winter and spring schools for the young faculty from the universities of Central/Eastern Europe, Russia, Mongolia and Central Asia.

Speakers’ Profiles

David Santandreu CalongeDirector, Da Tong Project (Interdisciplinary Research Projects)Hong Kong Baptist University“Disruptive innovator” David Santandreu Calonge is currently a visiting professor at Sungkyunkwan University (Korea), where he teaches branding and design-thinking, and Director of the Da Tong project (Interdisciplinary Research and Projects) at Hong Kong Baptist University. He was senior coordinator of learning and teaching at RMIT University, Australia, and associate director in the Office of Education Development and General Education (EDGE) at City University of Hong Kong. David was awarded the City University of Hong Kong Teaching Excellence Award in 2003/2004 and the International Award for Innovative use of technology in Teaching and Learning (USA, 2005). David was bestowed Knight in the Order of Academic Palms by the French Prime Minister and was awarded the International Trophies of the French Abroad by the French Senate in 2008. In 2012, David was co-awarded the 2012 Australia Open Universities Nova Awards for Quality and Innovation in Instructional Design/Teaching Award for Best Undergraduate Unit, and became the first international educator to be awarded the Kappa Delta Pi (International Honor Society in Education, USA) Master Teacher of Honor Award.

His research interests are in the areas of innovative curriculum designs, and disruptive innovations in education. He is currently working on a project exploring the impact disruptive technologies will have on faculty, learning/teaching and universities around the world.

Prof Awang Bulgiba Awang MahmudDeputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation)University of Malaya, MalaysiaProfessor Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud is currently deputy vice chancellor (research and innovation) of Malaysia’s first and leading research university, the University of Malaya. The first Malaysian doctor to gain a PhD in health informatics, Prof Awang Bulgiba is also the first public health physician in Malaysia to be awarded these 4 fellowships: FFPH, FPHMM, FAMM, FASc. He continues to sit on the editorial board of the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health and Malaysian Orthopaedics Journal, the international advisory board of the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Medicine and several national level committees in Malaysia. Prof Awang Bulgiba was the founding head of the Julius Centre UM (2008-2012), Chair for the University of Malaya Wellness Programme (2007–2009) and the Malaysian coordinator for the Asia-Europe Clinical Epidemiology & Evidence-Based Medicine Programme (2007–2010). In 2008, Prof Awang Bulgiba was the Organizing Chair for the 40th APACPH Conference and in 2012 he was the Organizing Chair for the 1st APCEEBM Conference. He was recently elected as president of the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) KL, an NGO dedicated to public health. He has extensive experience managing inter-university collaborations within Malaysia and across countries.

Prof Flemming KonradsenDeputy Head of departmentUniversity of Copenhagen, Denmark Flemming Konradsen is professor of international environmental health at the University of Copenhagen and has more than twenty years of research and programming experience in the field of environmental health and global health. He is director of the Copenhagen School of Global Health and is responsible for a number of programs aimed at building research capacity at university level in Asia and Africa and has significant involvement with educational programs in East Africa, South Asia and the Nordic region. Professor Konradsen Flemming Konradsen has organized several summer courses and is the initiator of the new summer school initiative at University of Copenhagen. He has worked for international research organizations, universities, development NGOs and national research organizations.

Prof Eugene LeeLecturing Professor Chonbuk National University, South KoreaEugene Lee is a Professor of International Studies of Chonbuk National University in Jeonju, South Korea, and for several years has taught as a visiting lecturer at the International Summer School in Sungyungkwan University, Seoul, South Korea. His primary field of research is the issues of international relations and international relations. His other field of interest is the internationalization of higher education in the new globalized environment. Teaching such courses as diplomacy and international governance networks, intercultural communication and international development has driven him to the research on the effective and innovative methods of enriching the in-class experience for very diverse classes in intensive courses.

Speakers’ Profiles

Prof Dato’ Dr Hassan SaidVice Chancellor and PresidentTaylor’s University, MalaysiaProfessor Dato’ Dr Hassan Said is currently the vice chancellor and president of Taylor’s University. Prior to this appointment, he was the director general of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia from January 2005 until April 2008. He obtained his PhD from Brunel University UK in1984 specializing in computer-aided geometric design. He is a fellow of the Malaysian Mathematical Society, Fellow Institute of Mathematical and Its Applications, United Kingdom (FIMA) and Fellow Academy Science of Malaysia (FASc). Professor Dato’ Dr Hassan has received Federal and State Honors, including DPMP (Perlis), DMSM (Melaka), DSPN (Penang) and PGBK (Sarawak). He was awarded Chevalier de l’ Ordre National du Merite Award from the Government of France.

Owing to his extensive contribution to local institutions and bodies as well as international level, Professor Dato’ Dr Hassan was awarded honorary doctorates from:• MultimediaUniversityMalaysia• TheUniversityofBirmingham,UK• UniversityofWestEngland,UK• Asiae-University,Malaysia• UniversitiSainsIslamMalaysia• UniversityofToulouseJeanJaures,France

Pieter E. StekAdvisor for External Relations – Asia, Middle East and AfricaQS Asia Quacquarelli Symonds Pte LtdPieter Stek is an advisor for external relations at QS Asia. Prior to joining QS, he worked at the Office of International Affairs at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Seoul, South Korea, as external relations manager, working on, among other things, promotion and program development for SKKU’s 1600-student International Summer Semester. A native of the Netherlands, Mr Stek has lived in Nigeria, Syria and Malaysia and currently resides in South Korea. Mr Stek holds master’s degrees from Yonsei University and the University of Twente and is currently pursuing a doctorate in the economics of innovation at Delft University of Technology. He is also a part-time lecturer at Chonbuk National University.

Birla Institute of Management Technology India BIMTECH International Summer School http://bimtech.ac.in/international/international-summer-school/ Intensive courses over four weeks offering insight in the theory and emerging market context on theoretical foundation, with cultural and industrial exposure.

ERG Universitätsservice GmbH Germany Freie Universität Berlin International Summer and Winter University (FUBiS) www.fubis.org FUBiS is an intensive academic program through which students can earn credits that may be counted towards their degrees.

ESADE Business School Spain International Summer Program http://www.esade.edu/summer-school/eng/international-summer-program Among other things, students will:•Broadentheirinternationalexperienceanddevelopamore global perspective•Advancetowardsthecompletionoftheirdegrees

Hong Kong University of Science of Technology Hong Kong HKUST Postgraduate Summer Program http://isp.ust.hk/ HKUST International Summer Exchange Program brings together students from around the world through a wide variety of academic, cultural and social activities.

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Germany HUWISU Humboldt Winter and Summer University http://huwisu.de Our key features include: combinable subject courses, the connection of theory and practice, interdisciplinary approaches to absorbing topics and an intriguing Berlin-specific context.

King’s College London United Kingdom King’s College London Summer Programmes www.kcl.ac.uk/summer A unique academic and social experience in the very heart of London, offering pre-university, undergraduate and professional development summer sessions

Masaryk University Czech Republic ICC Summer School and ICCHP Summer University http://www.icc-camp.info http://www.icchp-su.net “ICC is a summer school for visually impaired youngsters. ICCHP Summer University is for visually impaired students, their teachers, and experts working in the development of assistive technologies and methodologies.

Metropolitan University College Denmark We are going to start a summer school, the first course will be in Applied Biostatistics

National Chengchi University Taiwan International Summer School http://nccuoic.nccu.edu.tw/14summerschool/english/ We provide intensive Mandarin Chinese learning and 8 Academic intensive courses in management, social sciences, and humanities, focusing on Taiwan, China, and East Asia.

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University South Africa International short programmes in South Africa http://issuu.com/nmmuinternational/docs/short_programme_brochure_2014 A diverse spectrum of programs covering the unique natural diversity of South Africa. This is highlighted in the program mix on human rights and environmental.

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University South Africa Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University - Midyear Program www.nmmu.ac.za/intenationa Diverse Program celebrating our natural and social diversity. From Human Rights to a program on Environment Diversity.

RANEPA Russian Federation Summer Campus of The Presidential Academy http://www.campus4youth.com/ In Republic of Tatarstan, students work together on the conceptual topic, divided into teams to prepare their projects. Lectures and workshops are in different areas of expertise.

Sciences Po Lille France Sciences Po Lille’s Summer School http://iep.univ-lille2.fr/ Sciences Po Lille proposes 2-week program around the theme “The EU’s challenges in a context of crisis” with courses all taught in English by international guest professors, conferences and a field trip to Brussels.

Sunway Education Group Malaysia Harvard Asia Leadership Camp https://www.facebook.com/AsiaLeadershipTrekMalaysia A 5-day camp by Harvard’s Center for Asia Leadership Initiatives and Asia Leadership Trek Project addressing the area of personal leadership, communication and confidence building.

Some participating schools

Brief information about some of the summer programs of early registrants to QS Summer School Summit, Kuala Lumpur, December 3-4, 2014

Technische Universitaet Muenchen (Asia) Singapore TUM Asia Summer Programme www.tum-asia.edu.sg For international bachelors students interested in pursuing a masters at TUM. Students get to know the university and gain exposure to German language and culture.  

UCL United Kingdom New programme. First intake scheduled for summer 2016

University of Copenhagen Denmark UCPH International Summer Programme http://studies.ku.dk/summer-school/ International summer courses of high quality during July and August. All courses for summer 2015 will be announced in January.

University of East Anglia United Kingdom UEA International Summer School https://www.uea.ac.uk/summerstudyabroad Our 4 week program provides the opportunity to gain academic credit and experience student life at the UK’s number 1 university for student satisfaction.

University of Edinburgh United Kingdom University of Edinburgh Summer School www.summerschool.ed.ac.uk Combination of Summer School at Edinburgh, Summer School Abroad and bespoke Summer School.

University of Geneva Switzerland Geneva Summer Schools http://www.genevasummerschools.ch/ Taught in English, our high quality academic short courses provide a global perspective on issues in social sciences, humanities, sciences, and interdisciplinary fields.

University of Kent United Kingdom Kent’s Summer schools http://www.kent.ac.uk/summerschools/ Summer schools in Kent, Brussels and Paris covering a wide range of subjects. Some are for Kent students to help enhance their employability.

University of Reading Malaysia Malaysia A Taste of UK Higher education Providing language, cultural and subject based instruction as well as field trips for pre-university students to introduce them to undergraduate studies.

Some participating schools

QS in conversation Brunei

Oct 14–16, 2014

Our most sincere gratitude

to all participants

Celebrating outstanding achievements in international higher education

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