| Ishan Ibrahim |
UNIVERSITI Teknologi Brunei (UTB)’s seminar on ‘Innovation for Sustainable Economy’ was launched with a welcoming address by Professor Lars Ingvar Bergkvist, Professor of Marketing at UTB’s School of Business yesterday.
Professor Bergkvist was also a moderator at the seminar.
The event was held in conjunction with the Crown Prince CIPTA Award Competition 2017.
Associate Professor Dr Chong Wen Tong from the University of Malaya gave the first prese-ntation titled ‘Green Innovations in Product Design and Research’.
He has filed 12 intellectual property rights, won first prize at the National Intellectual Property Award 2016 (patent category) and was awarded the ‘Energy Invention Order of Merit’ at the World Inventor Award Festival 2012.
In his presentation, Dr Chong introduced a green innovation design as a new concept widely accepted in western developed countries.
The design makes full use of renewable energy resources while ensuring that the products consume the least energy sources in their whole life cycle.
The concept also focuses on eliminating or minimising pollution, taking into con-sideration the economic benefits of the created product from the standpoint on sustainable development.
Dr Chong also shared a few green innovations that he developed which include the Cross-Axis Wind Turbine which won the first prize at the National Intellectual Property Award (AHIN) 2016 in the Patent Category, an Eco-Greenery Outdoor Lighting System, an Eco-Living Green Wall System and a Solar-Powered Turbine Ventilator.
One of the speakers at the seminar. – PHOTOS: ISHAN IBRAHIM
Attendees at the seminar
The next presentation was delivered by Professor Stephen Tyson, a Chair Professor of Petroleum Engineering at UTB, titled ‘30 Years of Innovation in the Petroleum Industry – Where Are We Heading?’
Professor Stephen Tyson was previously the Chair of Subsurface Modelling at the School of Earth Sciences, Chair of Geosciences at the Centre for Coal Seam Gas, and Director of the Centre for Geoscience Computing at the University of Queensland.
He is also a Chartered Mathematician and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE).
Professor Tyson spoke on several changes in the petroleum industry over the last 30 years and their implications for engineering students.
He also spoke about the future of innovation in the industry while also offering suggestions on anticipated skill gaps and career opportunities.
Meanwhile, Professor Mah-moud Moghavvemi from the University of Malaya delivered a presentation titled ‘Our Humble Journey Towards Innovation’.
Professor Moghavvemi is the founder and current director of the Centre for Research in Applied Electronics (CRAE) at the University of Malaya.
He currently teaches in the Department of Electrical Engineering and published more than 250 articles in scholarly journals and conferences.
He also earned 53 medals from national and international exhibitions with more than 40 patents to his credit in the areas of invention and innovation.
His latest project involves the usage of brain signals to form commands, helping paralysed individuals to communicate with electronic items around them.
In his presentation, Professor Moghavvemi made the distinction between invention and innovation, in which invention is the first occurrence of an idea for a new product, while innovation is the creative solution to carry it out into practice – a process of transforming new ideas into new products and services to enhance people’s lives.
The three speakers were also members of the judging panel during the Participant’s Presentation and Evaluation Stage of the Crown Prince CIPTA Award Competition 2017 at UTB on March 28 and 29.
The post Green innovation takes centre stage at UTB seminar appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.