(From left) Chemical engineering final year students Loke Qiao Min and Hao Ruo Chen explaining the modular aquaponic system to Prof Kaharudin at the launch of the Smart Engineering and Sustainable Urban Farm. — LOW LAY PHON/The Star
UNIVERSITI Malaya’s Smart Engineering and Sustainable Urban Farm was officially launched in January with long-term goals and plans to expand beyond its initial scope.
Universiti Malaya Sustainability and Development Centre (UMSDC) founding director Assoc Prof Dr Zeeda Fatimah Mohamad said they would look into how to transform UM into a sustainable campus.
She said the Living Lab concept embodied United Nations Sustainable Development Goals SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 11 (making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) and SDG 12 (ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns).
Hanee Farzana says the project aligns with UM’s sustainability goals in communitising the university.
“We have to walk the talk. The urban farm offers a lot of areas for research, education and engagement.
“It’s great that it started in the Faculty of Engineering, but we are thinking of inculcating this throughout the campus.
“There is a lot of potential to synergise these efforts with communities outside campus,” Zeeda Fatimah added.
UM deputy vice-chancellor (research and innovation) Prof Dr Kaharudin Dimyati said the urban farm contributed to raising awareness on environmental stewardship.
“This can be expanded beyond the engineering faculty,” he said, adding that the urban farm coincided with UM’s Service Learning Malaysia-University for Society (Sulam), an idea to bring higher education students towards society and help improve their life in every aspect.
Zeeda Fatimah hopes to find ways to transform Universiti Malaya into a sustainable campus.
Chemical Engineering Department head Dr Hanee Farzana Hizaddin said the urban farm project aligned well with the department’s research priorities.
“We have been involved in the sustainability aspects of chemical engineering fields in the past decades – particularly in process optimisation, waste minimisation and pollution control.
“It also aligns with UM’s sustainability goals in communitising the university and ensuring our work is not confined to only laboratories and research papers,” she added.
Hanee Farzana expects the project to spark interest of nearby school students to explore how chemical engineering and relevant disciplines can have a positive impact towards addressing climate change and food security issues, among others. — By AIDA AHMAD
