UNIVERSITIES SHOULD BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE UI GREENMETRIC

UUM ONLINE: Kuala Lumpur - To encourage more involvement and active participation from universities in the UI GreenMetric, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) hosted a National Workshop on UI GreenMetric for Universities in Malaysia at the EDC Hotel, Kuala Lumpur recently.

UUM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dato’ Seri Dr. Mohamed Mustafa Ishak said, the main objective of the workshop was to increase the participation of Malaysian universities in the UI GreenMetric with regard to the sustainable 360 degree approach in terms of infrastructure, waste, water, energy and climate change, transportation and also education.

Dato’ Seri Vice- Chancellor added that, the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings was actually an initiative of Universitas Indonesia which focuses on the ecological footprint of universities and the efforts to reduce and combat the global climate change.

"Beginning 2018, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) will assume the role of the National Coordinator for UI GreenMetric World University Rankings Network for Malaysia. At present, only 15 universities in Malaysia have joined in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings Network eventhough Malaysia has over 100 universities, of which 20 are public universities and efforts to get more involvement from these universities will be enhanced," remarked the Vice-Chancellor during the Opening Ceremony of the National Workshop on UI GreenMetric for Universities in Malaysia.

He added that, considering the rapid development and changes that have taken place in Malaysia, being sustainable is critical. Thus, it is important for all participants to be able to determine the strategic direction and formulate the most suitable approaches to ensure the sustainability of higher education in Malaysia.

Thus, this workshop will serve as a platform for universities to discover more about UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, its network and the process of getting listed in the rankings.

Meanwhile, the UI GreenMetric Expert from Universitas Indonesia, Prof. Gunawan Tjahjono said, without the support of universities, the UI GreenMetric would not be successful. To date, more than 600 world universities are listed in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings.

A Signing Ceremony of the Declaration of Membership of UI GreenMetric Network involving 19 representatives from universities throughout the country including UUM was also held during the event.

The first part of the one-day workshop commenced with a session which delved on the trends and challenges of the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings and the second part featured experienced speakers from Universitas Indonesia, UUM, UM and UPM. These speakers shared some examples of good practices by universities concerning the environment and the sustainability efforts.