Parallel Session 3: The Sustainable Campus as the Basis for Credibility & Strategies for Sustainability Communication (Hybrid)

Tuesday 10 October 2023
12:00 – 13:15
Augustiner Kloster

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Sustainable Futures: Global Trends and the Role and Responsibility of Technology Universities

Sub-themes in focus – sharing global perspectives: The Sustainable Campus as the Basis for Credibility & Strategies for Sustainability Communication

What: Round Table Discussion: Parallel Session

Overview:  In these sessions we will explore the sub-themes for the Congress through a range of short presentations leading into round table discussions. 

Each parallel session will have a Chair to facilitate the discussion and we hope the conversations might spark areas for future WTUN collaboration and workstream developments 

Chair: Professor Peter Scharff, Professor of Chemistry, TU Ilmenau

Speakers: 

• Prof Kai-Uwe Sattler, President, TU Ilmenau
• Prof Jhy-Chern Liu, Vice-President, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology/Taiwan Tech
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Ariffin Abu Hassan, Director, International Office, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 
• Prof Abdulla Al-Hawaj, Founding President and Chairman of Board of Trustees, Ahlia University

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Prof Kai-Uwe Sattler, President, TU Ilmenau

‘The path towards a green campus as part of a holistic sustainability approach’

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Prof Jhy-Chern Liu

‘Creating a Sustainable Campus – Taiwan Tech Experience’ 

 

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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Ariffin Abu Hassan, Director, International Office, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 

 ‘UTM Sustainable Campus: Innovative solution through sustainable initiatives’ 

Planning for the future direction of a university is a dynamic and ongoing process that helps institutions stay responsive to their environments and focused on their mission. It allows universities to build a solid foundation for growth, innovation, and positive societal impact. The sustainable campus is the basis for credibility by aligning a public university’s actions with its values, fostering innovation and leadership, appealing to stakeholders, and contributing to the greater good. As sustainability becomes increasingly important to students and society, universities prioritising it will likely gain credibility, reputation, and positive recognition on both local and global levels. To meet the challenge, UTM has come out with UTM enVision 2025. UTM enVision 2025 is a forward-looking statement concerning the strategic endeavours of UTM for the next five years. It is a statement of future expectations based on UTM’s expectations and assumptions.

Eight strategic priorities were developed as a foundation for UTM enVision 2025. We aim to offer a sustainable campus experience for the students, staff and surrounding community to provide a sustainable campus experience to UTM’s students, staff and the surrounding community.

The success of the sustainability strategy requires a new approach to support the ESG: environment, social, and governance agenda. Hence, UTM has launched the UTM Sustainability Blueprint 2023, which will drive the UTM community to embrace sustainability as a lifestyle.

Six strategic priority areas (SPAs) were placed in the major key results in the UTM Sustainability Blueprint 2023 to work towards Net Zero Carbon Campus, Ecosystem Resilience, Sustainable Production and Responsible Consumption, Health and Well-Being, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Localisation, and Networking and Partnership. This is aligned with the sustainability action plan of UTM enVision 2025.

Among our significant results are the top institution out of 812 globally in SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy and the top 40 in SDG 9: Industry Innovation and Infrastructure. In addition, UTM is also ranked 101-200 in the 2023 THE University Impact Rankings for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In this presentation, we will discuss the UTM approaches following our forward-looking statement according to the UTM envision 2025 and a glimpse of our UTM Sustainable Blueprint 2023.

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Prof Abdulla Al-Hawaj, Founding President and Chairman of Board of Trustees, Ahlia University

‘The Future of University Campuses Through Sustainable Technology and AI’

Traditional campuses with huge libraries, sports centres and large buildings as we know them today will slowly but surely diminish. The concept of the virtual campus, virtual professor and the smart book are finding their way fast as a result of the development of technology, communication and AI. Universities and government policies are encouraging this change mostly for its economic benefits. The practical element of university education will remain an obstacle but will eventually be replaced through simulation systems and tools. It is high time for university leaders to rethink campus structure and organisation and quickly adjust to this changing world. Universities which will not quickly readjust might be left behind or even die as a result of the international competition providing leading and cheaper education.