Welcome to this month’s roundup of the stories, updates and events happening across the World Technology Universities Network.
WTUN Featured News: Introducing Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology
The World Technology Universities Network is pleased to announce that Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) will formally join the World Technology Universities Network (WTUN) as a member from 1 August 2024. This news marks the second institution to join the WTUN in 2024, following the welcoming of Southern Alberta Institute of Technology back in February.
WTUN Chair Professor Shirley Congdon welcomed KIIT to the Network – “We are delighted to welcome KIIT as member of the Network. Alongside scientific excellence, KIIT brings to the WTUN a commitment not only to the teaching and development of its 40,000 students but its central mission of social responsibility”
The WTUN’s diverse membership is united by a commitment to the inclusive advancement of sustainable scientific and technology teaching and research; each demonstrating a commitment to truly equitable innovation for the benefit of people and place.
On becoming a member of the WTUN, Dr Saranjit Singh, Vice Chancellor, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology said “KIIT Deemed University is delighted to enter into the partnership with the World Technology University Network (WTUN), marking our official membership in this prestigious network of universities. The collaboration heralds exciting prospects for global mobility. We intend to nurture a sense of global citizenship by advancing research and innovation. Together with WTUN and its esteemed members, our collective mission is to confront global challenges head-on through research, knowledge dissemination, and innovative solutions. Our focus on sustainable technology and commitment to equity will pave the way for a brighter and more sustainable future.”
Read the full announcement here to learn more about KIIT: https://www.wtu-n.net/2024/06/the-wtun-welcomes-kiit/
WTUN News:
- Learn more about our member, Atlantic Technological University, the next in our series of Member in the Spotlight posts. Read the full profile here.
WTUN Members ONLY:
- The WTUN will mark International Women in Engineering Day 2024 on Wednesday 26th June at 2pm (GMT +1). This year’s INWED theme is ‘Enhanced by Engineering’. Register now to attend the live webinar.
We will be joined by colleagues from across the network. Please see below our lineup of speakers:
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- Dr Karin Nachbagauer, Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Topic: Intercultural Female Collaboration (International Summer Academy in Engineering for Women) - Dr Rohayanti Hassan, Associate Professor and Quality and Strategy Manager, Faculty of Computing, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Topic: Waterfall versus Agile Software Project Management: The Challenges of Women Software Engineers - Dr Rardchawadee Silapunt, Associate Professor, Department of Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
Topic: Moo-ving Forward: Revolutionizing Diary Estrus Detection with KomilO - Dr Sirirat T. Rattanachan, Associate Professor, School of Ceramic Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology
Topic: Revolutionizing Bone Surgery with Customized Calcium Phosphate Bone Augmentation
- Dr Karin Nachbagauer, Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
News from our Members:
Africa:
Women’s University in Africa, Zimbabwe
- Interested in getting to know more about the research that takes place at WUA? Scroll through some of the short abstracts of research projects undertaken by colleagues at WUA. Here you’ll find projects from the Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Management, Entrepreneurial Development Studies and Information. Read through the projects here.
Asia:
King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand
- Two KMUTT researchers celebrate receiving the WTUN Exchange Programme funding to undertake research projects with colleagues across the network. Both Dr Patcharawat Charoen-amornkitt and Dr Duangradee Kositgittiwog Kongkitkul will be visiting the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria. Read KMUTT’s announcement here.
Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, India
- HITS celebrates rankings in Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024 for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) achievements. HITS ranked in SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation; SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy; SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production and SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals. Read the full story here.
- HITS congratulates their students who placed first in the WTUN Student Competition 2024. Team ‘Neel Gendh – Water Balls’ placed first for their ‘one solution to clean water and its transportation over long distances’. Read HITS’ announcement here and watch the team’s short video presentation of their idea here.
Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan
- Watch ‘SIT Lab’, a series of videos sharing the cutting-edge research taking place at SIT. The collection includes videos presenting research projects such as protecting the world’s infrastructure, visualising the health of red blood cells, and a robot that can move freely in soft ground on the moon. Each video is between 3-5 minutes long. Watch the full collection of videos here.
Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand
- SUT ranks highly in the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2024. They achieved high ranks in the following Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 1 No Poverty, SDG 2 Zero Hunger, SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy. Read the full story here.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
- UTM publishes their Issue 5 of UTM Highlights which shares the latest news and stories from the UTM campus. This issue includes news of UTM’s top rankings in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024 for Sustainable Development Goal 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. Read the issue here.
North America:
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Canada
- Hear from 13 women who joined SAIT’s ‘Women Building Futures’ 17 week introductory program which prepares women with the skills, certifications, experience, and confidence to begin a career in the construction trades. Traditionally male-dominated workforces, this course supports women to forge paths in areas such as welding, carpentry, and plumbing. Read the full story here.
South America:
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
- Want to know more about the exciting research going on at UFRN? Visit their website page dedicated to reports sharing research projects and breakthroughs from colleagues. Stories include patenting technology which improves the extraction of lithium which is used in the production of smartphones, electric cars and medicines and an investigation into the genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease. Visit their webpage to read the full research stories here.
Europe:
Atlantic Technological University, Ireland
- ATU is hosting a conference on ‘Navigating Transformation in Higher Education’ on 3rd and 4th September 2024, both on ATU’s Galway Campus and online. The conference is aimed at those working and studying in Higher Education and will discuss the impact of digital transformation in teaching and learning, with a special focus on Virtual Learning Environments and Artificial Intelligence. The conference is accepting abstract submissions until 5 July. Find out more about the conference here.
- Joined by Sligo Council in Ireland, ATU is launching a transformative project which will provide horticulture and tillage farmers with innovative, digital tools and solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and enhance sustainability. Agriculture, a cornerstone of Irish culture and economy, accounted for 38.4% of emissions in 2022 and faces challenges such as weather variability and soil degradation. Read the full story here or watch this short video explaining the project.
Technische Universität Ilmeanu, Germany
- TU Ilmenau and the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment have presented the results of an international research project investigating the risk and crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the key takeaways is that scientists were rated as credible sources in their statements more than national governments, providing valuable insights for the communication strategies of governments and authorities. Read the full story here.
University of Bradford, United Kingdom
- Researchers at UOB are unravelling mysteries from how the ancient Mayan civilization mined material to make their famous fool’s gold mirrors to working with American Institutions to improve methods for identifying submerged landscapes offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The first project includes utilising non-invasive techniques to extract a unique ‘chemical fingerprint’ whilst the second works to integrate indigenous tribal communities during all phases of research and developing an open-access online short course in submerged landscape archaeology. Read more about the work to solve the mystery of the Mayan mirrors here and the work to help identify submerged landscapes on Gulf of Mexico here.
- UOB’s 10th annual International Master’s Summer School (IMSS) took place recently. The programme was hosted by the School of Management and attended by 200 participants from across the world to discuss international collaboration to address climate change covering topics such as circular economy and renewable energy. Read the full story here.
Australia
University of Newcastle, Australia
- Not only are microplastics difficult to detect, but their impact is significant. Scientists at UON team with Samoan scientists to better understand the problem in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific region contributes as little as 1.3% of the world’s plastic pollution but suffers some of the highest recorded quantities of floating plastics worldwide. Read more about this project here.
- Researchers at UON look into the ripple effect of drought. Utilising technology to provide farmers with the tools they need to plan and prepare for droughts, and support their mental health and resilience, UON aims to support the communities impacted by drought through multidisciplinary treatments. Read the full story here.
To discuss joining the Network please contact the WTUN Development Manager
Denise Whitehead
Email: wtun@bradford.ac.uk