Join us for the first webinar in our 2023-24 WTUN Exchange Programme Speaker series.
Throughout the series, we will be hosting webinars with participants of our 2022-23 Exchange Programme as they reflect on their experience, the connections and collaborations formed, and future plans following their exchange via World Technology Universities Network. We aim to highlight the impact of these partnerships and inter-network collaboration. Each speaker is also invited to deliver a short presentation on their current research focus.
? Date: Wednesday 24 January 2024
⏲ Time: 12:000-13:00 (GMT)
? Speakers:Dr Ammar AlBalushi, Head of Faculty of Business Management at Majan University College, joined by Dr Mullika Sungsanit, Vice Rector of Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at Suranaree University of Technology
Open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students from WTUN member institutions the WTUN Hackathon for Climate Action took place in November 2023.
The Hackathon challenged students to collaborate with peers across the world to tackle and issue of their choosing related toClimate Action. In the spirit of the WTUN’s commitment to the ethos of global citizenship, students from different WTUN member institutions, subject disciplines, countries and time zones were divided into teams to work together to address the UN Sustainability Development Goals:#13 Climate Action and #17 Partnerships for the goals. Teams collaborated to conceivenew ideas and solutions, practicing innovation and entrepreneurship with real-life applications.
Watch: the Pre-Event, featuring Professor Shirley Congdon, Chair WTUN and Vice-Chancellor, University of Bradford, Dr David Harding, Suranaree University of Technology and Dr Suzanne Smit, University of Bradford, can be watched back here
Expert advice and guidance
The WTUN Hackathon for Climate Action 2023 took place online and over an intense and continuous 48 hour period. During this time we had a team of experts and mentors, volunteers from WTUN member institutions, delivering focussed masterclasses, and providing 24/7 mentoring and guidance. With this support, teams learned how to develop an initial idea through to the development of a final product or service.
Seven expert speakers delivered live masterclasses covering topics related to identification of a problem and initial idea, design thinking and ideation, value proposition, stakeholder engagement, impact assessment, business model development, potential funding opportunities and pitch preparation and presentation skills.
A big thank you to:
Professor Paul Thorning, University of Bradford
Mr Padraic Lynch, Atlantic Technological University
Mr Lars Andersson, Suranaree University of Technology
Mr Paul McCusker, Atlantic Technological University
Dr Mullika Sungsanit, Suranaree University of Technology
Dr Isobel Cunningham, Atlantic Technological University
Una Quinn, Atlantic Technological University
and to the following for taking the time to pre-record a masterclass for the event:
Dr Patipan Saelim, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
Dr Martin Schoch, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
Dr Gerald Weisz, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
In the final 2 hours of the Hackathon, teams were brought together one last time, for a live Pitch Event, where each team had just 5 minutes to present their idea, followed by 5 minutes of questions from the panel of judges.
Thank you to this year’s judges:
Dr Mullika Sungsanit, Vice Rector of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Suranaree University of Technology and WTUN Operational Board Chair.
Dr David Spicer, Professor of Small Business Development and Organisational Studies andDirector of Business and Community Engagement at University of Bradford.
Dr Klaus Zeppenfeld, Professor at the University of Applied Sciences and Art Dortmund and WTUN Lifetime Fellow.
6 teams pitched their product or service and the judges were thoroughly impressed with the quality, ingenuity, innovation and creativity on display. We have summarised the final pitches below:
Hacks/products/services were developed by 6 brilliant and dedicated teams addressing;
Climate Action
Food Waste
Air Quality and ‘agro-preneurial’ intervention
Disaster management and AI imaging
Marine Pollution
Circular Economy
Energy consumption
The Winners!
The winning teams produced innovative solutions to accessing clean air, reducing food waste and recycling clothing towards a circular economy. The winners of the WTUN Hackathon for Climate Action 2023 are:
First prize of £2,000 is awarded to;
Team 12, ‘Green Titans‘
Stefanie Kölbl, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Shaik Althaf, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
R.S. Bhumishaa Ratheesh, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
Emmanuel Kamoru Umoru, University of Bradford
Green Titans pitched an app which would support and incentivise the general public to track, reduce, and improve their household consumption.
Click the below image to view the winning deck:
Second Prize of £1,000 is awarded to;
Team 10, ‘The Cracker‘
Khush Agarwal, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
Ruby Jain, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Charles Ogun, University of Bradford
Ebrahim Aliyou Wudu, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
The Cracker pitched a service which would support key industry partners, such as restaurants, to sustainably manage organic waste, promoting a circular economy.
Third Prize of £750 is awarded to;
Team 29, ‘Greeneriee‘
Siddhant Deshpande, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Roghan G, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
K. ThaniyasubhalaxmiKanthasami, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
KanraweeSisandsaup, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
Click the below image to view the winning deck:
Greeneriee pitched a product providing local fishermen with access to vital data and insights to adjust feeding schedules through a product of sensors installed within the aquaculture of their surroundings.
Congratulations to our winning teams!
Thank you to all of the people who made this event possible.
If you have enjoyed this experience and are looking for other opportunities to participate in WTUN activities don’t forget;
Following the meeting of WTUN members for the 8th Annual WTUN Congress, Chair and Vice Chancellor of the University of Bradford, UK, Shirley Congdon reflects:
“This year’s congress allowed the WTUN members to share their solutions to the fundamental challenge of the modern world; Sustainability. Sustainability as it relates to research, innovation, education, technologies, university campuses and their operations and how entrepreneurship can offer more rapid and impactful ways of enabling a fair and just transition to net zero. WTUN members are united and committed to ensuring the next generations view sustainability with the broad landscape of equality, diversity and inclusion to act so that no groups are left behind on the sustainability journey.”
On behalf of the World Technology Universities Network, we extend our thanks to all involved at this year’s hosts, TU Ilmenau, for their efforts in ensuring the three-day event was a success.
From the hosts, TU Ilmenau:
TU Ilmenau discussed sustainable future with technical universities from all over the world
At the invitation of the Technical University ofIlmenau, technical universities from all over the world discussed the topic “Sustainable Future: Global Trends and the Role and Responsibility of Technical Universities” for three days at the annual conference of the World Technologies Universities Network (WTUN), an international association of technical universities, in Erfurt. The conference theme coincides with TU Ilmenau’s theme year “Sustainability”. The keynote address was given by the renowned Potsdam climate impact researcher Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf.
From October 9 to 11, 50 participants from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America met at the World Technologies Universities Conference to explore global trends for sustainable development and discuss the role and responsibility of universities in addressing the complex issues of our time. What is the role of technical universities in the shift toward greater sustainability? What are the particular challenges they face? What innovations are helping to educate tomorrow’s scientists, engineers, and citizens? How does the focus on sustainability influence innovation and entrepreneurship?
Participants at the conference presented best practices from their institutions: best practices and successful examples of incorporating social responsibility, sustainable entrepreneurship and a culture of global citizenship into their communities. The conference organizer, Prof. Jens Müller, Vice President for International Relations and Transfer at TU Ilmenau, was extremely pleased with the way the three days of discussions went: “The conference presentations and the lively discussions showed that we face very comparable challenges regardless of country and continent of origin and that we can learn from each other on many points.”
The keynote speaker at the conference was Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. In his English-language presentation, “The Climate Crisis in the Public Debate of Science, Opponents and Populists,” he argued that science must not give up on rejecting misrepresentations and communicating data-based findings on climate change and its drivers. For example, he showed how selective omission of temperature data derives false findings that downplay the importance of man-made influence.
The World Technology Universities Network aims to empower future generations to meet the challenges of the 21st century through cutting-edge research with direct benefits for people and society. The universities conduct joint research projects, maintain regular exchanges with each other and strive to promote society’s understanding of the tasks, work and research fields of technical universities worldwide.
During the World Technology Universities Congress 2022 hosted by Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand, a group of student volunteers interviewed delegates to learn more about their institutional motivations for membership of the WTUN and what they hoped to achieve during WTUC 2022.
The World Technology Universities Network is pleased to announce the inaugural WTUN Annual Lecture.
Coinciding with the WTUN Congress, the first of the WTUN’s Annual Lecture’s will be delivered by Professor Stefan Rahmstorf, Head of Earth System Analysis at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)
Title: The climate crisis in the public debate between science, contrarians and populists
“The public climate debate is often completely detached from what is known and debated among experts. It is strongly influenced by targeted disinformation, well-paid lobbying, media with political agendas often owned by super-rich people, populist politicians and elderly gentlemen desperately defending their worldview against inconvenient findings.
There is thus a huge disconnect between the expert discussion and the public debate on climate science and climate solutions. With thirty years of experience both in advancing climate science and communicating it to the public at large, I will present some observations and examples from both fronts, ranging from paleoclimate reconstructions (the ‘hockey stick’ curves) to heat pumps.”
Location: World Technology Universities Congress hosted by TU Ilmenau, Erfurt. Date: Tuesday 10 October 2023 Time: 11:00 – 12:00
Biography
Stefan Rahmstorf is Co-Head of Research Department on Earth System Analysis of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Professor of Physics of the Oceans at the University of Potsdam.
A physicist and physical oceanographer by training, Stefan Rahmstorf’s research focusses on paleoclimate, ocean circulation, sea level, extreme weather events and Earth System modeling.
After working at the New Zealand Oceanographic Institute and the Institute of Marine Science in Kiel, Stefan Rahmstorf joined PIK in 1996. He holds a professorship of Physics of the Oceans at the University of Potsdam since 2000. From 2004 to 2013 Stefan Rahmstorf advised the German government as a member of its Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU).
He is not only an outstanding and highly cited scientist but also a sought-after science communicator and speaker, winning e.g. the Climate Communication Prize of the American Geophysical Union in 2017. He co-founded the award-winning Realclimate and KlimaLounge blogs and is Europe’s climate scientist with the most Twitter followers (2020).
For 2023, undergraduate and postgraduate students from WTUN member institutions were invited to form a multidisciplinary team of up to four members and submit their team idea and/or project to the WTUN Student Competition.
The theme was INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP FOR THE 21ST CENTURY and students were given the following challenge:
“The CHALLENGE: Can you form an interdisciplinary team to come together to address one (or more) of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals?
We welcome all undergraduate and postgraduate students of our member universities to enter WTUN’s annual student competition.
We are seeking new and innovative solutions to address the goals, and we invite project proposals from student teams (undergraduate, postgraduate or a combination and preferably multi-disciplinary).”
The assessment panel was thoroughly impressed by the student proposals and videos and the final results were very close.
The winners
First place
We are delighted to announce our 2023 winner is Team ‘Umbrella Team’ from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
Students: Gabriel Sebastião do Nascimento Neto, João Pedro Araújo Ramalho, Kiev Luiz Freitas Guedes and João Igor Ramos de Lima.
Congratulations!
In addition to cash prizes awarded to the top three teams, first place also includes an invitation to deliver their winning idea online as part of the World Technology Universities Network’s Annual Congress programme in October.
Second place
In second place was Team ‘Team GoodDay’ from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand.
Well done!
Students: Miss Thamida Parhootit, Mr. Chayanan Srirat, Mr. Pattarapol Sangsunee and Miss Chanikarn Swami.
Third place
In third place was Team ‘Yet in the Hoenhain‘ from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
Nice work!
Students: Yasmim Kamila da Costa Ribeiro, Israel Soares de Castro Filho, Victor Bruno Filgueira Gurgel dos Santos and Gabriel Mendonça De Queiroz
Congratulations to all 19 teams who took part this year.
We wish you all the best and hope to see you taking part in future WTUN competitions and activities.
The eighth World Technology Universities Congress (WTUC2023) will be hosted by Technische Universität (TU) Ilmenau 9-11 October 2023
The Conference will take place in the heart of Germany in the historic city of Erfurt, capital of the State of Thuringia.
Congress Overview: The 2023 Congress will explore global trends via our diverse speakers and explore the role and responsibility of HE institutions in tackling the most complex issues of our time.
What part do technology universities play in the sustainability transition? If we accept that the world needs cutting edge research to address the complex environmental and societal challenges that it poses; to what extent should technology universities be held responsible for the influence and impact, they have in the development of sustainable practices?
What are the unique challenges facing technology universities? What innovations are happening educate the tomorrows workforce of scientists, engineers, and citizens. How does the focus on sustainability influence innovation and entrepreneurship? What factors will inform student decision making and how can HEIs respond to an increasing demand (and scrutiny) to demonstrate their commitment to living the values of sustainability? We invite speakers to demonstrate best practice and successful examples of embedding social responsibility, sustainable entrepreneurship, and a culture of global citizenship amongst their communities.
Delegates are invited to reflect, share and challenge on a range issues related to sustainability, including the impact institutions have on their communities and places, the role of the UN SDGs in institutional strategic plans and the incorporation of green policies, sustainable campus master-planning (green-washing or genuine commitment), embedding sustainability in curriculum, teaching and learning; embedding social responsibility and a culture of local and global citizenship across communities and disciplines.
WTUC2023 sub-themes:
Supporting Entrepreneurship – The Fast Way for Transformation
Sustainability in Education – Creating Awareness for Future Leaders
The Sustainable Campus as the Basis for Credibility
Strategies for Sustainability Communications
Sustainability in Research – the Leading Role and Responsibilities of Higher Education Institutions
Watch the replay of the World Technology Universities Network’s event for this year’s International Women in Engineering Day 2023 (InWED 2023)
This year’s InWED theme “Making Safety Seen” and in celebration and recognition of women in engineering, this webinar featured a sharing session by prominent speakers from Science and Engineering of member universities from both Networks, hosted by expert colleagues from the University of Bradford.
We heard from seven speakers across the two-hour session. The programme featured speakers specialising in Architectural, Environmental, Biological, Chemical and Mechanical Engineering from Bahrain, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand & the UK.
Name and position: Dr. May Alsaffar, Assistant Professor/Chairperson of the Department of Interior Design, Ahlia University
Title: ‘Towards Safe and Comfortable Built Environments: Human Factors and thoughtful Architecture’
Name and position:Dr.NaruemonIntarat , Lecturer of Mechanical Engineering, Thaksin University
Title: Human Factors Influencing Women in Engineering
Name and position: Dr Maria Katsikogianni, Assistant Professor in Biomaterials Chemistry, University of Bradford
Title: ‘Harnessing nano-patterning and incorporation of antimicrobials to manufacture orthopaedic trauma implants that resist microbial colonisation ‘
Name and position: Assoc. Prof. Dr.KwanchanokViravaidya-Pasuwat, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
Title: ‘Transforming Cell-Based Therapy: Utilizing Automated Cell Processing Systems for Enhanced Safety and Efficiency’
Name and position: Assoc. Prof. Dr. NetnapitTantemsapya, Associate Professor, School of Environmental Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology
Title: Laboratory Safety in Academic & Schools in Thailand; Current status, challenges, and future directions
For ATU-Net:
Name and position: Assoc. Prof. Dr.Norhayati Abdullah, Associate Director, UTM International Kuala Lumpur & Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Title:‘Pivoting Innovative Solutions – Role of Women Wastewater Engineers’
Name and position: Professor Mahendrawathi , Professor and Head of Enterprise Systems Laboratory, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia
Title: ‘The Key Role of People and Process in Ensuring Workplace Safety and Security.’
Should you have any further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the secretariat at wtun@bradford.ac.uk
For details of upcoming all WTUN Webinars click here
“This year’s congress allowed the WTUN members to share their solutions to the fundamental challenge of the modern world; Sustainability. Sustainability as it relates to research, innovation, education, technologies, university campuses and their operations and how entrepreneurship can offer more rapid and impactful ways of enabling a fair and just transition to net zero. WTUN members are united and committed to ensuring the next generations view sustainability with the broad landscape of equality, diversity and inclusion to act so that no groups are left behind on the sustainability journey.”
Name and position: 
Environmental Engineering, 
Name and position: Assoc. Prof. 
Name and position: Professor