U21 Activities at UNNC – Annual Report 2015/16
1.U21 Summer School (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, July 2016, Shanghai)
This event was attended by student Yiting He and Dr Bencan Tang, both from the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering (FoSE). An appositely appointed panel selected Yiting from a long list of deserving applicants. The two UNNC representatives spent 15 days in Shanghai, learning and networking with students and researchers from the U21 network. This was also an excellent opportunity for one of our researchersto establish professional links with colleagues of another U21 research-intensive university in China, preparing the ground for possible future grant applications to national funding bodies.
2. U21 Undergraduate Conference 2016 (Technológico de Monterrey, 10-16 July 2016 – Monterrey, Mexico)
NUBSstudentSylvia Sil Wei OOI represented UNNC at this prestigious event, together with two students from our Malaysia and UK campuses. The theme for 2016 was “A global perspective on ageing societies”. Sylvia was chosen competitively and presented “An analysis of Chinese elderly’s wellbeingthrough their use of an application program”. You can see the video of all student presentations, including hers, HERE.
Not only did Sylvia take part in an intellectually stimulating event, presenting an original research project and participating in exciting team-building activities, but she also represented UNNC with honour.In Sylvia’s words: “Working along with brilliant students and academicians from all over the world was an eye opening experience and a lifetime opportunity!”
3. U21 Climate U21 Workshop “Informing Climate Action 2016” (University of Maryland, 3-4 May 2016, Washington D.C., U.S.A)
At this event,UNNC was represented by Dr Faith Chan, from the Department of Geographical Sciences (FoSE). Dr Chan’s research and publications are directly related to a range of issues connected with climate change (such as floods and environmental risks etc.)
The workshop aimed at developing a working paper on how universities and research organizations can effectively contribute to the implementation of the Paris agreement. The academic convenors for the programme were Professor Lennart Olsson of Lund University and from the University of Maryland, Professor AnandPatwardhan and Associate Professor Nate Hultman. The outcomes were fed into the Climate Action 2016 Summit held on May 5-6 in Washington, D.C. This high-level summit was convened by the UN Secretary General, World Bank, Compact of Mayors, We Mean Business, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the Global Environment Facility, and the University of Maryland. Additional details about the summit are available HERE. Participants in the workshop also contributed to the Climate Action Forum, which was the designated open conference linked to the Climate Action 2016 Summit.
Dr Chan’s contribution to the workshop werehisresearch findings on climate adaptations and flood risk management, particularly in East Asian coastal areas. He brought back a wealth of contacts useful in building research partnerships and consortia, which he is happy to share with UNNC relevant research groups (i.e. IAPS and FoSE)”.
4. U21 Librarian Group Summit and University Library Pioneer Conference (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, July 3-5, 2016, Shanghai)
This first meeting of its kind was co-ordinated by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It aimed to throw light on the developing trends of university libraries. The theme was “Academic Libraries: Going Global, Going Open”. Participants also took part in the celebrations of the 120th anniversary of the host university.
UNNC sponsored Mr Edward Wu, Executive Director, Campus Services, and Ms May Yan, Director of Library, Research and Learning Resources. They shared practices and developments in academic libraries and discussedcutting-edge issues and topics, establishing contacts with Chinese and international colleagues in the process. This was a great opportunity for professional development, showing the commitment of the U21 network to keeping senior managers and administrators abreast ofinnovation in their respective fields.
5. Early Career Researcher Workshop – “Big Data at the heart of 21st century research”.
The Early Career Researcher workshops are the genesis of the Research Leaders' Group, which strives to use the U21 network for the benefit of U21's young researchers.
Each workshop's main aim is to encourage international networking; the workshops also tackle career developmental topics such as grantmanship and journal editing. The series has a focus on contemporary problems and engages faculty from a range of relevant disciplines in three main areas: 1.Biological Sciences (including Medical Sciences); 2.Physical Sciences and 3.Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
In 2016, this event took place at the University of Edinburgh. With the help of the Graduate School, UNNC selected Dr Ahmed Elamin, Assistant Professor in Structural Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering.
Universitas 21 (U21) is a global network of research-intensive universities from several continents committed to high-quality Research, Educational Innovation, and Student Experience. For further information, please see . The members of the network are listed at .
The UNNC U21 Coordinator is Dr Rosaria Franco (PhD) ()