PENANG, 12 December 2017 – “I understand that the purpose of a conference is to produce papers and which will be translated into research papers, but we have to pursue further by translating the results of the research and creating a balance between impact and input factors,” said the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Professor Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail at the Regional Conference on Materials and ASEAN Microscopy Conference (RCM & AMC) 2017.

According to Asma, the University strongly encourages collaborative work between institutions and industry-academicians collaborations and also in thinking about the Return on Investments (ROI) from such efforts.

RCM & AMC 2017 is jointly organised by the USM School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering (SMMRE) and Microscopy Society Malaysia (MSM) and is supported by the ASEAN University Network/Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network (AUN/SEED-Net) and Japan Supporting University Consortium (JSUC).

According to the AUN/SEED-Net representative, Takashima Jun, this conference is the most important activity for AUN/SEED-Net and it opens doors to researchers and young researchers to do some fine-tuning in their research.

RCM & ACM 2017 was attended by 270 researchers from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Japan, Singapore and Philippines and with about 170 abstracts compiled at the conference.

Also present were the Vice-Chancellor’s spouse, Professor Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Zakaria; member of USM Board of Governors, Professor Dr. Zainal Ariffin Mohd Ishak; USM Engineering Campus Director, Professor Dr. Nor Azazi Zakaria and Dean of SMMRE, Professor Dr. Zuhailawati Hussain.

Text: Nor Rafizah Md. Zain