Tomorrow Today

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organizing seminars, hosting workshops for enhancing capacity for

professional peace building and by conducting research and education

(USM’s Research and Education for Peace Unit).

Sustainability infusion in curriculum, research and networking

In addition to promoting ongoing sustainability initiatives, Penang’s

Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE-Penang@usm) has been focusing

on a variety of new projects, such as:

White coffin campaign

This student-led, on-going initiative builds awareness regarding the

use of polystyrene-based food containers (‘white coffins’), the long-

term use of which is environmentally unsustainable and may cause

cancer. This programme has successfully discontinued the use of

polystyrene and reduced the use of plastics on campus, and has been

emulated in six other local universities.

Sustainable Penang initiative

USM works closely with other community organisations such as the

Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute on issues such

as urban development, heritage conservation and sustainable living.

‘Wormi-Compost’ project

Using technology enhanced by USM researchers, this successful

community-based project utilizes waste from rice paddies, cow dung

and other biodegradable village waste to produce quality compost

which is then either sold or used as manure for organic farming,

resulting in increased income generation.

ProSPER.Net

projects

RCE-Penang leads two major international projects in collaboration

with the ‘Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education and

Research Network’ of UNU-IAS.

(i) Development of generic modules and training materials for

sustainability

: given that the focus and emphasis of sustainabil-

ity may differ from place to place, the purpose of this project is

to research and develop generic training modules for

ProSPER.Net

members. USM is collaborating with 18 other universities to develop

a generic module entitled

Education for Sustainable Development:

Issues and Practices for Global Application

s. The module is currently

being refined through pilot tests to ensure its wider applicability.

(ii) Alternative university appraisal project

: USM has

initiated an alternative ‘rating’ system for universities,

which is being tested in Malaysia and four neighbouring

countries. This scheme places equal importance on quan-

titative key performance indicators and key intangible

performance indicators. USM is also involved in a similar

but larger project, ‘alternate university appraisal’, which

is part of the

ProSPER.Net

programme. This assess-

ment is based mainly on a self-awareness questionnaire,

which seeks information on ESD activities in the areas

of governance, education, research and consultancy,

outreach and transformation.

USM as an accelerated programme for excellence

Since 2008, USM has embarked on a number of new

initiatives and activities, including:

Blue Ocean Strategy

USM believes science, technology and innovation

are instrumental in promoting sustainability. Such

approaches have been part of advancing human civili-

zation throughout history. Therefore, USM has adopted

the Blue Ocean Strategy to “realign itself in the trans-

formation process to move into unchartered space and

untapped markets” by focusing on radical resource

efficiency, renewable energy, whole system design,

industrial ecology, nanotechnology, bio-innovation,

poverty alleviation and peaceful coexistence.

University capacity-building

In 2009, USM developed a sustainability roadmap

build capacity at individual, institutional and systemic

levels to produce graduates who are equipped to address

the sustainability challenges facing their communities and

the world at large. The roadmap focuses primarily on the

UN-publicized sectors of water, energy, health, agricul-

ture and biodiversity (WEHAB). Three very closely-related

cross-sector issues are also given careful consideration:

climate change and disaster risk management, population

and poverty, and production and consumption issues.

USM’s new Masters in Development Practice (MDP),

to be introduced in 2011, will feature this integrated

approach to sustainability capacity-building. The roadmap

also suggests developing hands-on piloting and proto-

typing experiences for students and staff alike to ‘walk

the talk’ of living sustainably. These experiences could

include energy and water conservation, campus ecosystem

management and community outreach to villages, indus-

try, NGOs and policymakers. For example, USM’s Centre

for Global Sustainability Studies recently submitted a

policy brief on sustainability to the Malaysian government.

Centre for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS)

Even with good intentions, a situation can arise where

sustainability promotion is seen as in everybody’s interest,

but as nobody’s responsibility. USM’s CGSS was estab-

lished in 2009 to circumvent this hurdle. The centre works

with all other sections of the university and its stakehold-

ers to promote sustainable development, paying particular

A very successful medical innovation that has grassroots applications

Image: USM