Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

Biodegradable replacement for the ‘white coffin’ of polystyrene, supplied by USMImage: USMoffer a joint medical curriculum that combines KLE’srigour of medical training with USM’s problembasedlearning approach. The inaugural class willcommence with the intake of 100 medical studentsfrom Malaysia in 2010 who will help alleviate doctorshortages in Malaysia. Students from Bangladesh andthe Maldives will also benefit, gaining medical trainingat an affordable cost.(iv) USM e-motorcycle: USM’s engines laboratory hasdeveloped an electric motorcycle that is environmentallyfriendly and cheap to run: 0.5 cents/km for thee-bike as opposed to 1.5 cents for gasoline models ofsimilar capacity in Malaysia. This short-range (~100km) vehicle can be recharged from any standard 240VAC wall outlet. USM engineers are currently workingwith DRB Hicom to commercialize the vehicle.attention to the needs of the disempowered community while operatingat the nexus between the scientific world and the policy community.One of the first priorities of the centre was to coordinate the developmentof the sustainability roadmap, which was completed in 2009.Currently CGSS is involved in a series of ‘roadshows’ to catalyse theroadmap’s effective implementation while concurrently realigning andbuilding synergies among the abundant sustainability-related initiativesalready initiated at USM, as well as those of surrounding communities,both nationally and internationally.The centre offers multi-disciplinary training and a postgraduateprogramme, MDP, in collaboration with Columbia University, NewYork. CGSS also conducts cluster-based research, publishes extensivelyon the topic of sustainability, and promotes strategic network activitiesin areas such as sustainability in higher education, science-technologyinnovations for sustainability, climate change, biofuels and food security,and front-end technologies for sustainable development.High value flagships 11The following four flagship initiatives are examples of USM’s capabilitiesto deliver on sustainability promises:(i) Archaeological windfall: a USM team from the Centre for GlobalArchaeological Research, has unearthed stone tools at Bukit Bunuh,Perak, Malaysia dating back 1.83 million years, older than the 1.5million-year-old hand axes previously found in Africa. Once fullyconfirmed, this discovery will replace the ‘out of Africa’ theory ofhuman origin by what might be called the ‘out of Malaysia’ theoryfor the oldest evidence of human presence. It will also shed light onthe history of sustainable living as practised by communities in thispart of the world over many millennia.(ii) Rubber genome unveiled: USM’s Centre for Chemical Biologyannounced on 27 October 2009 the decoding of the rubber treegenome (Hevea brasiliensis). 12 This discovery has far-reachingimplications for rubber production, disease resistance, timber,pharmaceuticals and other biotechnology applications for rubber,Malaysia’s second-largest cash crop. As the science progresses, thiswill also directly contribute to the income of small rubber holders.(iii) USM-Karnataka Lingayat Education University (KLE)collaboration: with the emergence of new diseases and risingpopulation and poverty levels, health care has become a crucialsustainability issue. Therefore, USM’s School of Medical Sciencesand KLE (Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College) have partnered toThe way forwardA higher educational institution that opts to live in thepast cannot be an agent of change in an ever-changingworld. It is for this reason that through systematicrealignment of its priorities, curriculum changes, innovativeresearch approaches, networking, RCE activities,and dialogue between the academic community, policymakersand other stakeholders, USM is activelypromoting sustainability.We admit that there are significant barriers, bothperceived and real, in terms of staff awareness, attitudes,expertise and institutional commitment to acceleratingthe sustainability embedding processes at USM. Unlesstransformation takes place in the minds of people first,implementation at the institutional level will be slower.The value of dialogue and awareness building cannotbe overemphasized in this regard. As we move aheadwith our responsibility to serve Malaysia’s knowledgeeconomy, we are also mindful that we must not relinquishour leadership role as the ‘social conscience ofsociety’. We need to deliberately create an organizationalmeans to ensure that this delicate balance betweenacademic and social obligations becomes the norm.We need to continually re-examine our fundamentals,as we strive to address pressing global challenges suchas the implementation of the Millennium DevelopmentGoals, rising population pressures, over-consumptionand the impact of climate change. We have learned thattoday’s universities can no longer afford to be obliviousto the problems faced by the people within our ownshores or in the world beyond our borders.In a world that values economic competitivenessover ethical considerations, USM seeks to balanceeconomic, cultural and environmental integrity usingthe principles and practices of ESD. Exceptional skillwill be needed to create USM’s comparative advantagein articulating a new form of globalization that benefitsfrom socio-cultural heritage.Finally, we have learned that in the life of a university,as in the case of individuals, there comes a pointafter which there is no turning back. In our sustainabilityjourney, USM has reached that point. 13[ 109 ]