As part of the implementation of the 2024 Postgraduate Lecturer Grant Program (Dokar), the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Brawijaya (FTUB) collaborated with Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) Malaysia. This collaboration was carried out to organize a joint conference as part of the Dokar program. Preparations began with a coordination meeting via Zoom on April 26, 2024.

The two-day conference, held on September 10 and 11, 2024, was part of the larger event titled The 8th World Engineering, Science and Technology Congress (ESTCON). Within this event, one of the key sessions related to civil engineering was the International Conference on Smart Cities (ICSC 2024), held at the Sabah International Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

FTUB’s involvement as a co-host of this event was clearly visible with the placement of Universitas Brawijaya’s logo on various event materials such as banners, posters, and presentations. As a co-host, FTUB also submitted 11 scientific papers presented during the conference sessions, meeting the requirements as a co-organizer.

The FTUB delegation consisted of eight lecturers who participated in the presentations. These lecturers included Dr. Eng. Ir. Yatnanta Padma Devia, ST, MT, who served as the head of the Dokar team, along with senior lecturers such as Ir. Eko Andi Suryo, Ph.D., ASEAN Eng, and Ir. Kartika Puspa Negara, Ph.D. They brought various research topics in the field of civil engineering to be discussed in this academic forum.

In addition to presenting papers, two FTUB lecturers were also appointed as moderators in several parallel sessions. Ir. Eko Andi Suryo, Ph.D., and Ir. Achmad Wicaksono, Ph.D., IPU, served as chairmen, leading discussions in several important sessions attended by academics from various countries.

FTUB’s success was further highlighted when one of their lecturers, Dr. Eng. Ir. Eva Arifi, ST, MT, won the award for “Best Presenter” at the conference. This award became a proud achievement for the UB team at the international event.

At the end of the event, the Civil Engineering Department of FTUB received an award as a co-host of the conference. The award was received by Ir. Eko Andi Suryo, Ph.D., IPU, ASEAN Eng, who also serves as the Head of the Civil Engineering Department at FTUB.

Aside from the main agenda, FTUB also took advantage of this opportunity to conduct academic sharing with the Civil Engineering Department of UTP. The meeting discussed plans to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), prepare a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between faculties, and establish an Implementation Agreement (IA) for future joint conferences.

This academic discussion was attended by UTP representatives, including Assoc. Prof. Ir. Dr. Hisham bin Mohamad, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, along with Ts Dr. Teh Hee Min and Niraku Rosmawati Ahmad. This collaboration is expected to strengthen the relationship between UB and UTP in future research and educational activities.