MALAYSIA-JAPAN

INTERNATIONAL

INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY (MJIIT)

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI

MALAYSIA (UTM)

KUALA LUMPUR,

Jalan Semarak, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel : 603 2203 1200 Fax : 603 2203 1266 Email : mjiit@ic.utm.my

January ~ February Volume 1/2014

MJIIT Newsletter

MEIJI UNIVERSITY: SHORT TERM VISIT PROGRAM FOR 2013/2014 2

COURTESY CALL ON DATO’ SERI MUHAMMAD NAJIB TUN RAZAK, PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

2

OFFICIAL VISIT : DELEGATION FROM CABINET OFFICE, JAPAN H.E MASAZUMI GOTODA, SENIOR VICE MINISTER

3

PUBLIC LECTURE: THE CHALLENGE OF TOYOTA & THE STORY OF THE SHINKANSEN

3

3RD MJIIT ADVISORY PANEL MEETING 4

NEW DEAN OF MJIIT 4

TENNIS TOURNAMENT : UTM DISTINGUISHED AMBASSADOR’S CUP 4

PUBLIC LECTURE : MANAGING HIGH RELIABILITY ORGANIZATIONS

5

VISIT BY TOCHIGI HIGH SCHOOL, JAPAN 5

MJIIT-KYUSHU UNIVERSITY JOINT WORKSHOP 6

MJIIT LEADERSHIP LECTURE SERIES 8 : JAPAN-MALAYSIA RELATIONS BEYOND THE LOOK EAST POLICY

6

INTRODUCTION TO IKOHZA : BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED SYSTEM AND TECHNOLOGY

7

LIST OF AWARD RECIEPIENTS 8

UPCOMING EVENTS 9

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

I look most like

myself….

when I’m wearing my

black, nerdy

engineering glasses.

Junot Diaz

NEW SEMESTER II,

2013/2014 SESSION

After 3 weeks final break at the end of semester 1, on 10 Feb 2014, all students

have return to their normal life as a student. The

lectures for semester II will run for 14 weeks until 26

May 2014.

Final examination for

Semester II is scheduled to take place between 2nd and

22nd June 2014 The final semester long vacation is from 23rd June until 31st

Aug 2014.

MEIJI UNIVERSITY: SHORT TERM VISIT PROGRAM FOR 2013/2014

In December 2013, a mutual agreement was achieved for the purpose of student attachments to MJIIT from Meiji University. In conjunction with this agreement, 2 students from Meiji University, Mr.

Satoshi Nomoto (undergraduate) and Mr. Hiroki Shibasaki (postgraduate) arrived safely in Malaysia on 13

Feb 2014, after a 4 day delay because of a heavy snow storm that hit Japan on 8 Feb 2014.

The Orientation program for these two exchange students took place on 14 Feb 2014. A detailed

explanation of MJIIT and courses offered was presented by Dr. Ooi Chia Yee, Postgraduate Manager and

Mrs. Norharyani Hamid, Assistant Registrar. This Short Term Visit Program consists of classes taught in English and visit to firms. This program will take place within the period of 7 weeks from 13 February to

30 March 2014.

Page 2 STUDENT AFFAIRS

PUTRAJAYA: 21 FEB 2014, Four Japanese students from the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) based at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) paid a

courtesy call on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at his office here today.

They were led by UTM Distinguished Ambassador at MJIIT Prof. Masahiko Horie and the Dean of MJIIT,

Prof. Datin Dr. Rubiyah Yusof.

The students were Hiroki Shibasaki (pursuing a PhD in Electrical Engineering), Ayaka Kobatake (Masters

in Management of Technology), Shunsuke Watanabe (Masters in Precision Engineering) and Satoshi Nomoto (first degree in Electronic Systems Engineering).

Najib enquired about their studies, the facilities and environment at their campus and their lifestyle in Malaysia.

MJIIT, which is located at UTM in Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur, was launched by Najib on June 1, 2012,

to provide Japanese-style engineering education to young Malaysian and international students.

It was established under an agreement reached between the Japanese and Malaysian governments in

May 2010.

Horie said later that he was looking forward to bringing more Japanese students to visit Najib the next

time, perhaps 40 or 400.

He said Najib, during a visit to Japan in December last year, also discussed the development of the MJIIT with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe .

Abe, he said, had pledged to support the development of the MJIIT with US$1 million (about RM3.30 million) in order to invite 25 ASEAN students to pursue their post-graduate studies there under

scholarship and fellowship beginning September this year. -- BERNAMA

COURTESY CALL ON DATO’ SERI MUHAMMAD NAJIB TUN RAZAK, PRIME

MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

PUBLIC LECTURE:

THE CHALLENGE OF TOYOTA & THE STORY OF THE SHINKANSEN BY PROF. MASAHIKO HORIE, UTM DISTINGUISHED AMBASSADOR

Page 3 MAIN ACTIVITIES

13 February 2014 : Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation is a global company today but in 1950 it was on

the verge of bankruptcy. Its major product was a remodeled army truck that broke down often and sold poorly. Banks refused to provide loans and the company was unable to even pay salaries for a long time.

At that time a senior staff member working his way up from the manufacturing front line, took the initiative to develop a domestic passenger car.

27 February 2014 : A team of ex-military technicians believed they could apply aerospace technology

to create a super express train. They applied streamlined shape designs, a new platform to absorb

vibrations and a new automatic train control system to create the Shinkansen in 1963. The train travelled

at 256km/h and was a revolutionary means of transportation that led to changes in the Japanese lifestyle

and the history of railway.

The lecture was divided into 2 segments where the first one hour is DVD viewing session and after

that, the floor was opened for discussion.

OFFICIAL VISIT:

DELEGATION FROM CABINET OFFICE, JAPAN

H.E MASAZUMI GOTODA

Senior Vice Minister

On 22nd January 2014, a delegation from the Cabinet Office, Japan made an official visit to MJIIT. The visit was led by H.E Mr. Masazumi Gotoda accompanied by Mr. Koji Murakami, Secretary to Vice

Minister, Mr. Toshio Yasuma, Counselor, Mr. Osamu Hoshino, Deputy Counselor and First Secretary from

Embassy of Japan in Malaysia, Mr. Ken Kasai and Mr. Takashi Yokoyama. The main purpose of the visit was to find out more about MJIIT in general and the research conducted at MJIIT.

The meeting started with welcoming remarks delivered by Prof. Ir. Megat Johari bin Megat Mohd Noor, Dean of MJIIT following by a short speech from H.E Mr. Masazumi Gotoda. The briefing about

MJIIT has been presented by Prof. Dr. Takashi Yamamoto, Deputy Dean (Liaison & Internationalization). The program ended with a visit to the Advanced Devices and Materials Engineering Research Lab. (ADME)

and Mechanical Precision Engineering Lab.

3RD MJIIT ADVISORY PANEL MEETING

The MJIIT Advisory Panel Meeting is an annual meeting chaired by the UTM Vice Chancellor and was

attended by the appointed members including UTM Top Management, Ambassador of Japan, Representatives from the Ministries of Education in Malaysia & Japan, from Industry (Malaysia and Japan),

the Japan University Consortium (JUC) and JICA.

The main purpose of this meeting was present the progress of MJIIT for the whole year. The 3rd MJIIT

Advisory Panel Meeting was held on the 15th January 2014 at the Board Meeting Room, Level 17, Menara

Razak to discuss about the progress report of MJIIT for 2013.

Page 4 MAIN ACTIVITIES

On the 31st January 2014, Prof. Ir. Megat Johari bin Megat Mohd Noor completed his term

of service as Dean of MJIIT. Since he took up the

office of dean in April 2011, Prof. Megat has worked tirelessly in pursuit of improving the de-

velopment of MJIIT.

Prof. Datin Dr. Rubiyah Yusof has been

appointed as new Dean of MJIIT effective from February 2014. The handing over ceremony

between Prof. Ir. Megat Johari Megat Mohd Noor

and Prof. Datin Dr. Rubiyah Yusof was held on the 4th February 2014 chaired by Prof. Rose

Alinda Alias, UTM Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic).

NEW DEAN OF MJIIT

TENNIS TOURNAMENT :

UTM DISTINGUISHED AMBASSADOR’S

CUP

17~19th February 2014 : This is a yearly

activity initiated by Prof. Masahiko Horie, UTM Distinguished Ambassador, where the first tournament

was held in September 2013 and Japan Team (Prof. Horie – Dr. Umemiya) won the title.

For year 2014, 7 pairs took part and the cup went to the team of Dr. Muzahidul and Dr. Tareq with 3 wins

in all 3 games.

Page 5 MAIN ACTIVITIES

PUBLIC LECTURE ON MANAGING HIGH RELIABILITY ORGANIZATIONS:

‘’CONCEPT AND PRESCRIPTIONS’’ BY PROF. ROZHAN BIN OTHMAN, MJIIT

“GOING BEYOND ENGINEERING DESIGN” BY MR. NAZARUDDIN JANTAN, PETRONAS EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION

2 January 2014: High Reliability Organizations (HRO) are those that design to be able to avoid crisis, catastrophe and disaster. This is largely because these organizations have to function with a high

level of safety standards and zero tolerance of error. In HRO’s, even small mistakes can lead to major

disasters and loss. Examples of HRO’s include nuclear power plants, oil drilling platforms, air traffic control systems, aircraft carrier and petrochemical plants.

As such, the conventional rules and techniques used in managing the typical organizations are not

sufficient for HRO’s. This lecture presented the theories and techniques often used in managing HRO and insights gained from practices and experience in Malaysia.

VISIT BY TOCHIGI HIGH SCHOOL, JAPAN

On 8 January 2014, ten Tochigi High School students accompanied by two teachers visited MJIIT. The aims of the visit was for students to recognize the importance of English in science and

engineering and to enhance their level of English communication.

After a welcome meeting and briefing on MJIIT by Japanese staff, they had a tour of the facilities

that included Vehicle System Engineering (VSE) and Chemical Processing Engineering (CPE) laboratories.

After the tour another meeting was held with fifteen MJIIT Postgraduate students. After a briefing on Tochigi High School, two groups of Tochigi High School students presented their investigations on

Phosphate in Soil and Nostoc Commune, followed by discussions with MJIIT students.

Page 6 MAIN ACTIVITIES

MJIIT LEADERSHIP LECTURE SERIES 8

JAPAN-MALAYSIA RELATIONS BEYOND THE LOOK EAST POLICY

BY Y. BHG. TAN SRI RAFIDAH AZIZ

Chairperson of Airasia X

Former Minister of International Trade and Industry

The MJIIT Leadership Lecture Series provides a platform for representatives from government and

industry to share their knowledge and experience. These lectures serve to motivate MJIIT students to understand the social, cultural, global and environmental responsibilities of a professional engineer, and

the need for sustainable development as well as managerial and entrepreneurial skills .

Leadership Lecture Series 8 with the title of “Japan-Malaysia Relations Beyond the Look East Policy”

was held on the 20th February 2014 at Main Hall, Menara Razak, UTM Kuala Lumpur. The lecture was delivered by Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.

Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz was the former Minister of International Trade and Industry from 1987 to 2008.

She was a strong supporter of Tun Mahathir’s Look East Policy and visited Japan many times, heading

Trade and Investment missions to invite Japanese companies to invest in Malaysia. In this lecture, she talked about Malaysia-Japan relations under the new dynamics of the regional and global environment and

what she expects from MJIIT for the further development of innovative Malaysia in order to achieve Vision 2020.

MJIIT-KYUSHU UNIVERSITY JOINT WORKSHOP

On the 12th February 2014, a one day Joint Workshop between Kyushu University and MJIIT on

Green Sustainable Society was held at Dewan Jumaah,

UTM Kuala Lumpur. There were three invited speakers and ten postgraduate students from both universities

gave presentations.

During the workshop, the Green Asia students from

Kyushu University were given the opportunity to share and exchange opinion on their current research activities

with MJIIT students.

Page 7 IKOHZA

INTRODUCTION TO IKOHZA :

BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED SYSTEM AND TECHNOLOGY (BIO-IST LAB)

Professor Dr. Tatsuo Kitajima

Head of iKOHZA,

Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT)

Inspired by mechanisms operating in living organisms, “Biologically Inspired System and Technology (BIST) Laboratory” is interesting, developing and demonstrating innovative and advanced technology for

the well-being of mankind. Although there are many approaches for studying the technology that mimics

nature, this research laboratory advances it mostly from a standpoint of system engineering.

The research is focusing on biological systems and technologies, and encompasses an array of

inter-science and engineering discipline in Machine Learning, Computational Neuroscience, Systems Biology & Medicine, Biomimetics, and Optimal Control & Optimization.

The research is not only directed towards modeling and simulation, but also visualization and measurement which are essential methodologies to understand sophisticated complex mechanisms and

regulations in living bodies.

Besides conducting research from principles to applications, the primary objective of the group is to develop infrastructure for interdisciplinary research and education in this area. Another important

objective is to lead this research field in Malaysia and to focus on the high impact research to compete globally.

The aim of this research is to study and analyze the bio-inspired learning process for development and application of machine learning. The research is multidisciplinary as it will include many disciplines of

study e.g. neural system, self-organization learning, swarm intelligence, intelligent system etc. Currently,

the research concentrates on the neurophysiological and neurobiological characteristics of the human brain.

The research will mainly involve in modeling and simulation of the system architecture. The system will based as a tool for various application e.g. data mining, image detection, power prediction etc.

Currently the following titles are focused on:

1. Spiking Self Organized Map for Short-Term Load Forecasting

2. Modular Neural Network for Thermal Imaging Detection

3. Supervised Learning model for Photovoltaic Power Prediction

Page 8 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

for

Commending an Excellent and Creative Effort Exhibited at the

Invention & Innovation Awards 2014 at Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE 2014)

on

20 - 22 February 2014, Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) Kuala Lumpur

Gold : Compact Magnetorheological (MR) Valve

Team Member: Fitrian Imaduddin, Ir. Dr. Saiful Amri, Dr. Hairi & PM Sallehuddin Muhamad

Silver : Hybrid Magnetorheological Damper

Team Member : Izyan Iryani, Ir. Dr. saiful Amri, Dr. Hairi & Dr.Wira Jazair

Silver : Intelligent Urban Shuttle

Team Member : Muhammad Aizzat, Dr. Hairi, Ir. Dr. Saiful Amri, Abdul Hadi, Murtadha Bazli &

Muhammad Safuwan

Bronze : High Current Magnetorheological Damper

Team Member : Mohammadjavad Zeinali, Ir. Dr. Saiful Amri & Dr. Hairi

Bronze : Force Feedback Mechanism for Vehicle Steer by Wire System

Team Member : Sheikh Muhammad Hafiz, Dr. Hairi & Ir. Dr. Saiful Amri

CONGRATULATIONS TO VEHICLE SYSTEM ENGINEERING (VSE) I-KOHZA

MALAYSIA-JAPAN

INTERNATIONAL

INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY (MJIIT)

UNIVERSITI

TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

KUALA LUMPUR,

Jalan Semarak, 54100 Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel : 603 2203 1200

Fax : 603 2203 1266

Email : mjiit@ic.utm.my

UPCOMING EVENTS

THE 8TH ANNUAL JAPANESE LANGUAGE FESTIVAL 2014

4 MAY 2014 at

Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) UTM KUALA LUMPUR

Activities:

a) Cultural Experience Workshops

About 60 workshops of 90 minutes will be conducted over 2 sessions. Prior

bookings are required during online registration. Details will be uploaded on the festival website by March 25, 2014

b) Japanese Language Market

Participants may taste Japanese foods and have fun with some Japanese games.

Japanese books and souvenirs are also on sale. There is a Japanese Language Bargain Sale Corner whereby the more Japanese you use the cheaper the price of

the merchandise would be.

c) Japanese Language and Culture Competitions

There would be both individual and group competitions. Preliminary rounds are held for some competitions and winners will compete for the title during the

closing ceremony.

Advisor: Prof. Takashi Yamamoto

Editors:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anthony Centeno

Ms. Mamiko Terakado Mr. Sakae Yamada

Dr. Naoki Umemiya

Members: Dr. Hafizal Yahya (Website) Ms. Siti Juliana Mohd Imam

THE TEAM