Curtin Sarawak hosts 33rd Pan-Pacific Conference in Miri

Miri – 23 May 2016 – Miri will see over 200 delegates from 24 countries attending the 33rd Pan-Pacific Conference from 25 to 28 May 2016.

It is the first time this prestigious international conference will be held in East Malaysia, the two previous times in Malaysia being in Kuala Lumpur in 1991 and 1997.

Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia is the local host in collaboration with the Pan-Pacific Business Association and Sarawak Convention Bureau.

The conference is an annual event organised by the Pan-Pacific Business Association (PPBA), which emerged from two US-Japan Business Conferences held at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and Tokyo in 1983. These conferences led to the formation of the PPBA in 1984 with the first PPBA Conference being held in Hawaii that same year.

The basic goal of PPBA is to provide a forum for scholars, corporate executives and government officials from Pacific-Rim countries to discuss important issues relating to a better quality of life in the region. Emphasis is placed on more effective utilisation of human resources, technological development and multilateral economic activities across borders.

Themed ‘Building a Smart Society through Innovation and Co-creation’, this year’s conference at the Pullman Waterfront Miri will focus on changes in geopolitics and technological advances as well as their effects on the global economic landscape.

Discussions will explore a number of issues: measuring well-being of people, innovation for collective intelligence, co-creating shared purpose and goals, major elements of a smart society, and the co-innovation paradigm.

Conference coordinator and Deputy Dean of Curtin Sarawak’s Faculty of Business, Associate Professor Pauline Ho, said it is a tremendous honour for Miri to host this year’s conference and be classed alongside world cities like Sydney, Seoul, Shanghai and Bangkok that hosted it in the past.

She also expressed pride in Curtin Sarawak, particularly its Faculty of Business, being given the important role of being the local host with the support of the Sarawak Convention Bureau.

“As Curtin University’s largest international campus and one of the leading providers of business education in the region, with a firm commitment to excellence in education, research and international engagement, Curtin Sarawak is ideal partner to host this conference,” she said, adding that it has hosted numerous international conferences in the past.

The conference will feature two prominent keynote speakers, Dr. Sang-chul Lee and Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid, both of whom have made major contributions and gained international recognition in their respective areas of expertise.

PPBA President, Eminent Professor and Eminent Scholar Emeritus at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Professor Sang M. Lee, will also be present to address the conference delegates and moderate the plenary sessions.

The guest of honour will be Miri Mayor Lawrence Lai Yew Son, who will deliver the opening address.

The plenary panel, which will discuss the sub-theme ‘Building a Smart Society in the Digital Age’ will consist of Tan Sri Datuk Amar Wilson Baya Dandot, Regional Corridor Development Authority (RECODA) Chairman; Wan Bae Rha, Vice-Chairman of GS Energy Corporation, South Korea; Professor Clay Whybark of the University of North Carolina; Professor Jonathan Winterton of Curtin Sarawak; and Associate Professor Hooi Den Huan of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

For more information on the PPBA, visit www.panpacificbusiness.org/.

Miri, location for 33rd Pan-Pacific Conference 2016 from 25 to 28 May.