International conference delegates share insights into green energy, computing and sustainable technology

Miri – 5 August 2021 – The recent International Conference on Green Energy, Computing and Sustainable Technology (GECOST 2021) hosted by Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) brought together over international 100 experts in green energy, computing and sustainable technology to discuss the latest developments and challenges in securing green and clean energy sources for the 21st Century.

The 3-day virtual conference was organised by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science in collaboration with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Malaysia Communications Society and Vehicular Technology Society (ComSoc/VTS) Joint Chapter and the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) Miri Branch.

Themed ‘Green Sustainable Technologies for Creating a Better World’, the conference focused on green computing and security; green communications, networks, and signal processing; intelligent embedded systems and analytics; green energy power systems and smart grids; and sensors, green materials, alternative energy and process control.

The keynote speakers comprised prominent academics and experts, including Associate Professor Mardeni Bin Roslee, Chairman of the Research Centre for Wireless Technology, Multimedia University, Malaysia and Chairman of the IEEE Malaysia Comsoc/VTS Joint Chapter; Dr. Vasiliki Skoulou, Director of Research of the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Departments at University of Hull, United Kingdom; Dr. Pelin Angin, Assistant Professor of Computer Engineering at Middle East Technical University in Turkey, and Dr. Sing Muk Ng, Head of Research and Development at Sarawak Energy Berhad, Sarawak’s electrical power utility company.

All accepted and presented full papers from the conference will be submitted to IEEE Xplore, a digital library which offers discovery and access to scientific and technical content published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and its publishing partners. IEEE Xplore provides web access to more than four million full-text documents from some of the world’s most highly-cited publications in electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics.

Curtin Malaysia’s Pro Vice-chancellor, President and Chief Executive, Professor Simon Leunig, remarked in his opening speech that though hosting an international conference had its inherent technical challenges, it also had its advantages. More people can actually participate remotely and recordings of sessions can be shared far and wide after the conference, he said.

Professor Leunig acknowledged the contributions of the conference organising committee headed by Associate Professor Lenin Gopal, Head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Science, Professor Tuong-Thuy Vu, staff of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the co-organisers in ensuring a successful conference.

“Curtin Malaysia is always keen on hosting conferences that promote good engineering, scientific practices and sustainability awareness, as well as greater networking and collaborative research, and an overall accelerated development of R&D,” Professor Leunig remarked.

Referring to the conference theme, he commented that rapid techno-industrial growth and changing lifestyles that require greater energy usage globally, a situation exacerbated by the continued depletion of natural resources and high carbon emissions, call for new approaches to meeting the ever-growing demand for energy.

“Now more than ever, experts, engineers and researchers in academia, research centres and industry worldwide need to come together to examine the tremendous strides made in the fields of green energy, computing and sustainable technology, and engage in constructive dialogues on concepts, ideas and technology related to creating more sustainable environments for the future,” he said.

Professor Vu, who was the conference honorary chair, said the conference was an effective platform not only for the exchange of knowledge and ideas in the relevant areas, but also discussion on global sustainable development goals.

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change provide clear targets for future energy systems, which are low-carbon, high efficiency, and renewables-based. This transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy requires the development of new infrastructure and technologies, not only in sourcing and producing alternative energy but also in green and efficient use of energy,” he said.

Professor Vu said teaching and research at his Faculty of Engineering and Science are very much aligned with these sustainable development goals, with future energy, bio-processing and intelligent and sustainable technologies being at the core of its activities. He said it actively shares the outcomes of its high impact research with global research communities and works with local industries and communities to apply the outcomes to the local energy transition.

Associate Professor Lenin, meanwhile, said that the conference organising committee had been hopeful until the very last that the conference could be a face-to-face one, but with the ongoing global pandemic, it was not to be.

“Nevertheless, we had the participation of delegates from Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, India, the United States, Egypt, France, Turkey, Thailand, Lebanon, Japan, Algeria, Brunei, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Australia, which was very good indeed. Due to the very good participation, we have decided to organise another GECOST next year,” he said.

Delegates pose for a group photo during the conference opening ceremony.