Azizan (front left) exchanging the MoU with Kopli witnessed by Jabu (fourth right), Abu Bakar (fourth left) and others at the BioBorneo opening ceremony.
KOTA SAMARAHAN: Communitiy development through a bioeconomy agenda was the focus of the BioBorneo 2014 Conference and Exhibition (BioBorneo) which was officiated by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu on behalf of Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) yesterday.
This year’s theme ‘Sustaining the Bioeconomy Community’ will see the two-day conference and exhibition, which is held for the second time in the state, cover topics on research advancement, intellectual property and commercialisation potential of biotechnology innovation that will positively impact the community development in Borneo.
In his welcoming address, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Datuk Dr Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah said that the government hoped that BioBorneo can serve as a platform to disseminate information on research and development as well as the business and investment potentials in bioeconomy.
“Apart from serving as an excellent platform to explore bioeconomy opportunities here, it also provides an avenue for industries and field experts to share ideas, experience and opportunities in bio-related research and business activities,” he said.
Meanwhile, the opening ceremony also witnessed two exchanges of collaboration that will aid in the acceleration of bioeconomy development for Borneo.
The first exchange was a Collaboration Proposal between Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation’s (BiotechCorp) Technology Management Office and Koperasi Pembangunan Desa (KPD) for the development of high quality ginger utilising fertigation method and the supply of dried processed ginger.
This collaboration sought to identify and prepare the necessary infrastructure and operational requirements relating to farming of high quality ginger and combining the biotechnological applications and technologies at BiotechCorp’s Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) Facility situated in Universiti Putra Malaysia and KPD’s subcritical HFC Gas Extraction Facility situated at Lok Kawi, Sabah for production of validated and certified high quality ginger extract.
The second exchange was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on promoting the diffusion of knowledge on intellectual property between Unimas and Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO).
Witnessed by Jabu and Abu Bakar, the MoU was exchanged between MyIPO director general Dato Azizan Mohamad Sidin and Unimas deputy vice chancellor (research and innovation) Prof Dr Kopli Bujang in an understanding that both MyIPO and Unimas will be committed to work together closely towards the continuous efforts in promoting the diffusion of knowledge on Intellectual Property (IP).
Jointly organised by Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti), Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC), Unimas and BiotechCorp, with support from the Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture and Department of Agriculture, BioBorneo also featured an exhibition comprising more than 30 exhibitors from various sectors including the government agencies, corporate agencies, research institutions, higher learning institutions as well as those from relevant industries.