Abdul Hakim hits the gong to launch the conference.
SIBU: United College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS) created another history when it hosted its first international conference – the 20th Asian Forum on Business Education Conference 2016 (AFBE 2016) – yesterday.
The two-day conference was in collaboration with AFBE and supported by Sarawak Convention Bureau.
In his speech, vice chancellor of UCTS Professor Datuk Dr Abdul Hakim Juri hoped the AFBE 2016 would be the start of more international conferences to be held in the campus.
“Sibu has a challenging situation, we are currently the third largest city in Sarawak after Kuching and Miri.
“We hope that through many other activities in the future, Sibu can be an attraction to our international friends,” he said.
He said he was glad that UCTS was able to collaborate with AFBE to hold such conference despite being a very young university.
Apart from focusing on technology, he said UCTS also realised the importance of business.
Among the most popular courses in UCTS currently is the School of Business and Management, he added.
He told the delegates that UCTS campus is a green building – a commitment by the state government to build an environment-friendly university.
“We have courses on green technology for all our students, no matter what field they are in,” he said.
Meanwhile, president of AFBE Dr Chris Perryer said the papers the delegates would be presenting were very broad.
He said it was important to understand the meaning of ‘green’ as different people might have different perspectives on the word.
“I think, first of all, we need to know what a green society is. We need then to understand and make decision about what a green business is and finally as scholars and educators, we need to think of the implications for green business education,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dean of School of Business and Management UCTS Associate Professor Dr Mohd Zainal Munshid Harun, who is also the organising chairman for the conference, said the conference offers a platform for researchers and academicians to focus on the role of green business in building of a nation, to understand new knowledge and to unlock the boundary that gives impact to the world.
In general, he said a green business participates in environmentally friendly or green activity to ensure that all processes, products and manufacturing activities adequately address current environmental concerns while maintaining profit.
He said it was broadly recognised that green business has a long term perspective in terms of both environmental stability and financial growth.
“Therefore, in order to build sustainable future and protect the natural resources, the implementation of environmental education plays a vital role in educating the nation,” he pointed out.