On 29th October, the Launching Ceremony of the new “i-Kohza” funded by Takasago Thermal Engineering Co. Ltd. was held at the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT). Ambassador Miyagawa, chief of the mission, attended the event.

The i-Kohza, called the “Takasago Thermal/Environmental System Research Laboratory”, and related to the heat and environmental field, was established through the “Takasago Research and Education Fund”. This fund was created from the company’s annual 20 million yen donation for a period of five years and agreed between MJIIT and Takasago Thermal Engineering in June earlier this year. Donations from the company will be utilized for research activities and equipment purchases and maintenance.

At the beginning of the opening ceremony, Prof. Datin Dr. Rubiyah bt. Yusof, the Dean of MJIIT expressed gratitude for the company’s donation. She stated that i-Kohza was established with the purpose of carrying out studies on sustainable development with low-carbon and energy-saving technology, specifically, by utilizing energy conservation techniques to suppress the emission of carbon dioxide to prevent global warming, and promoting the development of green technology. Furthermore, Prof. Rubiyah mentioned that MJIIT was also provided with grants to carry out various educational projects through the same fund, under the “Takasago Research and Education Assistance Program”. Three projects were adopted this year, covering a period of two years.

Ambassador Miyagawa delivered his congratulatory remarks, and stated that with the support from Takasago Thermal Engineering, a new form of educational co-operation between MJIIT and a Japanese company was introduced. He also expressed his hope that the new laboratory would accelerate  industry-academia collaboration and will help MJIIT to further enhance the level of education. 

Mr. Emio Taniguchi, the Executive Director of Takasago Thermal Engineering, said that he believed the establishment of i-Kohza would contribute to Malaysia’s human resources and industrial development in the future and would lead to the promotion of a wide range of educational and research activities with the support of MJIIT. He also expressed his hope that the facility would be fully utilized and that the connection between MJIIT and Takasago would be strengthened by increasing the interaction between researchers and conducting joint researches in the future.

Ambassador Miyagawa delivering his speech	At Takasago Thermal and Environmental Research Lab (from left, Mr. Taniguchi, Takasago Thermal Engineering Executive Director, Ambassador Miyagawa, and Prof. Rubiyah, Dean of MJIIT)
Ambassador Miyagawa, Mr. Taniguchi, and Prof. Rubiyah signing Takasago Thermal/Environmental Research Lab’s  plaque	The main participants who attended the opening ceremony (Ambassador Miyagawa, MJIIT and Takasago Thermal Engineering officials)