Students presented their ideas, solutions, and concepts to address the challenges of future urban living in Malaysia

Malaysia 100YC Grand Finale Exhibition was launched in conjunction with Malaysia Urban Forum 2019 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The exhibition was officiated by UN-Habitat Executive Director Her Excellency Dato’ Maimunah Mohd Sharif and Ketua Setiausaha Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (KPKT) Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad bin Mentek.

Group shot: (from left) founder of Malaysia Biennial 100YC Imran Clyde, Chief Executive of Urbanice Malaysia Norliza Hashim, Secretary General for the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (KPKT) Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad bin Mentek, UN-Habitat Executive Director Her Excellency Dato’ Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Assistant General Manager of Business Development at TM ONE Ezatul Faizura, and managing director of Think City Sdn Bhd Hamdan Abdul Majeed.

The exhibition saw 11 local universities presenting their ideas and urban solutions for Malaysian cities 100 years from now. Launched with Urbanice Malaysia, a Centre of Excellence under Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (KPKT), the Malaysia 100YC programme, inspired and adapted from the Malaysia Biennial 100YC programme, is a collaboration between Urbanice Malaysia, Think City, and Nextdor Property Communications Sdn Bhd.

UN-Habitat Executive Director, Her Excellency Dato’ Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif speaking at the Grand Finale Exhibition launch recently.

Speaking at the launch, Her Excellency Dato’ Maimunah Mohd Sharif believes that young people are not only leaders of tomorrow but also leaders of today. She also added that she hopes to see some Malaysian context in the upcoming Climate Change Summit in New York and to see at least one Malaysian city to stand proudly on the global stage and the United Nations platform.

Her Excellency Dato’ Maimunah Mohd Sharif hopes to see some Malaysian context in the upcoming Climate Change Summit in New York and to see at least one Malaysian city to stand proudly on the global stage and the United Nations platform. Image credit: Wikipedia

Ketua Setiausaha of KPKT Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad bin Mentek said, “There is no such thing as a definite equation of a smart city, every city has their own definition.

“Through this programme and event, we can promote more ideas, especially to promote smart cities in Malaysia itself.”

Besides encouraging students to reimagine Malaysian future cities, Malaysia 100YC programme also aims to promote knowledge sharing. Throughout the programme, students had the opportunity to engage and interact with local and international key industry leaders, designers, and urbanists through a series of workshops and special studio sessions, to help them understand and address urbanisation challenges.

Universiti Sains Malaysia students, Teu Yu Han and Soh Hwei Hsia, shared, “This is a very interesting and fun programme as it engages all of the university together and we get to share our ideas.

Participants from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Teu Yu Han and Soh Hwei Hsia, were at the Malaysia Urban Forum 2019 for the Grand Finale Exhibition of Malaysia 100YC to share their research on possible urban solutions for 100-year cities.

“And it is a really good programme where we get to acquire new knowledge and hear from different universities, their perceptions and thoughts about Malaysian cities in the next 100 years.”

LAr. Dr Roziya Ibrahim, associate professor at the Universiti Putra Malaysia's Department of Design and Architecture, also believes that Malaysia 100YC benefits the students because they get exposure to urban design and development and they get the opportunity to meet key industry players.

Participants from the University of Reading in Malaysia find the program helpful for students as it enhances their knowledge and gives them exposure in working with industry professionals.

Six topics have been identified under the Malaysia 100YC programme as key focus areas covering innovative technologies, green open spaces, urban mobility, affordable living, community governance, and smart infrastructure.

Participating universities include Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), University Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Taylor’s University, Harriot Watt University, and the University of Reading (Malaysia).