Overview

Sustain Our World Hybrid Camp (SOWHC) 2023 is an international programme organised by IChemE-UiTM SC, in collaboration with POPSIG and XMUM IChemE SC, and with CheSC-SC IChemE UKM as the strategic partner. This event is also listed as one of the POPSIG Palm Oil Educational Roadshow. It is supported by POPSIG in conjunction with MPOC.

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Themes

Theme of SOWHC 2023
Empowering sustainable future

Theme of Keynote Speeches
The roles of palm oil industry in tackling climate change

Theme of Insight Talks
Essentiality of industrial sustainability practices in reducing carbon footprint

Objectives

SOWHC 2023

1. To encourage students to develop and improve their critical thinking and problem solving through creativity.
2. To educate and provide in-depth exposure to students on the concept of sustainability.
3. To enhance the understanding of making possibilities on the sustainability economy, environment and society.
   

POPSIG Sessions

1. To understand the contributions of palm oil industry in reducing carbon footprint and achieving the UN SDGs.
2. To identify the ESG challenges, opportunities and contributions from the Malaysian palm oil industry.
3. To provide a platform to exchange views and suggestions between the students and the professionals.

Keynote speakers

Dr Zainab Idris, Deputy Director General (Research & Development), Malaysian Palm Oil Board

Dr Zainab Idris was born in Penang, Malaysia in 1965. She obtained her BSc (Chemistry) from Laurentian University of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada in 1988 under JPA sponsorship program. She served as a Production Chemist in Rubberex (M) and Rubberthread (M) Sdn Bhd, companies under IGB Group for 2 years. She then joined Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia (now known as MPOB) and obtained her Master in Science from University Putra Malaysia (UPM) in 1998. She then obtained her PhD in Chemistry from UKM in 2010. Both her postgraduate degree were sponsored by MPOB.

Zainab, holds a position as the Director of Advanced Oleochemical Technology Division (AOTD) of Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) from 27 July 2016 to 9 August 2019. After more than 20 years in Oleochemical Research, she obtained her Master of Business Administration from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-Graduate School of Business (UKM-GSB) in 2017 which was also sponsored by MPOB.

Technically, she specialises in a wide area of applied sciences focusing on developing new molecules from oleochemical product through organic synthesis and process improvement and optimization. She also specialises in innovation of R&D products and services developed by MPOB for the benefit of the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry.

Tan Chee Yong, Manager, Technical Outreach & Extension Service, Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council

Tan Chee Yong joined MPOCC in July 2017 as an officer in the Supply Chain Unit of MPOCC before being promoted as Manager of the Government Liaison Unit. Currently, he is leading the Technical Outreach & Extension Service Unit with the task of providing technical support to the palm oil industry in MSPO certification. 

With his background in holding a Bachelor of Applied Science in Biotechnology from the University Science of Malaysia (USM), he possesses vast experience in areas of policy development and implementation, industry and government relations, project management and planning. 

Prior to MPOCC, he was an officer in the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) Malaysia, where he was involved in developing Malaysian Biofuel policy and implementation, specifically in palm biodiesel.​

Benjamin Loh, Sustainable Markets Programme - Lead, WWF-Malaysia

Benjamin Loh is the Lead for the Sustainable Markets Programme (SMP) of WWF- Malaysia. Benjamin and his team is responsible for driving the strategy of sustainable production, supply, and consumption of palm oil, timber & wood products, and plastic products Malaysia, and within the WWF global network.

Benjamin is currently the focal point for Sustainable Palm Oil in WWF-Malaysia and represents WWF-Malaysia various multi-stakeholder engagement processes and committees including the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and also in the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO).

Benjamin has over 15 years of professional experience in the palm oil industry as well as a background in environmental conservation and sustainability management.

Aiman Najati Akmar Rahman, Senior Manager, Sime Darby Oils Biodiesel Sdn Bhd

Aiman Najati Akmar is a Senior Manager at Sime Darby Oils Biodiesel Sdn Bhd. She started her career with Sime Darby Plantation in 2006 as a chemist and her role expanded to business development and plant management throughout the years. She currently overseeing the operation of Sime Darby Oils’s biodiesel manufacturing plant located in Pulau Carey, Selangor. She has 16 years of experience in biodiesel industry.

Aiman obtained her BSc (Chemistry) in 2004 and MSc (Chemistry) in 2007 from University Technology Malaysia, Skudai, Johor. She is currently an MBA candidate at Asia School of Business in Kuala Lumpur.

Insight talk speakers

Rachel Chok Si En, Process Engineer, Genting Biorefinery Sdn Bhd

Rachel graduated from Monash University with a Degree of Engineering in the field of Chemical Engineering. She has been with Genting Plantations since 2017 as a Process Engineer for the Downstream Manufacturing Division’s biodiesel plants. She is a registered Associate Member of IChemE and Graduate Engineer with BEM and IEM.

Professor Ir Dr Dominic Foo, Professor of Process Design and Integration, University of Nottingham Malaysia

Professor Ir Dr Dominic Foo is a Professor of Process Design and Integration at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, and is the Founding Director for the Centre of Excellence for Green Technologies. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM), Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), Chartered Engineer (CEng) with the Engineering Council UK, Professional Engineer (PEng) with the Board of Engineer Malaysia (BEM), ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineers (ACPE), as well as the President for the Asia Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering (APCChE). He is top 1% world-renowned scientist according to Stanford List, working in process integration for resource conservation and CO2 reduction. He collaborates with more than 50 research scholars and industrial practitioners over Asia, Europe, North America and Africa.

Professor Foo is an active author, with eight books, more than 190 journal papers and made more than 240 conference presentations, with more than 30 keynote/plenary speeches. He served as International Scientific Committees for many important international conferences. Professor Foo is the Editor-in-Chief for Process Integration and Optimization for Sustainability (Springer Nature), Subject Editor for Process Safety & Environmental Protection (Elsevier), and editorial board members for several other renowned journals. He is the winners of multiple national and international awards and he has conducted more than 100 professional workshops to academics and industrial practitioners worldwide.

Karthi Subramaniam Loganathan, Senior Process Engineer, Oleochemicals Department, Desmet Malaysia Sdn Bhd

Karthi is a Senior Process Engineer in the Oleochemicals department of Desmet Malaysia. Graduated in 2006 as Chemical Engineer from Anna University, Tamil Nadu, India. He is having 16 years background in edible oil refining and oleochemical industry in various functions like operation, commissioning, process design, and product development in India as well as in Malaysia. After the graduation he started working as Process Engineer in an edible oil production company where he looked after the day to day production activities till 2010, at which point he joined Desmet group. In Desmet India, his duty changed through the years in various activities; from the initial employment as Installation and Commissioning Engineer.

After gaining practical experience in start-ups of various edible oil refineries and Oleo Chemical plants, he started working as a Process Engineer from 2013 focusing on the process design of edible oil refineries and oleochemical plants. Karthi has been involved in various development activities, in particular the pilot studies and industrial introduction of Desmet Group's patented design of WinWax filtration technology. In September 2020 Karthi moved to Kuala Lumpur branch of Desmet group as Senior Process Engineer of the Oleochemicals department.

Eddy Lee Wen Hui, Corporate Strategy Manager, Solarvest Holdings Berhad

Eddy is a manager in Corporate Strategy Department within Solarvest Holdings Berhad. Currently he is supporting Chief Strategy Officer and top management to identify, evaluate and drive business diversification from Pure Play Solar to Clean Energy Solutions in line with the Company Five Years Roadmap 2022-2026. New business area in the energy ecosystem such as Energy Storage, EV Charging, Energy Efficiency, Hydrogen, Carbon Credits among others, are complementing the existing core business in solar energy.

He is also driving the geographical market expansion plan for the Group by setting up the operation and business footprint in Borneo region, including Sarawak, Sabah and Indonesia. He is also among the co-founding members to set up the new business units for the Group, which are the e-mobility arm Powerbee and other is RECs trading.

Chairs of Forum

Ir Dr Viknesh Andiappan, Associate Professor, School of Engineering and Science, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak

Chair of Forum titled "The roles of palm oil industry in tackling climate change"

Ir Dr Viknesh Andiappan currently serves as an Associate Professor at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus. His area of specialization centres on optimisation of energy systems and supply chains. His research interests also include design and optimisation of net zero energy systems, synthesis of integrated biorefineries, industrial symbiosis planning, energy planning for greenhouse gas emission reduction and sustainable agriculture planning. Dr Andiappan is well-published and well-cited for a young researcher (over 70 publications with an h-index of 15) and presented several papers in various conferences. He was also shortlisted as a finalist for the IChemE Young Researcher Malaysia Award (2018 and 2019) and the Heriot-Watt University PRIME Award (2021). He was awarded the IBAE Young Researcher of the Year Award for his contributions in research. Dr Andiappan is an editorial board member for internationally peer-reviewed journals such as Process Integration and Optimization for Sustainability (Springer), and Frontiers in Sustainability. He is also a member of the reviewer board for Processes (MDPI). In addition, he serves as a technical committee member for several conferences.

Aside from research, Dr Andiappan is a Professional Engineer with the Board of Engineers Malaysia and a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). He also serves as the Vice Chair for the IChemE Palm Oil Processing Special Interest Group (POPSIG) and was previously the University Roadshow Director. As the University Roadshow Director, he led efforts to promote the palm industry and the opportunities for chemical engineers, to young chemical engineering undergraduate students in universities around Malaysia.

Ir Dr Chew Jiuan Jing, Deputy Head of School and Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering and Science, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak

Chair of Forum titled "Essentiality of industrial sustainability practices in reducing carbon footprint"

Ir Dr Jiuan Jing Chew currently serves as the Deputy Head of School under School of Engineering and Science as well as a senior lecturer under the Chemical Engineering Discipline. She is an active researcher in the area of biofuel and bioenergy. In recognition for her research, Dr Chew was awarded the Young Woman Researcher Award for Biofuel and Bioenergy category under Engineering discipline in 8th Venus International Women Awards (VIWA 2023).

She serves as the review editor of Frontiers in Sustainability and Frontiers in Chemical Engineering. Leveraging on her prior experience as a process engineer, Dr Chew is also active in handling consultancy projects with the university’s consultancy wing. Dr Chew is a registered Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) with Engineers Australia and a Professional Engineer (Ir) with the Board of Engineers Malaysia. She maintains registration on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Engineer (APEC Engineer) Register and International Professional Engineers (IntPE) Register, Australia. Dr Chew is also currently serving as the treasurer at IChemE Palm Oil Processing Special Interest Group (POPSIG) as part of her community services. Dr Chew’s research focuses on the conversion of biomass to fuels and value-added products. Her research interests also include CO2 utilisation, porous materials and adsorption, green solvent, H2 energy, and catalysis.

The material presented in this webinar has not been peer-reviewed. Any opinions are the presenter’s own and do not necessarily represent those of IChemE or the Palm Oil Processing Special Interest Group (POPSIG). The information is given in good faith but without any liability on the part of IChemE.

Time

Talk and forum are organised as follow:

• Keynote speech (26 May 2023): 10:00–12:00 MYT
• Insight talk (27 May 2023): 10:00–12:00 MYT
• Forum (04 June 2023): 09:00–11:00 MYT

Programme

Day 1: 26 May 2023

• 09:00–10:00 
  Opening ceremony
  
  
• 10:00–12:00 
  Keynote speeches
  Theme: The roles of palm oil industry in tackling climate change
  Presentation 1: Sustaining The Environment through R&D and Services in Oil Palm Cultivation
  Presentation 2: Net Zero and Updates on BUR-4 for Malaysia
  Presentation 3: Certification Role in Climate Change
  Presentation 4: Palm Based Renewable Energy Circularity Initiative in Mitigating Adverse Environmental Impact

Day 2: 27 May 2023

• 10:00–12:00 
  Insight talk
  Theme: Essentiality of industrial sustainability practices in reducing carbon footprint
  Presentation 1: Carbon Footprint Reduction for Palm Oil Refinery
  Presentation 2: Process Solutions for Reducing Carbon Footprint
  Presentation 3: Sustainability Practices in Biodiesel Plants
  Presentation 4: Moving Towards Clean Energy

Day 3–9: 28 May – 04 June 2023

• 09:00—16:00 
  Open Recycle Day, video submission, River Ranger's Program

Day 10: 04 June 2023

• 09:00—11:00
  Forum
  Title: Striking the balance between preserving our nature and nations growth
  
  
• 21:00—22:45
  Closing ceremony

Acknowledgement

The organiser and POPSIG proudly acknowledge the support provided by Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) on the Palm Oil Educational Roadshow. POPSIG has collaborated with MPOC on Palm Oil Educational Roadshow since 2019. MPOC is a corporate body with a mission to promote the market expansion of Malaysian palm oil and its product by enhancing the image of palm oil and creating better acceptance through awareness of various technological and economic advantages (techno-economic advantages) and environmental sustainability.

POPSIG also gratefully acknowledges the support provided by Desmet Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur-Kepong Oleomas Sdn Bhd (KLK OLEO) and Malaysian Oleochemical Manufacturers Group (MOMG).

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Software

The presentation will be delivered via Zoom.

You are advised to join the event at least ten minutes before the scheduled start time, to allow for your computer to connect.

Stay connected

Please email to popsigmalaysia@gmail.com for any queries.

Disclaimer: IChemE will not be storing or controlling any data linked to this event.