Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) organised a workshop on sustainable grouper-seed farming under its Komuniti@UniMADANI initiative, where local fishermen from the Sematan/Lundu Area Fishermen Association and representatives from LKIM Sarawak were trained in smart water-quality management (e.g., monitoring temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrite) and aquaculture techniques to enhance sustainable livelihoods.

Through this initiative — funded by the Ministry of Finance Malaysia and in collaboration with a government-linked community body and fisheries agency — the university partnered with regional stakeholders to build capacity in water-quality monitoring and thus contributes to the broader goal of ensuring responsible use and oversight of water resources (a key element of water security).

The collaboration between the Faculties of Engineering at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Universitas Tanjungpura (UNTAN) has been ongoing for years. Recently, it was further strengthened with the establishment of an International Matching Grant. This collaboration aims to match the expertise of researchers from both faculties. The first research matching is focused on achieving sustainable communities through state-of-the-art water engineering and technology. Researchers from UNIMAS visited UNTAN on October 11, 2024. During this visit, they paid a courtesy call to Dr.-Ing. Ir. Slamet Widodo, M.T., IPM, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at UNTAN. They reported on the progress of the ongoing research matching, which is now in its 11th month. This meeting marked a new milestone for both faculties, with plans to expand the research matching to other fields such as civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, and chemical engineering.