By: Dr. Okta Nurika, Prof. Dr. Che Zalina Zulkifli, Dr. Mad Helmi Ab. Majid, Dr. Sumayyah Dzulkifly, Dr. Nor Asiah Mohamad@Razak, Dr. Satria Abadi, Dr. Marzita Hj Mansor, Prof. Madya Dr. Suliana Sulaiman, Hasnatul Nazuha Hassan

Seberang Perai, 20 December 2024 – Following years of contributing to the community’s sustainability goals of Seberang Perai city, META’s Centre of Embedded Education Green Technology (EduGreen@UPSI) received token of appreciation at Awards Ceremony for LA21 Strategic Partners of MBSP.

MBSP were grateful towards the delivery of smart farm and Green Education Centre (Pusat Pendidikan Hijau – PPH) established by EduGreen that have sustained the livelihoods of families in Seberang Perai.

The centre has been the focal point for training community about smart farming and the usage of supportive technology in the form of Internet of Things (IoT).

It is the outcome of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) signed among EduGreen@UPSI, MBSP, and Urbanest Sdn Bhd in April 2021 involving the granting of 1.4 acres of land from MBSP to the founder of EduGreen@UPSI Professor Dr. Che Zalina Zulkifli.

Along with other contributive public and private agencies, EduGreen was recognized as one of the strategic partners that had made Seberang Perai resilient, inclusive, green, and competitive.

Besides the Green Education Centre in Seberang Perai, the MoU also included the establishment of Elderly Care Centre in Seberang Perai and another Green Education Centre at Kolej Za’ba, UPSI.

A cross-disciplinary collaboration in upcycling project engaging arts has also been conducted in order to provide immersive upcycling experience.

Further domino effect is that it had also opened up opportunities for EduGreen@UPSI to obtain international grants related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The mayor (Datuk Bandar) of Seberang Perai Dato’ Hj Baderul Amin bin Abdul Hamid was impressed by the holistic approach given by EduGreen, which covered different varieties of training methods and tech-equipped smart farm.

Such solid framework has been proven capable to sustain relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely no poverty, zero hunger, good health & well-being, sustainable city & community, responsible consumption & production, and partnership for the goals.

The green education centre in Seberang Perai was devised by UPSI researchers who aspired to value the community by accommodating their needs for localized and accessible infrastructure.

The mentioned award would further emphasize the role of bespoke solution that suits local community’s needs and ambition before wider expansion takes place.