GEORGE TOWN, Sept 11 (Bernama) -- Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) has anchored its strategic direction on three grand challenges: energy security, sustainable living and regenerative futures, aligning its research, investment and collaboration efforts with national and industry needs.
UTP Chancellor Tan Sri (Dr) Mohd Hassan Marican said these three grand challenges were more than just research themes. They form the foundation for determining the university's research priorities, investments and collaborations.
"The approach reflects UTP’s commitment to ensuring that education, research and innovation remain closely connected to real-world challenges facing society and industry. These grand challenges are not simply research themes, but define how we educate, innovate and collaborate.
“They shape our research priorities, guide our investments and strengthen our partnerships in the quest to ensure our work contributes meaningfully to Malaysia’s aspirations,” he said in his speech at the World Engineering, Science and Technology Congress 2026 (ESTCON 2026) at Penang Waterfront Convention Centre on Tuesday.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Chang Lih Kang officiated the congress, which drew a distinguished gathering of industry leaders, government representatives, policymakers, researchers and technical professionals.
The two-day congress welcomed more than 30 internationally recognised speakers from academia, industry and government, alongside over 330 technical paper presentations spanning sustainable infrastructure, energy transition, artificial intelligence (AI), digital technologies and advanced materials.
Mohd Hassan said engineering could no longer be confined to designing systems or developing technologies, it must focus on delivering solutions that strengthen resilience and regenerate the systems essential for future generations.
He added that the world was undergoing a profound transformation, marked by an energy transition of unprecedented scale and urgency, the rapid emergence of AI, and growing global disorder driven by intensifying great-power rivalry, regional conflicts and trade fragmentation.
As Petronas’ knowledge partner, Mohd Hassan said UTP is committed to playing a significant role in supporting the energy sector transformation by developing the knowledge, technologies and talent needed to accelerate the journey towards a secure, resilient and lower-carbon energy future.
"UTP’s research ecosystem was advancing innovations in areas including carbon management, advanced materials, AI, robotics, digital engineering, sustainable energy technologies and subsurface solutions to support industry transformation," he said.
He said UTP's research institutes were also being strategically realigned to foster interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure research moved beyond curiosity-driven inquiry towards purposeful, high-impact programmes addressing national priorities, industry needs and societal challenges.
On talent development, Mohd Hassan said UTP, through its Bachelor of Engineering programme, was preparing the next generation of engineers with technical excellence, innovation capabilities, digital fluency and ethical leadership.
He added that the increasingly complex challenges facing the world demanded closer collaboration among academia, industry, government and research institutions.
Meanwhile, Chang commended UTP and its partners for nurturing ESTCON into one of the region's leading platforms for engineering, science and technology.
The minister said the quality of participation at this year's congress, which brought together researchers, industry leaders, policymakers and innovators from around the world, reflected ESTCON's growing stature beyond that of an academic gathering.
He said UTP had demonstrated the value of close collaboration between academia, industry and government through research that contributes to both academic excellence and national priorities.
He emphasised that this was precisely the kind of ecosystem the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) was committed to strengthening.
-- BERNAMA
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
