Sarawak students exchange expertise

A group of 20 Environmental Science students from Sarawak, Malaysia came to Murdoch for two weeks in March and April to meet with their Murdoch supervisors and other staff and students.

The students, enrolled in the School of Environmental Science’s Master of Science course, were kept very busy attending seminars and workshops in environmental areas, establishing networks with government agencies and carrying out thesis work.

“The students were all senior and middle management executives employed in the public sector in Sarawak,” said Environmental Science lecturer and program manager Ms Dianne Katscherian.

“They came from a variety of backgrounds including environmental agencies, local government and public utilities.”

She said that although they were enrolled as full time students, they still all had full-time employment and family commitments to meet.

“Their hard work and commitment to the program has been of a very high standard,” said Ms Katscherian.

Whilst in Perth, the students presented a number of seminars on topics such as ‘Water Quality in the Batang Ai Reservoir’, ‘An Overview of Water Treatment Processes with Emerging Best Practice’ and ‘The Impact of Mining Activities on Water Quality in Sarawak’.

Ms Katscherian said the visit was sponsored by the Malaysian Government and the School of Environmental Science.

“It was initiated by the Government of Sarawak in conjunction with former Division of Science and Engineering Executive Dean Professor Tony Tate and Associate Professor John Bailey,” she said.

“Further collaborative work is planned between the two institutions and the students are due to complete their degrees later this year.”