The role of UGM in contributing and improving the quality of the built environment, particularly in the Asian region continues to gain recognition from the international community. This is proven by the participation of UGM as the sole representative of the Indonesian university at the International Society for Habitat Engineering and Design (ISHED) in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 4, 2010. The ISHED is a group of Asian academic community consisting of academics from leading universities who have attention toward the future of the environmental quality of the region. In the ISHED forums, UGM is represented by the Chairman of Department of Architecture and Planning of Engineering Faculty, Dr.Ir. T. Yoyok Wahyu Subroto, M. Eng. "UGM attends the event as representative of the Indonesian Universities along with 31 universities delegates from 12 countries in Asia," said Yoyok at UGM on Monday (12/7).
Yoyok explained, UGM as an institution that has experience and success in dealing with built environment issues, particularly in urban usual problems and various post-disaster problems has attracted the attention of the delegates. They wanted that the ‘transfer of knowledge’ from UGM can be shared through the academics, thus benefiting countries in Asia. "Transfer of knowledge and experience of UGM, especially in dealing with environmental issues and disaster is highly anticipated by the delegates," he added.
He said that ISHED forum is quite important as a means of mutual take-and-give ‘learning process’ for the delegates, especially to improve the quality of the built environment in Asia in the future. In that forum, said Yoyok, UGM has contributed ideas, concepts and in-depth thoughts in order to improve the quality in Asia. It is also associated with culture and technology as well as a comfortable neighborhood which oriented in the convenience of future generation’s climate and global social condition. "The quality of the built environment can not be separated from the culture and comfortable technology and, of course, environmentally friendly," said Yoyok.
In implementing its programs, the International Society of Habitat Engineering and Design (ISHED) is fully supported by UN Habitat in Asia-Pacific, based in Fukuoka, Japan. Several leading universities taking part in the ISHED meetings include National University of Singapore, Singapore; Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Kyushu University and Kyoto University, Japan; The University of Hong Kong and observers include: delegations from the University of California, Irvine, USA; The University of Melbourne, Australia and The University of Auckland, New Zealand.