A research paper on environmental sustainability among adult learners by senior lecturer, Sharifah Rosfashida Syed Abd Latif, has won her the Best Presenter Award at the 2nd International Conference on Immersive Education Technology (ICIET 2020) last October.
Organised by the WorldConferences.net, Open University of Malaysia (OUM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Saudi Electronic University (SEU) and Kolej Universiti Islam Selangor (KUIS), the paper on “Promoting Environmental Sustainability among OUM Adult Learners” which she co-authored with three other OUM academics, examined the correlation between learners’ disposition and learning experience among those who have taken the Learning Skills for 21st Century course (OUMH1603), which includes the topic Environment and Us.
The research, which was supported by an internal grant from OUM, has proven that formal environmental education was necessary and must be embedded in university courses in order to create environmentally literate adults.
“I was thrilled to receive the award as it can actually boost academics’ motivation and opportunities in sharing research findings in the area of environmental sustainability.
Above all, it is an acknowledgement of the research’s success in instilling awareness of environmental sustainability, especially among adult learners,” Sharifah said.
She added that the research findings showed that environmental knowledge was crucial for someone to make a sound judgement when dealing with environmental issues.
Sharifah is the programme director for the Master of Facility Management programme and course leader for Master of Project Management and Bachelor of Science in Project and Facility Management programmes under the Faculty of Technology and Applied Sciences.
She received her Master of Science in Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Civil Engineering from a local university. Her career started in 1999 as a project engineer prior to joining OUM as a lecturer in 2004. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Science in the area of facility management.
With her vast experience in the field, Sharifah has a number of research interests, ranging from project management, sustainability and facility management, engineering education: collaborative online learning, pedagogy, distance learning and programme development.
“As a programme director, my responsibilities include managing the programmes, liaising with facilitators and subject-matter experts, setting up and moderating examination papers, reviewing and developing syllabuses as well as monitoring and supervising project papers and providing academic counselling.”
On top of that, she is also involved in developing programmes for the Institute of Professional Development – a department under OUM which specialises in offering professional training and capacity building courses.