Building coastal resilience against climate change and anthropogenic impacts – A preliminary report on UNSW Global Research and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) visits to NUS and SJTU

May 17, 2024, Ling Meng

Summary

The first outreach trip was held during the 7^th and 11^th of May led by Prof. Xiao Hua Wang from the School of Science, accompanied by A/Prof. Jianfeng Xue from the School of Engineering and Technology. The visit to NUS was joined by A/Prof Li Li and Yuezhang Xia from Zhejiang University, China. The visit to SJTU was joined by Mr. Wanqiang Xu and Mr. Chenghao Luo from Fujian YongKing Geotechnical Ltd. Co.  (FJYK).

 

The visit by NUS and SJTU to UNSW is planned for the second week of July. FJYK has shown interest in joining the visit for further discussion on future collaborations.

NUS trip

The group visited the National University of Singapore on the 7^th and the 8^th. During the two-day visit, 1) a field trip was made to the St. John's Island National Marine Laboratory, Tropical Marine Research Institute. 2) Discussions were held with researchers from NUS, NUT and the University of Newcastle on the NUS campus at the Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute (CFI), and the Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore (TCOMS), and the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI). The following collaboration opportunities have been identified:

1: UNSW student mobility including oceanography field schools to the St. John's Island National Marine Laboratory, Tropical Marine Research Institute to enhance the collaboration on education and research activities on coastal resilience.

2: pathways to collaborate with NUS and NTU researchers on coastal resilient infrastructure under the newly established CFI funded by the Singapore government under the S$125M 5-year research program.

3: joint undergraduate and postgraduate education programs in coastal and ocean science.

4: joint application for funding under the United Nation’s Ocean Decades Program.

SJTU trip

On the 10^th and the 11^th of May, the team visited SJTU to exchange ideas on potential collaboration opportunities. Prof. Meng Zhou, Prof. Lulu Zhang and six other SJTU colleagues attended the meeting. Our industry partner, Mr Wanqiang Xu, CEO of Fujian Yonking Geotechnical Ltd Pty also joined our meeting. The group exchanged the undergraduate and postgraduate education status in both civil engineering and ocean science. The following collaboration opportunities have been identified:

1: Undergraduate student mobility.

2: Joint undergraduate and postgraduate education programs in coastal resilience and management.

3: Joint application for funding under the United Nation’s Ocean Decades Program.

4: SJTU CSC PhD scholarship recipients to study at UNSW Canberra.