Miri will be the focus of a national geoscience conference this October.

MIRI, 22 September: Miri will be the focus of local and international geoscientists when about 300 professionals, researchers, academics and students are expected to attend the 39th National Geoscience Conference (NGC) from October 1 to 3.

The conference at Pullman Miri Waterfront was organized by the Geological Society of Malaysia (GSM) in collaboration with the Department of Minerals and Geosciences Malaysia (JMG) Sarawak and Curtin University Malaysia.

NGC 2026's theme is 'Innovation and Sustainable Geoscience for a Resilient Future', with discussions focusing on the role of geosciences in shaping a more resilient and sustainable future.

Curtin Malaysia in a statement today said, among the topics to be highlighted are climate change and disaster risk, energy and mineral resources, groundwater, conservation and geotourism, coastal and marine geology, geophysics, geospatial applications, geotechnology and petroleum geology.

The conference was attended by participants from Malaysia, Nigeria, South Africa, India, Brunei, Japan, Australia, Norway and Indonesia.

Around 165 oral presentations and posters will be presented across 12 themes, providing a platform for researchers and industry players to share discoveries, technologies and new approaches in the field of geosciences.

In addition to the main conferences, participants are scheduled to participate in pre-conference field visits to Bintulu area on 29 and 30 September, while post-conference visits to Niah National Park will be held on 3 October.

NGC 2026 was also approved to earn four Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points by the Malaysian Board of Geologists.

The inauguration ceremony will be completed by Deputy Prime Minister Sarawak, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, who is also the Minister of Second Natural Resources and Urban Development as well as Minister of International Trade, Industry and Investment.

Following the scheduled attendance were Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak I (Tourism), Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew, General Director JMG, Datuk P. It's very cool. Zamri Ramli, Deputy Secretary to the Government of Sarawak (Operations), Datu Hii Chang Kee, President GSM, Professor Madya Meor Hakif Amir Hassan, Pro Vice Chancellor, President and Chief Executive Officer of Curtin Malaysia, Professor Vincent Lee Chieng Chen and Mayor Miri, Adam Yii Siew Sang as well as Chairman of NGC 2026 Organizing Committee, Jaithish John.

NGC 2026 is expected to strengthen the sharing of knowledge and network of cooperation among geoscience professionals, as well as highlight the role of the field in addressing environmental, resource and development challenges in the region.

Curtin Malaysia also announced the move in line with the three-year Bachelor of Applied Geology program offered at the university which includes basic geology, sedimentology and stratigraphy, mineralogy and geochemistry, geophysics, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), structural geology, field analysis, hydrogeology and engineering geology.