Miri – 18 May 2022 – Following the launch the International Journal of Business Events and Legacies (IJBEL) by Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) and Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) in March this year, IJBEL subsequently launched its ‘IJBEL STUDIO Series’ as a secondary platform.
The online journal, the first in the world to merge business events and legacy topics, was launched by Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah at Curtin Malaysia on 16 March 2022. The event also saw the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sarawak and the Sarawak Research Society as partners in the journal
The journal is designed as a platform for industry students, academics, researchers, practitioners and policymakers to understand the relationship between hosting business events and correlating activities such as management, economics and entrepreneurship among many other disciplines.
Curtin Malaysia’s involvement in IJBEL includes its Dean of Faculty of Business, Prof. Andreas Zins, who has considerable experience in managing international journals, being editor-in-chief. Staff of the Faculty also serve as managing editors, editorial secretariat staff, and editorial assistants and reviewers. In addition, a number of Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students are involved as graduate research assistants, as well as experts at the Curtin Perth campus as advisory board members and associate editors.
In addition to providing multidisciplinary perspectives, industry-relevant knowledge and high-quality publications about Sarawak’s business events and legacies, IJBEL also administers an event series called ‘IJBEL STUDIO’, the first instalment of which was launched at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus (Swinburne Sarawak) in Kuching recently.
Prof Zins (centre) moderating the session.
Prof. Zins, who moderated the session, thanked Swinburne Sarawak for hosting the first IJBEL STUDIO, describing it as a significant milestone in initiating dialogue and triggering issues about destination marketing between academics and industry practitioners.
Among the STUDIO’s distinguished speakers were Audry Wan Ullok, President of the Sarawak Tourism Federation; Noor Ahmad Hamid, Chief Operating Officer of the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau; and Dr. Jeffrey Jee Teck Weng, Director of the Business and Social Innovation Centre at Swinburne Sarawak.
Swinburne Sarawak Executive Dean of Research Prof. Ida Fatimawati Adi Badiozaman, who delivered the opening keynote, highlighted the alignment of the IJBEL STUDIO initiative with Swinburne’s Moon Shot 3 (‘Every Swinburne partner gets a tech solution’) and Moon Shot 4 (‘Swinburne is the prototype of global best practice’), which are part of Swinburne’s 2025 Vision of bringing people and technology together to build a better world.
In her speech, Audry emphasised two key issues: the reopening of borders has not resulted in an increase in tourism activities, and accessibility (flights and public transportation) and capacity (labour) should be adjusted to meet the new norm.
She also said she hoped to leave an enduring legacy as a tourism industry leader through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and believes that the state could do more to brand Borneo as an exotic destination.
Meanwhile, Noor Ahmad emphasised the impact of tourism on nature, sustainability and society. He called for improvement in Malaysia’s perceptual positioning as a destination by understanding motivation, needs and story. To achieve this, there is a need for clear unique selling points and a distinctive listing of product offerings, as well as a targeted approach with the support of strong research teams to study the motivation, needs and narratives of target customers.
Dr Jeffrey Jee giving his talk.
Dr.Jee shared similar sentiments, adding that the role of communities as partners in driving business events and developing destinations is also crucial.
The IJBEL STUDIO series aims to present IJBEL in a studio setting and welcomes anyone interested or is actively involved in business events who would like to learn more about related issues such as marketing, tourism development, management, economics, entrepreneurship, hospitality and legacies, among others.
In addition, the series provides participants with comprehensive guidelines for writing and submitting camera-ready papers to IJBEL for publication.
Contributions of research papers from the industry to IJBEL are highly valued. IJBEL publishes major papers, reports and reviews providing high-quality content that advances knowledge for researchers, practitioners, consumers and policymakers. The journal can be accessed at https://ijbel.businesseventssarawak.com/ and enquiries can be directed to Managing Editor Dr. Tiong Ying Ying at [email protected] or Editorial Secretary Dr. Fayrene Chieng at [email protected].
For more information on Curtin Malaysia, visit its website at https://curtin.edu.my or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tiktok. More information on courses at Curtin Malaysia can be found at https://courses.curtin.edu.my/.
Session participants gather for photo-op at the end of the session.
Online Education Fair 线上教育展
Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia)
科廷大学马来西亚分校
https://edufair.fsi.com.my/curtin
