QIUP university council chairman Datuk Vijay Eswaran

KUALA LUMPUR: Quest International University Perak’s (QIUP) permanent campus will be a completely environmental friendly one when it is completed in the near future, said QIUP university council chairman Datuk Vijay Eswaran yesterday. For starters, the 101ha campus to be constructed in Gua Tempurung, Perak, will be carbon neutral.rnVijay said students would be encouraged to get around on bicycles. “Students and staff will also be using electric buggies and buses to move around,” he told the New Sunday Times.rnQIUP, which was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Oct 27, will also incorporate new water acquisition technologies in the campus, such as the “Water from Air” (WFA) system, where the buildings will harvest moisture from the surrounding atmosphere to be processed into drinking water. “Other water sources are rain and lake water, since the campus will share an area with seven major lakes,” said Vijay. “The location’s scenic and calming properties will be conducive for studying,” he added.rnThe decision to take green initiatives was a win-win scenario for the university — greenhouse gas emissions would be kept at minimal levels and at the same time, QIUP will be able to showcase advanced environmentally friendly technologies. Vijay said the university’s green initiatives and technological showcase was a reflection of its mission, where students not only gain academic knowledge, but also take on a new level of awareness outside of niche boundaries. “We do not want to build just another university which churns out graduates and degrees on conveyor belts, like in factories.” He said innovative courses would be offered to students. “For example, a student taking up medicine as their major will have the chance to take up other studies which complements the main subject.”rnThe permanent campus will be built in multiple phases. Its first buildings will be occupied as early as the end of next year.