In conjunction with World Water Month 2026, the IEM Young Engineers Section (IEM YES), in collaboration with the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM), successfully organized the Mission 26 Urban River Sustainability Challenge (URSC) 2026 on 11th April 2026 at Wisma IEM, Petaling Jaya. The programme focused on transforming water awareness into meaningful, student-led solutions addressing urban river pollution and environmental sustainability.
Held under the Mission 26 framework themed “Agenda 2030 Towards a Low Carbon Future”, URSC 2026 challenged participants to respond to real urban river issues through engineering, science, and community driven approaches. Participants explored pollution pathways and urban river conditions, including runoff, sedimentation, littering, discharge hotspots, and water quality degradation.
The challenge emphasised pollution management through three key focus areas: Solid Waste & Chemical Pollution, Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring, and Sustainable Remediation. Participants proposed practical and implementable ideas ranging from AI-driven monitoring systems and smart sensing concepts to sustainable river rehabilitation and community engagement initiatives.
A key highlight of URSC 2026 was the rigorous judging and engagement session conducted by distinguished representatives from the IEM Engineering Education Technical Division (E2TD), IEM Environmental Engineering Technical Division (EnETD), Alliance of River Three (ART!), and Air Selangor. Participants were challenged on technical feasibility, implementation strategy, scalability, stakeholder coordination, and long-term sustainability impact, providing valuable exposure to real world engineering expectations and environmental problem solving.
IEM YES would also like to express its sincere appreciation to STREAM Environment Sdn Bhd for supporting the programme as the official Sustainability Partner. Their support played an important role in making the challenge possible and strengthening the framework’s sustainability driven mission.
The organising committee hopes to further expand the programme in the coming years with stronger industry, academic, and community collaboration. Those interested in supporting or collaborating in future editions are encouraged to reach out to the committee.
Reflecting on the experience, the Program Director shared, “The questions and remarks by the judges were brutal – it felt like facing a hurricane and tsunami. My dear young engineers, don’t just climb to higher ground or seek shelter. Observe it, study it, and master it. Master it until one day, you can surf tsunamis and walk through hurricanes.”
