Curtin Malaysia ECE students and graduates receive industry awards

Miri – 6 July 2017 – 25 students and recent graduates of the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering (ECE) of Curtin University, Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) received industry awards for outstanding achievement in academia, leadership and community service at the university’s latest awards ceremony.

The award sponsors were Polar Light Sdn. Bhd., Samling Group of Companies, Shell Malaysia, SIRIM Measurements Technology Sdn. Bhd., Sarawak Information Systems Sdn. Bhd. (SAINS), O’Connor’s Engineering Sdn. Bhd. and Sarawak Energy Berhad.

Curtin Malaysia Pro-Chancellor Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr. George Chan and state Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin, who is also chair of Curtin Malaysia’s management board, were also sponsors.

Among the awardees was Francelouis Tie Sing Yong, a recent Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical Power) graduate who was President of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Curtin Malaysia Student Branch for 2015-2016. He won Sarawak Energy Berhad’s Best Project in Electrical Engineering Award along with fellow Electrical Power Engineering students Joshua Tang Choon Yue, Yap Hean Ding Sheng, Esther Kueh Yue Ning and Andy Goh Hiok Xiang.

Tie was organising chairman of the student branch’s ‘Educate Rural Malaysia’ and ‘Light of Borneo’ programmes. Together with fellow members Jeff Kong Sheng How, Bong Chu Jun, Li Zhen Er, David Ha Heng Lee and Ng Kay Li, he received the Datuk Lee Kim Shin Outstanding Community Contribution Award for their efforts in organising the programmes, as well as their involvement in staging ‘Young Innovate Miri 2016’, the Miri-stage of the national ‘Young Innovate Malaysia’ STEM-based competition at Curtin Malaysia.

“It was a great honour to receive both two awards, an honour I proudly share with my lecturers and friends who helped me through my journey at Curtin Malaysia,” said Tie.

He added that the community service programmes initiated by the IEEE Curtin Malaysia Student Branch have contributed significantly to the local community, and at the same time have helped promote the fields of engineering and science to the public.

Kong, who is the current president of the student branch and also an electrical power engineering student, commented that receiving the Datuk Lee Kim Shin Outstanding Community Contribution Award has spurred him and the student branch committee to organise projects like the ‘Young Innovators Challenge Miri’ and ‘Light Up Miri’ on a bigger scale. He said they hope to reach out to more schools and communities and also organised the ‘IEEE Digital Maker Expo 2017’ to promote engineering and technology this year.

Meanwhile, Esther Kueh received Shell Malaysia’s Best Final Year Engineering Student Award in addition to Sarawak Energy Berhad’s Best Project in Electrical Engineering Award.

Kueh was a vice-president of the IEEE Curtin Malaysia Student Branch for 2014-2015 and is currently a trainee electrical engineer with Sarawak Shell Berhad and also the community pillar lead in the Shell NEXUS Graduate Network 2017. She facilitated and led Shell’s STEM programme booth during the IEEE Digital Maker Expo 2017. She, too, thanked her dedicated lecturers for their support in both teaching and developing emerging leaders.

Among the other ECE award recipients were Electrical Power Engineering students Jason Ha Heng Teck and David Ha Heng Lee, and Electronic and Communication Engineering student Jonathan Phang Then Sien who received Polar Light’s Outstanding Performance in National Competition Award and the Innovate Malaysia Excellence Award 2016 for coming in first in the Innovate Malaysia – Vitrox Track competition.

Their win at the national competition held in Penang was due to the innovativeness of their final-year project – a ‘camera-based solar tracking system’ that uses cameras to follow the sun’s trajectory to improve solar tracking efficiency.

Ha, who was a vice-president of the IEEE Curtin Malaysia Student Branch for 2014-2015, also won the Samling Group of Companies’ Best Electrical Engineering Graduate Award.

Winning the SIRIM Measurements Technology Best Graduate in Electronic and Communication Engineering Award was Vernon Kong Wai Hong, while Justin Lee Bing won O’Connor’s Engineering’s Best Electrical and Electronics Engineering Project Award.

Meanwhile, Bachelor of Technology (Computer Systems and Networking) students Ronny Ling Choon Kyn, Vincent Sia Yu Xing and Ong Yi Peng won SAINS’ Best Information Technology Graduate, Best First-Year Bachelor of Technology Student and Best Second-Year Bachelor of Technology Student awards, respectively.

The awards ceremony also saw 16 ECE students being placed on the Vice-Chancellor’s List for outstanding academic achievement. In addition to recognition by the Vice-Chancellor of Curtin University, membership in the list is for life and includes special benefits for qualifying students.

According to Dr Lenin Gopal, Head of the ECE Department, the overall performance of the ECE students in the 2016 academic year was outstanding in terms of academic performance, participation in national-level competitions and the conducting of professional development training for Curtin Malaysia students and students of local schools.

For more information on the awards, visit engsci.curtin.edu.my/student-activities-latest/student-award-2017/.

The award recipients with Dean of Faculty of Engineering and Science Prof Ir Lau Hieng Ho and Dr Lenin Gopal.