Curtin engineering students learn about Kuching’s iconic engineering projects

Miri – 26 April 2018 – 30 undergraduate environmental engineering and civil and construction engineering students of Curtin University, Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) went on a two-day field trip to the state capital recently to learn more about key engineering projects and infrastructure there.

The students were accompanied by senior lecturer Dr. Tang Fu Ee, lecturers Dr. Tina Ting Chui Huon, Daniel Tang Kuok Ho and Carrie Ho Lee Ing, and post-doctoral research fellow Dr. Sharon Yee Jia Huey.

Among the places the group visited were the Kuching Barrage and Shiplock, Kuching Centralised Sewerage Treatment Plant, and the Gala City construction site in Stampin.

At the Kuching Barrage and Shiplock, they learned about the barrage’s history, operation and maintenance, and how it is used in flood management in Kuching. They also got to see the shiplock in action, watching how river traffic on the Sarawak River navigate the lock.

Meanwhile, at the Kuching Centralised Sewerage Treatment Plant, the students were briefed on Kuching’s centralised sewerage network which operates using a gravity flow system. While touring the plant facilities, they observed the overall wastewater treatment process and how effluents from the treatment are discharged into constructed wetlands before being released into the Sarawak River.

Environmental engineering student Lee Kek Kin said the visit really helped him relate what he had learned in his course to operations at the treatment plant. “By observing its operations first-hand, I gained a much clearer understanding of the entire wastewater treatment process,” he remarked.

At the Gala City construction site, the students learned about the different architectural and structural requirements for an integrated commercial and residential development by the developer’s site staff and design consultants. They were shown the street mall, shophouses and apartments, as well as the underground retention pond as the site is in a flood-prone area.

Final-year civil and construction engineering student Ron Malvina from Sychelles, commented that the visit to the construction site was a real eye-opener. “I discovered that there can be many solutions to a design problem; it’s a matter of finding one that suits the purpose,” he said.

Head of the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering at Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science, Associate Professor Muhammad Ekhlasur Rahman, said student learning at the university is not limited to classrooms and lecture theatres. Field trips and industry visits are regularly organised so students can gain exposure to industry practice and connect theories taught in the classroom to real-life applications.

Curtin Malaysia offers Curtin University’s Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Engineering (Honours), which equips students with integrated knowledge of multiple engineering fields such as chemical engineering, civil engineering and construction engineering.

It also offers Curtin’s world-acclaimed Bachelor of Engineering in Civil and Construction Engineering (Honours), a comprehensive combination of civil engineering and construction engineering.

Both courses are for four years and include the Engineering First Year (EFY) in the first year, which helps students build a solid base of the fundamental concepts common to all areas of engineering.

According to Associate Professor Muhammad, both courses are professional and practically-orientated courses designed with extensive input from industry players, and job opportunities abound in both fields both in Malaysia and overseas.

He said both qualifications also offer a high level of job mobility and are highly prized by graduates and respected by professional engineers.

Curtin students and lecturers at Kuching Centralised Sewerage Treatment Plant.