Curtin electrical and computer engineering students get industry exposure in Penang

Miri – 23 October 2013 – 20 staff and students from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the School of Engineering and Science at Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak), as well as members of the university’s Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Student Branch, recently went on a field trip to Penang.

They were led by electrical and computer engineering lecturer and Industrial and External Relations Coordinator Dr. Garenth Lim King Hann, and head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Sharul Sham bin Dol.

As exposure to industry practice is an integral aspect of the student learning experience at Curtin Sarawak, the aim of the trip was to expose the students to practical and real-life applications of the theories and principles learned in their course. In Penang, they visited leading companies such as Agilent Technologies, DreamCatcher and Altera.

At Agilent, they were received by members of the company’s management team, including Gooi Bor Chun, Worldwide Marketing Director; Lee Choon Seng, Regional Channel Manager, Electronics Measurement Groups; Chew Teck Ming, Business Advisor, ATM Solutions.

Lee gave the students an overview of the operations of Agilent Penang, which is the largest production centre for testing and measurement instruments in the world. Its products range from handheld signal analysers and oscilloscopes to DNA testers for life science research.

Following the briefing, the students were brought on a tour of the Agilent factory. They also attended a seminar after the tour.

The group also visited DreamCatcher’s headquarters on the same day. DreamCatcher is a training provider that provides technical training to the electrical and electronic, telecommunications, oil and gas and life sciences industries. The company, along with CREST (Collaborative Research in Science, Engineering & Technology), is a training provider having similar functions as TalentCorp, an organisation under the Prime Minister’s Department established to formulate and facilitate initiatives to address the availability of talent in line with the needs of the country’s economic transformation.

During their visit to Dreamcatcher, the group attended a seminar conducted by TalentCorp and CREST. Evelyn Ooi, Manager of Malaysian Talents Development, TalentCorp, briefed them on the opportunities available in TalentCorp as well as CREST, while Dr. Nor Azmi Alias, Senior Vice President of Talent Development, CREST, talked about job opportunities specifically for electrical, electronic and computer engineering graduates. Also present was Dr. Hor Poh Jin, Chief Executive Officer of DreamCatcher.

The final stop was Altera where they were welcomed by Staffing Specialist Chad Goh Sin Kok. Altera is a company that supplies programmable silicon solutions to the electronics industry.

Final-year electrical power engineering student and president of the IEEE Student Branch Esther Ling said the trip was a real eye-opener as so far, their field trips had been to oil and gas related industries in Miri. The IEEE Student Branch actively organises annual exhibitions, community outreach activities and educational visits for its members.

For more information on the IEEE Student Branch of Curtin Sarawak, e-mail  ieee.curtinsarawak@gmail.com or visit its website at ewh.ieee.org/sb/malaysia/curtinsarawak. One can also visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CurtinSarawakIEEE.

Curtin Sarawak students and staff with staff of Agilent Technologies.

Dr. Garenth Lim (left) presenting a souvenir to Dr. Nor Azmi of CREST.

The group posing for a group photo at Altera.