Curtin Sarawak HDR student second in Australian competition

Miri – 11 November 2013 – A Higher Degree by Research (HDR) student of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak), Valerie Jong Siaw Wee, recently won the second prize in the bi-annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition held at Curtin University’s main campus at Bentley in Perth, Western Australia.

The 3MT is a research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland that aims to develop research students’ academic, presentation and research communication skills through a three-minute research presentation describing their thesis topics to an intelligent but non-specialist audience.

The competition, which is held in September and October each year, also promotes an active research culture among HDR students, as well as provides a platform for them to showcase their varied and high quality research.

The first stage of the competition involves heats at faculty level in participating Australian universities or their branch campuses. The winners of the faculty heats will then compete in university-wide finals followed by a second stage where the finalists from the university-wide finals will compete in the grand finale that takes place at the University of Queensland.

Jong entered the university-wide final competition at the main campus after winning the Curtin Sarawak heat. She walked away with an A$1000 prize for her research work.

In her presentation entitled ‘Shit Treatment by Engineered Wetlands – The Back-to-Nature Approach’, Jong shared her erstwhile misconception of the unlimited storage capacity of septic tanks and the notion that whatever goes into the tank will somehow miraculously disappear.

Jong suggested that people should be aware of the importance of maintaining and desludging their septic tanks. She talked about the benefits of using engineered wetlands, which is an eco-friendly technology to treat the contents of septic tanks before disposal into the environment.

She said this green technology is relatively simpler and cheaper than the conventional treatment plant, which makes it a suitable alternative for small cities and suburban areas in Malaysia.

Commenting on her participation in the competition, Jong said it was an amazing experience and she was glad to have met other HDR students from the main campus.

“It was a great opportunity for us to develop our communication skills. With effective communication skills, we can stand out from the crowd and deliver our messages clearly to our audiences,” she said.

Jong, whose research interest is in wastewater and sludge treatment, is currently pursuing a PhD in civil and construction engineering at Curtin Sarawak. She also works as a teaching assistant at the university’s School of Engineering and Science.

Jong was awarded the ‘Zecon Best Project Award’ in 2009 for her final year project, and she is soon to complete her postgraduate study in the field of water and environmental engineering under a Curtin Sarawak Postgraduate Scholarship awarded for her doctorate study in 2010.

HDR student Valerie Jong Siaw Wee with her prize.