Inaugural Curtin Engineering Symposium attracts 185 participants

Miri – 12 June 2013 – The Society of Petroleum Engineering (SPE) Student Chapter of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) recently organised its inaugural Curtin Engineering Symposium at the university’s Recreation and Event Centre.

The two-day symposium which carried the theme ‘Fuelling the engineering in you’ was attended by 185 participants comprising staff and students of the university, representatives from industry, students from Institut Latihan Perindustrian (ILP) and members of the public.

Focusing on developments in the oil and gas industry, the symposium provided opportunities for students from various engineering disciplines to interact with and learn from industry professionals from major oil and gas companies in the country.

Present at the opening ceremony was Curtin Sarawak’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Kerr, Acting Dean of School of Engineering and Science Associate Professor Ir. Lau Hieng Ho, Head of Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Dr. Chua Han Bing and Student Council President Jude Dominic Lim.

Also present were SPE Sarawak Section Communication Chairperson Nabila Hannah Samsol Bahri and Shell People Services Asia Sdn. Bhd. Graduate Recruiter Sairemalatha Jayaram.

In her speech, Nabila, quoting SPE Sarawak Section Chairperson Rick Carter, said that to be a successful petroleum engineering or geoscience professional, one must have curiosity, dedication and good networks.

“Curiosity refers to the ability to never stop learning every day, as well as to look around you and not only see the obvious, but also envision what you cannot see. Getting a good degree is just the starting point. In this rapidly growing industry, one needs dedication to do his or her bit for the team,” said Nabila.

She added that it is important to have the right networks within the industry as this would help engineers choose their fields of specialisation.

The symposium included talks by industry professionals from Sarawak Shell, Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), Wehaya Sdn. Bhd. and Petronas. Among the topics presented were ‘The challenges faced in the oil and gas industry’ by Dr. Raoof Gholami Mian Poshteh, Curtin Sarawak’s lecturer of petroleum engineering, as well as ‘The needs of the current engineering industry’ by Adi Suria Ishak from the Talent Management Department of Petronas Malaysia LNG Sdn. Bhd. (MLNG).

In addition, there were showcases of the Shell Graduate Programme and poster displays, as well as reservoir simulations by the students.

Meanwhile, Dr. Chua highlighted that students must be passionate and eager to learn by ‘fuelling’ themselves with as much knowledge as possible in their daily lives.

President of SPE Student Chapter of Curtin Sarawak and symposium chairperson Sean Toh Zit Cheng commented that the event was a success judging by the turnout.

“Our SPE Student Chapter was only established in March this year and we had just two months to prepare for the event. I’m satisfied with the response and I can see many greater opportunities in the near future,” said Toh.

The symposium was sponsored by Shell People Services Asia Sdn. Bhd. and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration (Malaysia).

The SPE Student Chapter currently has about 200 members and is sponsored by Curtin Sarawak’s School of Engineering and Science. It is one of only four SPE student chapters in Malaysia and the first to be established in East Malaysia. SPE student chapters are university-based groups of SPE student members and there are currently over 260 SPE student chapters all over the world.

For more information on Curtin University Sarawak SPE Student Chapter, visit its website at specurtinsarawak.blogspot.com or its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/specurtinswk.

Professor Kerr (3rd right) and Toh (4th right) receiving sponsorship mock cheque from Sairemalatha (3rd left) while others look on.

Some of the participants posing for group photo after the opening ceremony.