Shell and Curtin kick off Immersion & Digitalisation Modules for Curtin Malaysia students

Miri – 30 August 2019 – Sarawak Shell Berhad (SSB) and Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) recently launched the SSB Immersion and Digitalisation Modules which the two organisations agreed to undertake jointly under the framework of two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) signed in April.

A ‘kick-off’ ceremony, which was attended by SSB Sarawak Maintenance Manager, Sarawak Asset Victor Maiyor and Operations Manager Alexon Jong; Curtin Malaysia civil and construction engineering senior lecturer Ir. Dr. Wong Kwong Soon, petroleum engineering lecturer Dr. Ziad Bennour, mechanical engineering senior lecturer Ir. Dr. Lim Chye Ing and 40 Curtin Malaysia students who will undergo the programme, was held at the Sarawak Shell Berhad Office here.

The modules, developed by SSB specifically for Curtin Malaysia engineering and science students to gain an experiential, industry-led learning experience with the company, will require the students to will work in teams under the supervision of project leads from Shell to develop solutions to real-life industrial challenges.

The key aim is to enable them to apply the engineering and science knowledge and skills acquired in their courses to real-life situations. In addition, they will get to hone their communication and collaborative skills, problem-solving and critical analysis abilities, and leadership skills through peer interaction and group discussions, and professional engagement with their project leads and mentors from industry.

 The Immersion Module will involve two projects while the Digitalisation Module will involve four. The duration of each project will be between two to three months and the students will have scheduled face-to-face sessions with their project leads throughout the duration of their projects.

The Immersion Module will consist of simulations of real working environments with challenges that will enable the students to understand the critical success factors when delivering a major project for a multinational company.

The Digitalisation Module, meanwhile, will involve a series of projects of various levels of complexity which SSB hopes will create a knowledge exchange path between Shell and Curtin with the view of building the capability of future digital talents and developing a talent pipeline prepped with digitalisation skills.

A total of 40 students (25 for the Immersion Module and 15 for the Digitalisation Module) studying courses in chemical engineering, civil and construction engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, petroleum engineering, applied geology, computer systems and networking will participate in the programme.

Among the students is mechanical engineering student Danial Sharudin, who said the projects will allow the students to apply much of what they have learned in their courses to real-life scenarios at SSB.

“As our project teams will comprise students from various engineering and science disciplines, plus the fact that we will be working with highly experienced engineers from SSB, it will be a very enriching experience. We hope to learn crucial technical and soft skills that will be of great benefit to us in our future careers as engineers,” said Danial.

Another student, applied geology student Arasu Prasana, said she and her fellow students looked forward to working with the project leads and other Shell staff who are well known for their extensive technical expertise and professionalism.

“We hope to not only acquire a lot of knowledge and skills from them, but also help to fulfill SSB’s objectives in the projects. The experience will definitely enhance our marketability and employability in the future,” she said.

Curtin Malaysia’s Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Beena Giridharan said she was delighted to see the Curtin-Shell partnership providing opportunities for undergraduate student placements that are expected to have mutual benefits for both organisations.

“We are cognisant that this initiative where 40 of our engineering and science students are participating in immersion and digitalisation modules with SSB will embed practitioner knowledge building among them, and pave the way for them to build their future careers while allowing SSB access to skilled talent,” commented Professor Giridharan.

She said it is an exemplar of a strategic alliance in which universities and industries facilitate knowledge transfer partnership, and Curtin Malaysia is proud that its students will be building capacity to implement new and emerging research technologies in a live and authentic environment.

SSB Human Resources General Manager Nur Azlina Mohd. Yazid said the MOUs signed between the two organisations commit SSB and Curtin Malaysia to work in tandem to better prepare the future generations and move forward with Malaysia’s plan to accelerate human capital development for an advanced nation.

“It is also our hope to be able to recruit some of the finest final-year students out these programmes if they are successful in the Shell recruitment process,” added Azlina.

SSB and Curtin Malaysia representatives and participating students pose for group photo at the kick-off ceremony.