HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE: Engineer Jully Tan in the midst of conducting a demonstration for her students as part of her efforts to intensify real-world learning in the chemical engineering programme.

Many presume that the Chemical Engineering sphere is fraught with technicalities and is not meant for the faint-hearted.

Apparently, Engineer Jully Tan – who discovered her passion in the field and followed her dream to mainland China, where she was based in a multinational corporation as a quality engineer – was glad to be proven wrong.

Armed with a comprehensive repertoire of industry knowledge and skills, she is now heading UCSI University's Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department under the Faculty of Engineering, Technology and Built Environment.

Tan – with the help of her colleagues – has brought about significant changes to the Chemical Engineering programme since then and it is evident that the Faculty is reaping the fruits of her labour.

The establishment of new industry advisory panels and the engagement of external examiners from other universities – to assess the course structure and syllabus – are proof that the course has received a new face lift since its launch.

With Tan's constant efforts to intensify real-world learning in the curriculum, plans are afoot to create a new programme – namely, the Global Outreach Programme.

"Through this programme, students – in a team of three to four persons – will be required to craft proposals (related to their coursework) for site visits outside Klang Valley," said Tan.

She explained that the programme is an ideal platform for students to pit talents against their peers: "The students will be required to liaise directly with industry clients, in terms of plans and activities for the proposed site visit."

This way, she elaborated, our students will be committed to solid, hands-on grounding and will be infused with the essential skills and confidence to build relationships with industry practitioners, even prior to graduation.

Notably, the programme places heavy emphasis on practical learning, boldly underscoring staff-student collaborations – an approach which Tan has replicated from her university days.

"Back then, my lecturer was engaged in a project with a local pharmaceutical company to invent a prediction software to forecast the company's return on investment and outcomes; I was privileged to have been able to join the team," she enthused.

Through first-hand experience, Tan firmly believes that collaborations between Faculty lecturers and students will enable both parties to tackle real-life industry concerns and keep themselves updated with the latest developments in the field.

This approach has already been implemented (in the programme), she said, and the Faculty has engaged key industry partners – such as the Malaysian Nuclear Agency – to work with our students.

"Three of our students have recently completed their final year project – analysing the effect of radiation on polymers to be applied to Malaysian nuclear, to be exact – with the Malaysian Nuclear Agency," said Tan, who was pleased to note that the students had been enthusiastic about the project.

One of the Chemical Engineering students, Tan Su Myn, described her one-year project experience with the Agency as "a lot of hands-on exposure".

"I was based in their research department, allowing me to carry out frequent tests and experiments," she said.

"Overall, I gained a lot of experience that cannot be found in the classroom; it was a good opportunity for me to acquire research knowledge as well."

Tan shared that these students had displayed exemplary dedication to their project and that this was a trait reflected by all of her students.

Take for example Chemical Engineering students Ng Chieh Shuang and Leong Yik Tin who were selected to represent Malaysia in the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) in Bangkok earlier this year.

Themed Engineering Education Week, the five-day event aimed to develop in-depth knowledge in the area of oil and gas among the participants who hailed from Doha, Qatar and the Asia Pacific region.

According to Ng, the conference was "a fun and eye-opening experience" that allowed her to "apply technical knowledge in real-life situations".

"The conference was an excellent way for me to hone my leadership skills, public speaking and intercultural communication skills," she said.

"I learned to be more outspoken and proactive; in a team comprising individuals from different nationalities and cultures, you really need to speak up and share your thoughts with your team."

It was no surprise that Leong was just as elated as her coursemate to be given this rare opportunity: "It was a great experience (for me) as it was an international conference and there were many opportunities to socialise with people from all walks of life."

"(Through this event), I garnered many soft skills – such as teamwork and communication skills – and gained much valuable insight from the technical workshops," she said.

"Such projects have enabled my students to grow into maturity at full speed and their growth has been most impressive," Tan said.

"They were very result-oriented at the start of the programme but have since developed into young professionals who recognise the importance of attaining soft skills – namely, teamwork, presentation skills and time management, among others – in addition to excellent results."  

"I am pleased that my industry expertise has benefited the Faculty, and hope to see my students fledge into leaders capable of contributing positive efforts to the industry," said Tan, who is currently pursuing her PhD in this field.

To find out more on UCSI University's Chemical Engineering programme, feel free to pay us a visit any day from Monday to Saturday (9am – 6pm) for course counselling, contact our counsellors at 03-9101 8880 or email us at www.ucsiuniversity.edu.my/onlineenquiry for any enquiries.

You may also visit the UCSI University website at www.ucsiuniversity.edu.my.