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Engineering students benefit from convention centre project

23 November 2005

Four first-year engineering students have won a Monash University Malaysia prize for their design of a convention centre. The students received the Best Design Award for their entry, completed as part of the Engineering Profession subject.

The winning team, front row from left: Ms Chuah Pei Ling, lecturer Dr Teoh Kok Soo and Ms Tan Yee Ming; top row from left: Ms Joanne Lim Mun Yee and Mr Lim Yong Hsin.

The students, Ms Tan Yee Ming, Ms Chuah Pei Ling, Ms Joanne Lim Mun Yee and Mr Lim Yong Hsin, received book vouchers. They operated under the team name Prime Tech Co.

Engineering Profession lecturer Dr Teoh Kok Soo said all 46 students in the subject had to form groups and design a convention centre. The project gave students the opportunity to explore the possibilities of engineering.

"This subject has been developed to provide new engineering students with an overall picture of the engineering profession and an understanding of the environment in which engineers work and interact with the community," he said.

"It uses problem-based learning to give an introduction to engineering that includes issues such as sustainable development and ecology, economics, product life cycle design, quality control and professional ethics."

The Prime Tech Co. students said they had not expected to win and that the experience gained from working on the design project was a prize in itself.

Mr Lim Yong Hsin said the project had taught him construction planning from start to finish. "It is more than drawing plans and starting the construction," he said. "Other factors such as safety and economic assessment are also important areas that should not be taken lightly."

Ms Tan Yee Ming enjoyed the hands-on approach to the subject. "I felt it was a more effective way of absorbing and learning than memorising facts," she said. "I also enjoyed the class field trip to Sunway Convention Center as a guide before we embarked on our project. I was enlightened on the processes of planning a project from both the client's and tenderer's point of view. This created awareness on how projects are carried out in the working world."

Another team member, Ms Chuah Pei Ling, said the project had taught her teamwork, trust, time management, communication and presentation skills.

"Our lecturer, Dr Teoh Kok Soo, delivers his lecture sessions excellently, and he has taught us to experience engineering differently," she said. "He taught us the ethics of being an engineer and other aspects that would prepare us to become responsible future engineers."

Monash University Malaysia Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Merilyn Liddell said activities such as the convention centre project were important in developing appropriate graduate attributes, with students developing broad-based skills suitable for use in industry after graduation.

"We are very pleased that our students are well regarded by industry, and we have an excellent employment rate," Professor Liddell said. "Eighty per cent of our graduates are employed within two months of graduation."