TAR University College Student Emerges Unrivalled in ASQED Microelectronics Olympiad

In an unprecedented fashion, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (‘TAR University College”) student emerged as the sole winner in the ASQED Microelectronics Olympiad 2015, an event organised by Synopsys, a global leader in electronic design automation (‘EDA’) and semiconductor IP, as well as, software quality and security solutions, and the International Society for Quality Electronic Design (‘ISQED’) held on 4 August 2015. Chiew Bing Xuan, TAR University College student currently studying the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Microelectronics with Embedded Technology, demonstrated his thorough understanding and knowledge on microelectronics so convincingly that he was awarded the 1^st Winner and the only winner in the contest beating 40 other contestants.

The ASQED Microelectronics Olympiad is an international educational contest intended to discover engineering students and young engineers who are active in the field of microelectronics. The Olympiad consists of a written test, a set of 30 objective questions covering a variety of topics related to digital and analog circuit design.

The participants hailed from 11 institutions of higher learning including a number of postgraduate students as well as working engineers from the industry. The win came as a pleasant surprise for Bing Xuan especially when he was up against professional engineers. With this win, Bing Xuan will represent Malaysia in the advanced competition at the International Microelectronics Olympiad in Armenia in October and all his travel expenses will be sponsored by the Armenia Olympiad Committee, the organising committee.

Bing Xuan had much to say about his participation in the competition. “I would like to say that paying attention in class and going through the process of learning all the subjects at Bachelor Degree level was what really helped me in the competition.”

“I would also like to thank Assoc Prof Dr Ng Swee Chin, Vice President of TAR University College for giving me a head start for the competition. She personally coached us on the scope of the syllabus and spent a few hours with us to revise on past year questions,” he added. 

Commenting on the win by Bing Xuan, Assoc Prof Dr Ng Swee Chin, Vice President of TAR University College said: “This competition is not an easy one as our students were competing against those who are more experienced as they come from postgraduate programmes and the industry. However, our student, Bing Xuan, proved that what he has learnt in the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Microelectronics with Embedded Technology programme has prepared him with sufficient theoretical and practical knowledge to do well in the competition.”

Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok, President of TAR University College commended Bing Xuan for his achievement and the lecturers for their excellent teaching. He said:     “The University College also shares in the joy of Bing Xuan’s win as this is a significant achievement that highlights our quality teaching and education. I am positive that it will serve as an encouragement to the students and our teaching faculty to raise the bar even higher”.