Curtin Malaysia civil and construction engineering students learn from alumni

Miri – 6 May 2022 – Civil and construction engineering students of Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) were given valuable insights into the construction industry by guest lecturers Thomas Ling Kiong and Ling Teck Ping, who are alumni of the university, recently.

Thomas is Project Manager at Advancecon (Sarawak) Sdn. Bhd., a leading construction company with over 25 years’ experience in civil engineering and infrastructure works, while Teck Ping is a design engineer with Sepakat Setia Perunding (Sdn.) Bhd., a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy with more than 80 years in consulting engineering services serving both the public and private sectors.

According to Head of the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering at Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science, Associate Professor Wong Kwong Soon, guest lectures by industry practitioners as well as visits to industry sites are integral to student learning at Curtin Malaysia. The lectures and site visits give them first-hand insights into the inner workings of various industries and help them connect what they learn in the classroom to real-life scenarios.

“The insights imparted by Thomas and Teck Ping in the online lecture were very relevant to the construction and analysis and design aspects of the students’ Integrated Structural Design unit. It was also very inspirational for the students to learn from two very knowledgeable and experienced Curtin Malaysia alumni,” said Associate Professor Wong.

Thomas and Teck Ping gave examples of different situations they encounter on their jobs and how they are effectively mitigated or resolved. Thomas spoke about scheduling in construction project management in particular, while Teck Ping shared his knowledge of wind loading.

To further help the students understand certain construction engineering concepts, they visited the site of the ongoing Lakeside Apartments IV development project being carried out at the university campus. The project involves building the first two of four new student accommodation blocks to complement the existing six blocks. At the site, the site officer briefed them on some the construction techniques being used.

Associate Professor Wong said that the lectures by Thomas and Teck Ping had to be online mode as both speakers were not in Miri and some students, particularly international students, have yet to return to campus due to travel restrictions. However, this is nothing new to the students, having engaged in online learning for the past two years.

The site visit to the construction project was conducted in hybrid mode so that those attending online could also benefit. Associate Professor Wong said it is hoped that all students will be on campus by the next semester and physical site visits can be continued in earnest.

Curtin Malaysia offers Curtin University’s Bachelor of Engineering in Civil and Construction Engineering, which equips students with the knowledge and skills to apply scientific and technological principles to the design and construction of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water supply and wastewater treatment systems, tunnels, power projects, offshore structures, and commercial and industrial buildings. They also acquire an understanding of the properties of construction materials and construction methods. It is a four-year honours course accredited by Engineers Australia (EA) and the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), and recognised by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

For more information on Curtin Malaysia, visit its website at https://curtin.edu.my or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tiktok. More information on courses at Curtin Malaysia can be found at https://courses.curtin.edu.my/.