UTAR’s immediate past president Ir Academician Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik was conferred the title of Emeritus Professor during a conferment ceremony at UTAR Kampar Campus on 16 October 2019.

Gracing the ceremony were UTAR Chancellor Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik; UTAR Education Foundation Board of Trustees Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Sak Cheng Lum; UTAR Council Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Ting Chew Peh; UTAR Council Members Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Chuan, Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn, Datuk Lim Si Cheng, Datuk Lee Leck Cheng and Hew Fen Yee; UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat; and UTAR Planning and Development Committee Advisor Tan Sri Hew See Tong.

Presenting Tan Sri Chuah’s many outstanding contributions and illustrious achievements through the delivery of a citation, Prof Ewe read, “As an engineer, Tan Sri Chuah is well known and well respected in Malaysia, ASEAN, Asia and the Pacific. Such a feat is certainly accompanied by strong leadership qualities that saw many fortunate universities and professional bodies receiving his valuable guidance. He has also served and held significant decision-making and mentoring positions in 30 professional bodies and national committees; has obtained fellowships in 11 professional bodies locally and internationally; and most of all, has garnered a total of 40 titles, awards and professional recognition.”

The citation highlighted Tan Sri Chuah’s many initiatives which were instrumental in transforming UTAR into a global university of educational excellence with transformative societal impact. Such initiatives included initiating internationalisation efforts which extends to staff and student exchange programmes as well as R&D collaborations with universities overseas spearheaded via signing of memoranda of understanding with 360 local and international MoU partners from 24 economies; introducing 50 new academic programmes to meet industry needs; creating the structured Soft-Skill Development Certification programme (USSDC) to nurture wholesome graduates; involving in a plethora of consistent community engagement projects such as the New Village Community Projects which eventually earned UTAR the CSR Excellence Award at the Sin Chew Business Excellence Award (SCBEA) 2017/2018 for the Corporate Social Responsibility Category; and garnering contributions from various corporations and individuals to set up sponsored Chairs, sponsored IT & Engineering laboratories and also to offer research grants and scholarship schemes for UTAR students.

“Under his leadership, UTAR has been ranked #501-600 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2018, 2019 and 2020, ranked top 120 in the Times Higher Education Asia Pacific University Rankings for 2018 and 2019; and ranked #101-200 in the inaugural Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings 2019. UTAR is also ranked #188 in the QS Asia University Rankings 2019. These achievements are significant considering the fact that UTAR was only established in 2002,” added Prof Ewe, further mentioning Tan Sri Chuah’s many awards and accolades over the years such as being admitted into the Engineering Hall of Fame by the Institutions of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) in 2019; and being awarded the FEIAP Engineer of the Year 2019, World Engineering Organisations 2019 Medal of Excellence in Engineering Education, and Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) USA in 2014. The University President also announced Tan Sri Chuah’s role with UTAR as an active member of the UTAR Hospital development committee who will continue to share his expertise and wisdom.

Describing the acceptance of UTAR’s Emeritus Professorship as a “single pleasure, double honour, and triple privilege”, Tan Sri Chuah extended his deepest gratitude to the Chancellor, Board of Trustees, Council, Senate, University’s management team, staff, alumni as well as students for the acknowledgement and also unwavering support throughout his tenure as the President. “UTAR holds a special place in my heart. It is here that I was given the opportunity to lead a fine university, to do what I wish to do, and to lay the foundation for its growth and extension,” Tan Sri Chuah reflected, further dedicating the honour to his late parents, siblings, relatives, fellow engineers as well as teachers comprising schoolteachers and lecturers who had educated him.

Also imparting his wisdom and advice to the academics on education, Tan Sri Chuah encouraged, “To the young academics, you have chosen the right profession for this is the only profession and career in which you are paid to do what you like to do. You get to teach the subjects of your expertise and conduct research projects in the fields of your own choice. This is a noble profession in which you are training future leaders.”

He added that following the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution which brings about much uncertainties to industries worldwide, education institutions are also finding themselves in uncharted territories with regard to the future of education. “In times like these we must go back to the wisdom of our forefathers to seek for possible solutions. Nowadays many talk about personalised education as a new trend, but that was practised ages ago before our current education system as reflected in the old saying (因材施教，有教无类) which means teaching in accordance with aptitude. Therefore, I believe we don’t have to always reinvent the wheel but just learn from history, improvise and improve on our ideas,” the former President remarked.

Advising fellow educators to always promote and strike a balance between fundamental principles in the subject materials, ethics and professionalism, and culture, Tan Sri Chuah continued, “We need to do so to ensure that our graduates can turn out as true great wholesome leaders equipped with relevant technical knowledge, morality, and cultural intelligence. It is indeed our duty as educators to train students with ethics and high moral values.” Also expressing his strong faith in newly minted President Prof Ewe’s ability, Tan Sri Chuah said, “Under the leadership of Prof Ewe and his team, UTAR will certainly play its role in educating more future Malaysian leaders who are able to survive constraints, find solutions to problems, and also have high cultural intelligence as well as moral values.” The outgoing President also pledged his support to continue serving UTAR, the nation as well as both the engineering and education fields even in his post-retirement days.

The conferment ceremony reached its highlight with Tun Ling officially conferring the Emeritus Professorship on Tan Sri Chuah with all the rights, honours and privileges of the award.

Tan Sri Chuah joined UTAR in March 2008 as the President and retired in September 2019.

Click here for more photos of the conferment ceremony.