Tan Sri Ir Yusoff Best FYP Competition

The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) recently revealed the winners of the “Tan Sri Ir. Yusoff Best Final Year Project” competition. The prize-giving ceremony was held on 21 April 2018 at the Malakoff Auditorium in conjunction with the 59^th Annual General Meeting of the institution.

The competition was jointly organised by IEM and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). It was initiated by the IEM Education Fund with the objective to encourage engineering undergraduates to produce better quality Final Year Project (FYP). 

Dr Chee (left) and Chan

Former UTAR Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Electronic and Electronic engineering student Zech Chan Sze Zher won the special prize for electronic discipline in the competition with a certificate and a cash prize worth RM300. His winning project, titled "Skin-alike Soft Sensing Wearable Device", was about a wearable device with skin-like properties that is flexible and waterproof. According to Chan, the device generates electricity through body movements by applying the laws of electromagnetism.

Chan said he was grateful to have received the prize as he has put in a lot of effort into it. He also thanked his supervisor for offering him guidance and knowledge and his seniors for giving insights to the fabrication method of the device.

His supervisor, Dr Chee Pei Song from Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science’s (LKC FES) Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering said the project is packaged as a “product” to the student. It was not merely about completing the FYP but training the students on how to promote the “product”. The students, therefore, will have to think of ways to improve the project and make it better than the others. He also mentioned that it is important to have a mindset that ‘it is better to get the job well done’ than just to ‘get it done’.

In addition, Chan went to the Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule (OTH) Regensburg, Germany for his research attachment from October 2017 to March 2018. Sharing his experience in Germany, he said, “It was very insightful to be able to go a country renowned for its engineering and be able to learn from the lecturers and the university students. In my time at OTH Regensburg, I experienced different cultures as there were other students from different countries who went there under the ERASMUS programme and who I was able to interact with. We were able to share the cultures and sentiments of our countries with one another. I’m also grateful to the fellow Malaysians and UTARians who were there as we could support each other and feel “home” despite being far away from Malaysia.”

Prior to that, Chan was the Champion for the Best Poster Award under the category of Applied Engineering organised by LKC FES on 23 August 2017. He was also the Champion for the Best Poster Award organised by IEM Electrical Engineering on 25 August 2017. He is currently planning to pursue Master in Engineering (Electronic Systems) under the Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology in Kampar Campus.