UTAR Staff Long Service and Excellence Awards 2019

Seated from left: Yim, Prof Ewe, Hew, Prof Chuah, Tan Sri Hew, Prof Choong and Marchie Lim with the Long Service Award recipients giving their thumbs up

UTAR celebrated the decade-long service of its staff as well as the teaching and research excellence of academics during the UTAR Staff Long Service and Excellence Awards 2019 Ceremony held at UTAR Kampar Campus on 24 July 2019.

An annual platform to acknowledge the dedication of staff who have been servicing at UTAR for a decade and also to reward academics who have excelled in their performances, the award ceremony this year saw 124 UTAR staff as the recipients of the Long Service Award while 19 UTAR academics as recipients of the Excellence Awards.

Present at the award ceremony were UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, UTAR Council Member Hew Fen Yee, UTAR Planning and Development Committee Tan Sri Hew See Tong, Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Prof Ir Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, Registrar Yim Lin Heng, and Division of Human Resource Director Marchie Lim Pin Sim.

Congratulating the award recipients, Prof Chuah also recollected stories of UTAR’s genesis and the formation of the Kampar Campus. “Throughout the 17 years, UTAR has grown from strength to strength. From rented premises in Petaling Jaya and Setapak, we now have our very own buildings. And from 411 students, the University now has over 24,000 students and would have graduates totalling over 61,000 after the upcoming August convocation,” he mentioned, further acknowledging that everyone has in one way or another contributed to ensure that the students have an enriching educational experience at UTAR. He added that the commitment by UTAR staff over the years had enabled the University to play its instrumental role in nurturing the students to become fine young adults who not only contribute to the nation’s development but also leaving footprints in different industries across the world.

Also a recipient of the Long Service Award 2019, Prof Chuah, who joined the University in March 2008, extended his gratitude to the concerted efforts by various parties which eventually culminated in the establishment of UTAR as one of Malaysia’s leading private universities. “I would like to put in record my appreciation to our Chancellor Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, Tan Sri Hew, as well as the members of the University Council and Board of Trustees for their trust, support and voluntary service to UTAR,” he thanked, adding that it was the solid support, coupled with dedicated staff, which enabled UTAR to expand steadily and gradually gaining foothold in the local higher education landscape.

Besides calling for every UTAR staff to continue putting in their passion and commitment in building an even better UTAR for the next decade, Prof Chuah also shed light on the importance of educator in the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. A believer that the role of educators will not be easily phased out by smart robots, Prof Chuah explained, “Our students are of diverse backgrounds, different age groups and so on, thus generating different kinds of scenarios for us as educators to deal with. While robots have proven to be useful in technical issues, in this case, one cannot possibly train robots with all of the scenarios especially if the interaction involves feelings. In fact, the robots also rely on input from human beings.” The University President, however, urged educators to not be apathetic towards the development of technology but continuously improve themselves and their syllabi to remain relevant in fast-changing times.

Prof Chuah thanking Long Service Award recipients for their tireless contribution to UTAR throughout these years and commending the Excellence Awards winners for their continuous efforts in bringing improvements

The ceremony reached its first highlight with Hew, accompanied by Prof Chuah, presenting the awards to the recipients of the Long Service Award from both Kampar and Sungai Long Campuses. Prof Chuah also received a standing ovation when he was presented the Long Service Award by Hew on behalf of the UTAR Council.

Hew (right) presenting Prof Chuah the Long Service Award on behalf of the UTAR Council

Continuing taking the centre stage was the presentation of the Excellence Awards. Each winner of the Teaching Excellence Award, E-Learning Excellence Award, Research Excellence Award, and Innovation Excellence Award walked away with a cash prize of RM1,000, a certificate of acknowledgement and a trophy; while the winning research centre for the Research Centre Excellence Award took home a grant of RM100,000.

Also being recognised was the Centre for Applied Psychology which received a certificate of special mention as UTAR’s Most Improved Research Centre.

The list of the 2018 Excellence Awards winners is as follows: (Click here to read the testimonials from the Excellence Awards winners.)

UTAR Teaching Excellence Award (*in no particular order)

	Name	Faculty/Centre/Institute
	Judick Yap Wei Hoong	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
	Dr Tee Peck Ling	Faculty of Accountancy and Management
	Tan Zhen Jee	Centre for Foundation Studies (Sungai Long)
	Lim Kun Yin	Centre for Foundation Studies (Kampar)
	Chong Fook Seng	Faculty of Science
	Dr Tan Kok Tat	Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology
	Ts Dr Lee Chen Kang	Faculty of Information and Communication Technology
	Kuah Yoke Chin	Faculty of Business and Finance
	Dr Khor Kheng Kia	Faculty of Arts and Social Science
	Dr Tan Ai Boay	Institute of Chinese Studies
	Liong Mei Yin	Faculty of Creative Industries
	Ir Dr Teoh Hui Chieh	Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science

Teaching Excellence Award winners (clockwise from top left): Yap, Dr Tee, Lim, Dr Tan Kok Tat, Kuah, Dr Tan Ai Boay, Dr Khor, Dr Lee, Chong and Tan receiving the award from Prof Chuah while Prof Choong looks on

UTAR e-Learning Excellence Award (*in no particular order)

Category of Science, Engineering and Technology

Winner: Amelia Chiang Kar Mun from the Centre for Foundation Studies (Sungai Long Campus)

Category of Management, Accountancy, Business and Finance

Winner: Dr Pok Wei Fong from the Faculty of Accountancy and Management

Category of Social Science, Arts and Humanities

Winner: Wong Chen Vun from the Faculty of Creative Industries

Prof Chuah presenting the UTAR e-Learning Excellence Award to Chiang (left pic) and Wong while Prof Ewe (most left) looks on

UTAR Research Excellence Award

Winner: Dr Bernard Saw Lip Huat from the Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science

Research Title: High Performance Lancet Fin Cold Plate

Dr Bernard Saw (right) receiving the UTAR Research Excellence Award from Prof Chuah (middle) while Prof Ewe looks on

UTAR Innovation Excellence Award

Winner: Dr Tey Jing Yuen from the Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science

Project: 3D Printing Machine

Dr Tey (right) receiving the UTAR Innovation Excellence Award from Prof Chuah (middle) while Prof Ewe looks on

UTAR Research Centre Excellence Award

Winner: Centre for Healthcare Science & Technology (CHST)

CHST Chairperson Dr Tee Yee Kai (right) receiving the mock cheque from Prof Chuah (middle) while Prof Ewe looks on

Special Mention: UTAR’s Most Improved Research Centre

Recipient: Centre for Applied Psychology (CAP)

CAP Chairperson Dr Gan Su Wan (right) receiving the Certificate of Special Mention from Prof Chuah (middle) while Prof Ewe looks on

Prof Chuah (middle) presenting a token of appreciation to Hew (right) for gracing the ceremony while Prof Ewe looks on

The award presentation ceremony came to end following a group photography session and luncheon.

Click here for more photos of the ceremony.

Read about previous Long Service and Excellence Awards ceremonies here:

Front row, seated: Yim, Prof Ewe, Hew, Prof Chuah, Tan Sri Hew, Prof Choong and Marchie Lim with Long Service Award recipients

Front row, seated: Yim, Prof Ewe, Hew, Prof Chuah, Tan Sri Hew, Prof Choong and Marchie Lim with Excellence Awards recipients