Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) academic Tan Weng Cheong, who is also a Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) student at UTAR was awarded the Best Student Award at the “Postgraduate Industry Based Research Competition in Advancing Digital Energy Technology”, held in conjunction with the Digital Energy Asia Summit 2023 (DEAS 2023). The award was presented at DEAS 2023 which took place from 7 to 8 June 2023 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).

Tan walked away with RM1,000 as the winning prize and a certificate of achievement. He also received an invitation to attend DEAS 2023 (USD300 entrance fee) and RM200 in cash for transport and poster printing so that he could showcase his research at DEAS 2023. Supervised by LKC FES academics Assoc Prof Ir Ts Dr Bernard Saw Lip Huat and Assoc Prof Ir Ts Dr Yew Ming Chian, Tan’s research was titled “Investigation of the performance of polypropylene-based aluminium-air battery”.

Expressing his gratitude, he said, “I am honoured to win the Best Student Award in this competition. This shows that my research and unwavering commitment to research have finally paid off. This award encapsulates my tireless efforts and relentless pursuit of knowledge, which has successfully made an impact on the research field. Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents, who have supported me throughout my PhD study. They have been my pillars, providing me emotional support when I felt down and depressed during my study.”

He added, “Also, a million thanks to my supervisor, Dr Bernard Saw, who has provided exceptional guidance, support, and mentorship during my PhD study. His dedication to excellence has motivated me to strive for the highest standards in my work. His constructive feedback has helped me grow both personally and professionally. Since enrolling in my PhD study, my supervisor has taken on the role of caring for me, just as my parents did when I was younger. I am truly grateful to have him as my supervisor. Winning this award does not mean the end of my research work. Instead, it is a new beginning that helps to ignite the spark deep inside my heart, providing me with more motivation and determination to push forward in the research field. This award not only acknowledges the achievement but also encourages me to aim higher and make a greater impact and contribution to my research field, which can benefit humankind.”

The competition aimed to provide a platform for postgraduate students to showcase their ground-breaking research to industry experts and receive valuable feedback from them. It also aimed to foster collaboration between academia and industry by enabling postgraduate students to interact with industry experts and stakeholders, and explore collaboration opportunities with them.

The competition was organised by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Centre of Electrical Energy Systems (UTM-CEES), in collaboration with IEEE Power and Energy Society (IEEE PES) Malaysia Chapter and IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society (IEEE TEMS) Malaysia Chapter. It was sponsored by the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) Malaysia and Ezra & Macquarie Group.