Partnering with Zhongji Construction for greater opportunity

From left: Dr Huang, Dr Chong, Dr Lim Siong Kang, Dr Ling, Dr Lim Jee Hock, Dr Lai, Prof Goi, Prof Chuah, Cheng, Zhang, Yong, and Tan

UTAR formally embarked on a collaborative journey with Zhongji Construction Sdn Bhd through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing on 28 December 2018 at Sungai Long Campus.

Signing on behalf of UTAR was its President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, while Zhongji Construction Sdn Bhd was represented by its Malaysian branch Chairperson Cheng Zhao Hong. Also present were Malaysia branch of Zhongji Construction Sdn Bhd Human Resource Manager Zhang ShanBo, Human Resource Executive Tan Xin Ci, Human Resource Supervisor Yong Lye Kheng, UTAR Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) Dean Prof Ir Dr Goi Bok Min, LKC FES Student Development and Industrial Training Deputy Dean Ir Dr Lim Jee Hock, Division of Community and International Networking Director Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Onn, Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction Chairperson Assoc Prof Ir Dr Huang Yuk Feng, Department of Civil Engineering Head Dr Ling Lloyd, Assoc Prof Ir Dr Lim Siong Kang, and Dr Chong Siaw Yah. 

Prof Chuah and Cheng (right) during the MoU signing ceremony

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Prof Chuah expressed his hope to have more opportunities to collaborate with Zhongji Construction Sdn Bhd particularly in the area of Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Environment Engineering. He believes that the MoU will allow more students from the Faculty of Engineering to learn from the industry experts, which serves to be beneficial for knowledge exchange and for tapping student’s resources and potential. He also gave a brief introduction of the UTAR Campuses, and extended his invitation to Cheng and his team to visit Kampar Campus.

On the other hand, Cheng expressed his gratitude to UTAR for providing a platform to enhance the collaboration between the institution and the university. He also thanked the teams from both sides who have done an in-depth communication and preparation work in the early stage for making the MoU signing a success. Impressed by UTAR's prodigious achievement, he said that he looked forward to a fruitful collaboration between the two sides. “With this MoU signed, I believe that both sides could have a long-term and deeper collaboration, which could contribute to the betterment of our society, institutions and students,” he said.

The parent company of Zhongji Construction Sdn Bhd was founded in 1994. It is located in Jining, Shandong Province, the hometown of Confucius and Mencius. It is a construction company with its competency in bored pile specialisation in the area of foundation engineering. The company has attended UTAR Career fairs since 2017 and has recruited some of UTAR internship students and graduates. The company also donated a model of the bore pile machine to UTAR for students’ learning purpose. 

Prof Chua and Cheng (right) exchanging a token of appreciation