FYP Competition & Industry Interaction Day

Prof Goi (third from right) with external judges and UTAR staff

The Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) organised “FYP Competition & Industry Interaction Day” on 23 August 2018 at Sungai Long Campus.

The competition aimed to showcase the students’ talents, skills and knowledge based on what they have learned throughout the whole year of their study, besides preparing them for their future career. Through this competition, students will be able to get ideas on how to improve themselves in the future by comparing their works with their peers. Besides, the competition also aimed to create a platform for the students to interact with the industry and give them exposure to the current criteria and requirements of the industry.

The judges during the briefing of assessment guidelines

Invited to be the external judges for the FYP Poster Competition were Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Research Sdn Bhd Managing Director Ir Dr Cheong Kam Hoong,  Celcom Axiata Head of Data Dr Tan Chor Min, MayAir Manufacturing Sdn Bhd General Manager Ir Lim Sim Pheor, Master Jaya Engineering Sdn Bhd Group Chairman Ir Woo Ah Keong, Malaysian Green Technology Corporation GCEO Dr Mohd Azman Zainul Abidin, Greenex Consultants & Greenext Professionals Sdn Bhd Managing Director Ir Dr Tan Kuang Leong, G&P Highways and Transportation Sdn Bhd Managing Director Ir Lee Choy Hin, Kombinasi Bijak Sdn Bhd Director Ir Yam Teong Sian, Nestle Products SHE Pillar Leader Asia Oceania Africa (AOA) Ir Shum Keng Yan, Bistanika Sdn Bhd Director Chua Kee Moh, First Echelon Sdn Bhd Director Albert Ng Kok Foo, AZ Rekatelier Principal Ar Abu Zarim bin Abu Bakar, TNB Chief Risk Officer Datuk Lim Tong Kang, Soft-Skills Sdn Bhd CTO Albert Chua, Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) Berhad Pang Lian Kiow Agency General Sales Manager Pang Lian Kiow, Blinkware Technology Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer Alvin Koh, Experian Malaysian Sdn Bhd Senior Analytical Science Manager Abhirup Saha, Netizen Experience Software Engineer Cheah Poh Xiang, BBR Construction Systems (M) Sdn Bhd Assistant Technical Manager Goh Hiang Miang, MSM International Limited Vice President Freddie Tang, Duriane Professionals Sdn Bhd Director/ Electrical Engineer Ir Mah Way Sheng, Yokogawa Electric (M) Sdn Bhd Project Technical Manager Jeremy Toh, Vitrox Corporation Berhad Manager (R&D) Wong Shin Jie, Continental Automotive Components Malaysia Sdn Bhd Software Manager Andrew Lim, Antah Schindler Sdn Bhd Head of Technical Ir Lee Wei Jye and Experian Malaysia Sdn Bhd HR Business Partner Haslinda Zainal Abidin.

Menaga Jayabalan (far right) presenting her FYP titled “Glycerol Etherification to fuel compounds” to the external judges

Present at the closing ceremony were LKC FES Dean Prof Ir Dr Goi Bok Min, Brunsfield International Group Director of Human Resource Goh Siew Chin, LKC FES Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Ir Dr Lim Jee Hock, LKC FES FYP Committee Chairperson Assoc Prof Ts Dr Stella Morris, UTAR Engineering Society President Matthew Ong Tan Jyn and UTAR IEM Student Chapter President Aung Jo Ji.

Two awards presentation, namely “Brunsfield Gold Medal Award for Civil Engineering Graduate” and “Software Programming Innovation Competition (PROCOM) 2018” were presented to the winners. The Brunsfield Gold Medal Award was awarded to Liew Chi Hoe. He took home a Gold medal and a certificate. PROCOM 2018 was organised by Chinese Weekly at Cyberjaya on 2 and 3 August 2018. The competition saw the participation of various universities and colleges. UTAR won the Champion and it was represented by Wong Jia Hau, Dheenodara Rao Sreenivasa Rao and Seah Sheng Hong. The winners took home RM5,000 cash prize, trophy, certificate and ticket/accommodation to participate in the KOSEN PROCON in Japan from 27 to 28 October at Tokushima.

Goh (middle) presenting the gold medal to Liew while Prof Goi looks on

Prof Goi (middle) presenting the token of appreciation to Goh while Liew looks on 

The Champions of PROCOM 2018, from left: Seah, Dheenodara and Wong with Prof Goi and LKC FES Head of Internet Engineering and Computer Science Department Ts Dr Madhavan Balan Nair

Speaking at the closing ceremony Prof Goi said, “LKC FES offers 16 undergraduate programmes and 11 postgraduate programmes altogether. For undergraduate programmes, all final year students are required to complete their final year projects (FYP). FYP is a key component because it tests the students’ individual capacity compared to group assignments. Group assignments help to assess students’ soft-skills however FYP is R&D based, hence they have to complete it individually with the help of their supervisors. Realising the importance of having an individual assignment, we started this competition in the year 2016 to provide a platform for our students to present their ideas, showcase their projects and polish their communication skills.”

Prof Goi expressing his gratitude for making this event a success

He then continued, “This competition is different from last year. This year, we have invited the industries to join us to be our judges to comment on the FYP, to have interactions with our final year students and at the same time to provide job opportunities with interview sessions on the spot. There were 120 finalists altogether and they were divided into 10 tracks to present their respective FYPs. The finalists from track number one to number eight presented their FYP in a poster form, whereas finalists from track number nine to ten presented their poster with the addition of a prototype, where they demonstrated their FYP to the judges. Each finalist was given 10 minutes to present their project which included the Q&A session.”

He added, “We also had a few sessions of the lucky draw; the gifts were sponsored by the industry to create more excitement.  The students were required to visit three poster booths and write down the objectives and their own observation. This peer evaluation exercise, to enhance the students’ life-long learning skill, has been made compulsory for the FYP assessment. To further encourage the students’ participation and their interaction with industries, the students were required to visit and interact with at least three company booths for participating in the lucky draw session. Meanwhile, he expressed his gratitude to all the LKC FES committee members, IEM Student Chapter, UTAR Engineering Society, LKC FES FGO, SA and Industry Advisory Panel for their support and the overwhelming contribution that made this event a success. 

 Some of the lucky draw winners

When asked, FYP candidate Paw Kah Soon from Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Mechatronics Engineering said, “I was excited and nervous when I was selected as one of the finalists in this big competition. The title of my FYP is “Differential Robot Platform with Robotic Arm”. It is about my innovation called the Inspectorbot, a low-cost prototype, which is used for inspection and exploration. The Inspectorbot can be used to inspect factories or mining sites that contain a certain level of risk. This allows inspectors to survey risky places at their own comfort and safety, without having to endanger themselves. Inspectorbot can also enter narrow spaces like the caves, where humans may not be able to enter or reach. Besides, Inspectorbot can also be used to collect samples for studies. The widest camera on Inspectorbot serves to give real-time feedback to the operator.  The Inspectorbot can be controlled from a distance between 800m to 1km. The reason why I came up with this innovation is that of the many accidents that are occurring in high-risk places like the factories. Another advantage is this innovation allows users to control this robot wirelessly.”

Paw posing with his innovation “Inspectorbot”

LKC FES Department of Mechatronics and BioMedical Engineering lecturer Danny Ng Wee Kiat said, “My focus is only on robotics-related projects. Three of my students were selected as finalists for this competition. One of the projects is called Inspectorbot and the other two projects deal with an autonomous robot; robots that move without direct control from a human. One of my students is working on error correction with his research titled “Odometry error correction for differential drive robot”. This robot, however, cannot be controlled manually. Hence, it was challenging for him because he had to make sure it moves correctly. Another student of mine is working on another control method with his research titled “Control of wheelchair using eye tracker”. Instead of using hand to control, this machine uses eyes. I hope these robots can be used for the betterment of the society.”

FYP candidate Samuel Diew (far right) presenting his project called “Control of Wheelchair using Eye Tracker” to the external judges

The champions of the Poster Competition walked away with a cash prize of RM250 plus two certificates (winner’s certificate and certificate of participation), while the first and second runner-ups walked away with RM150 and RM100 respectively plus two certificates each (winner’s certificate and certificate of participation). The Most Liked Poster Award was presented based on the number of likes gained through the social media. The winner of the Most Liked Poster Award took home two certificates (Most Liked Poster certificate and certificate of participation).

FYP Poster Competition

Most Liked Poster Award: Tang Wei Hong with his research titled “Review the Building Defects of High Rise Residential Building Based on Street, Drainage and Building Act (Act 133) under Section 85A”

Track 1: Green Technology

Champion: Wong Kae Lin with her titled “Variegated Carbon Black: The How and Why”

First Runner-up: Pua Bee Teng with her titled “Nitrate Removal from Water using Biological Denitrification”

Second Runner-up: Racheal Adora Voo with her titled “Green Buildings Development in Malaysia”

Track 2: Sustainable Development

Champion: Go Shiao Chee with her titled “Impact of Abandoned Building in Malaysia Building Perspective”

First Runner-up: Chua Chia Yee with her titled “Developing The Underlying Principles of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD): Malaysian’s Perspective”

Second Runner-up: Kueh Jun Kit with his titled “Ammonia Removal from Water through Biological Nitrification Treatment”

Track 3: Sustainable Development-Energy and Intelligent Management

Champion: Samuel Lim Min Chung with his titled “Lighting Retrofit for UTAR Building”

First Runner-up: Rebecca Loh Shu Ji with her titled “Lightning and Surge Protection for Float Ground System”

Second Runner-up: Ho Zhi Yong with his titled “Solar Heat Assisted Portable Fresh Water Production System”

Second Runner-up: Yap Jinng-Hui with his titled “Combustion Behaviour of Palm Biodiesel-Diesel Blends Isolated Droplet”

Track 4: Engineering Social Sciences

Champion: Lee Poi Yee with her titled “Late Payment Issues in Malaysian Construction Industry”

First Runner-up: Looi Zhi Hao with his titled “Automated Optimal Forex Spread: A Machine Learning Approach”

Second Runner-up: Cheah Sin Yi with her titled “Key Challenges faced by Chinese Contractors in the Malaysian Construction Industry”

Track 5: Project Management

Champion: Goay Pei Ling with her titled “Analysing the Causes and Effects of Delays: The Case of Malaysian Construction Projects”

First Runner-up: Chan Jia Yeng with her titled “Examining the Criteria for Selection of BIM Software”

Second Runner-up: Ng Sin Long with his titled “Leachability of Mercury in Cement Using Whole Block Leaching”

Track 6: Theoretical/ Experimental Sciences

Champion: Tan Qiu Ling with her titled “Study of Ostwald Ripening of Supported Metal Nanoparticles in Various Organic Medium”

First Runner-up: Pang Jet Wei with his titled “An Experimental Study of Composite Metal Decking System (Bluescope Lysaght) Under Flexural Strength Test”

Second Runner-up: Hamsalekha Kumaresan with her titled “Adsorption of Atoms on a Monolayer CO: First Principles Study”

Track 7: Applied Mathematics, Process Automation, and Simulation

Champion: Choong Pei-Shan with her titled “Prediction of Bearing Remaining Useful Life”

First Runner-up: Chon Wen-Xian with his titled “Optimisation of Biodiesel Production with Heterogeneous Acidic-Catalyst using Response Surface Methodology”

Second Runner-up: Ng Khai Ee with her titled “Study of Meta-Analysis for Genes of Schizophrenia”

Track 8: Applied Engineering

Champion: Khoo Sheng Hsuan with his titled “Tension Damage and Fracture Energy Approaches in RC Beam”

First Runner-up: Lim Zhi Heng with his titled “Performance of 1.00% and 1.25% Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beam”

Second Runner-up: Hau Lee Teng with her titled “Automated Movie Rating using Machine Learning Approach”

Track 9: Software Design & Prototypes

Champion: Clement Tong Qi En with her titled “Electronic Voting System using Blockchain”

First Runner-up: Chan Ming Suh with his titled “Stenography Mobile App”

Second Runner-up: Koh Chee Xiang with his titled “Customer Service Instant Messaging System with Translation Service and Facebook Page Integration”

Track 10: Applied Engineering (Prototypes)

Champion: Ng Peng Yee with her titled “Development of IOT-enabled Markerless Motion Analysis System”

First Runner-up: Cheam Wai Chong with his titled “Synthesis of Iron Modified Sugarcane Bagasse Activated Carbon for Degradation of Malachite Green”

Second Runner-up: Tan Shyan Shyang with his titled “An Android-based Remote Monitoring and Control (M&C) System for Plantation”

Congratulations to Tang for winning the Most Liked Poster Award 

 Pictures from left to right: Congratulations to all the winners from Track 1 to 10 for winning the FYP Competition

When asked, the Quantity Surveying (QS) student Go Shiao Chee who is the Champion from Track 2 said, “It is truly an honour to be one of the champions in this competition. My hard work is finally paid off. The title of my FYP is “Impact of abandoned building in Malaysia building perspective”. My focus was on the development of construction in the current industry. I noticed that there were quite a number of abandoned buildings and projects within the Klang Valley area. Hence, I came across this idea for my FYP. I am trying to propose and highlight the issues of abandoned buildings in our country and trying to identify potential solutions to solve the problem. Basically, I have identified the factors, effects and solutions for this issue in my research study. I believe my research study outcome and the solution can serve as a direction for other researchers to further look into this problem.”

The competition was sponsored by industry partners namely, Acre Works Sdn Bhd, Antah Schindler Sdn Bhd, BBR Construction Systems (M) Sdn Bhd, Blinkware Technology Sdn Bhd, Continental Automotive Components Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Duriane Professionals Sdn Bhd, Econcos Consultants Sdn Bhd, Evol Consultancy, Experian Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Ezytronic Sdn Bhd, Fugro Malaysia Land, Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) Bhd Pang Lian Kiow Agency, Hanson Building Materials Malaysia Sdn Bhd, IKA Works (Asia) Sdn Bhd, InQBay Berhad, Kejuruteraan Segar Sdn Bhd, Mitsubishi Elevator Malaysia Sdn Bhd, MSM International Limited, Netizen Experience, Soft-Skills Sdn Bhd, Two Points Sdn Bhd, Vitrox Corporation Berhad, Worldline International (M) Sdn Bhd, Yokogawa Electric (M) Sdn Bhd, Vescope and Sr Oh Chin Choo. 

  Prof Goi presenting a token of appreciation to all the industry partners for their support and contribution 

 Some of the career exhibition booths by industry partner