KLESF webinar encourages students to pursue career in petrochemical engineering

Lee initiating the webinar

The petrochemical engineering sector has become one of the major contributors to the Malaysian economy in the recent years. Hence, more students were encouraged to pursue a career in petrochemical engineering, as it can further expand the sector and cause Malaysia’s economy to bloom. In view of this matter, the Kuala Lumpur Engineering Science Fair (KLESF) organised a webinar titled “Why We Need Petrochemical Engineers Now More Than Ever?” on 1 August 2020 via Zoom.

Speaking at the webinar were Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology (FEGT) lecturer Assoc Prof Dr Yamuna Munasamy and UTAR alumni Yeong Wei Ming and Shimala Sanmuggam, while moderating it was KLESF Secretary Lee Woan Shiang. It also aimed to accomplish two objectives, which were to generate interest among secondary school students to pursue a degree in petrochemical engineering and to provide insight into the life of an engineer through sharing sessions with past UTAR engineering graduates.

Dr Yamuna presenting her slides

Dr Yamuna began the webinar by explaining the history of the oil and gas industry, such as its formation and the products made out of it. She also explained the reason why there was a lesser demand for crude oil, but increasing demand for petrochemical oils. “It is a common misconception that crude oil is only used for transportation. However, the truth is that oil is used for many things other than fuel; from the simplest things like crayons to larger objects such as the aircraft,” said Dr Yamuna. She also explained, “There is a higher demand for petrochemical oil because there seems to be an improvement in people’s lifestyles. People are buying more products, and since most products are made out of this oil, the demand for it is increasing.”

Yeong, the second speaker, mostly shared his experiences as a former UTAR student, such as his campus life, his learned academic, some technical, interpersonal and soft skills he gained as well as the challenges he faced. He also talked about his job scope as an engineering graduate to give the participants an idea of what to expect after graduating as an engineer. He said, “The most important skill that you need as an engineer, especially after graduating, is adaptability. Every situation is not the same, so, as an engineer, you must constantly adapt and apply different theories based on each situation.”

Yeong sharing his experiences

The last speaker, Shimala, shared the reason why she became a petrochemical engineer and also explained her current job responsibilities. She said, “When you become a petrochemical engineer, you are awarded with a variety of career opportunities. You will be exposed to many departments and can be placed in most engineering-related departments.” “As an engineer, you must be competent in problem-solving. Every day, you will see new problems which have no specific step-to-step solution, so you will always need to think out of the box to solve each problem. Not only that, the decisions and ideas you make must protect your own and the company’s reputation, and should be cost-effective,” said Shimala.

The webinar ended with a brief Q&A session.

Shimala explaining an engineer’s salary growth