Associate Professor Ir. Dr. Chua Hong Siang, Head of School (Engineering & Science)

Welcome to School of Engineering and Science at Swinburne Sarawak. We offer undifferentiated Australian engineering degree courses in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics as well as Robotics and Mechatronics, at undergraduate [Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)] and postgraduate (Master and PhD) levels.

Home to Top Student Chapters of Engineering Professional Bodies

School of Engineering is proud to be home to the best Student Section / Student Society / On Campus / Student Branch of engineering professional bodies. In addition to gaining an internationally recognised degree in engineering, we understand that it is equally important for our students to build their professional network with practicing engineers and engage with industries. To this end, Student Section / Student Society / On Campus / Student Branch of Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), Engineers Australia (EA), Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) UK, Institution of Chemical Engineering (IChemE) UK, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) USA have been set up at Sarawak Campus as platforms for students to engage with practicing professionals and gain industry exposures at the early stage of their journey to become professional engineers.

Over the years, Swinburne Sarawak IEM Student Section, Engineers Australia Student Society, Swinburne Sarawak IET On Campus, Swinburne Sarawak IChemE Student Chapter, and Swinburne Sarawak IEEE Student Branch have won the Best On Campus, Engineers Australia Malaysia Chapter Outstanding Student Award and IEM Outstanding Student Section Award respectively. We have also been collaborating with The Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) Sarawak Branch to host professional development seminars on campus for consulting engineers.

Flexible Study Structure

We have a flexible degree structure for our Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) courses, with a common first year study for all Engineering disciplines. This provides flexibility for our students to choose or switch to a different engineering discipline seamlessly at the start of their second year of study based on their personal ambitions, interests and abilities. Students can choose to complete their studies locally at Sarawak Campus or opt to transfer and complete part of their studies at our main campus in Australia and graduate with the same undifferentiated degree except those courses offer in Sarawak only. Besides, we also have Bachelor of Quantity Surveying and Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology and Environmental Science).

Highly Qualified Academic Staff

Our staff are well qualified to support excellence in teaching and research in engineering. Not only majority of our staff hold a PhD qualification, but also about 30% of the academic staff in engineering are either registered Professional Engineers in Malaysia or Chartered Engineers registered with professional bodies overseas. Staff members of School of Engineering also provide expertise to Research & Development (R&D) and industry consultancy projects undertaken by Centre of Sustainable Technology and Centre of Digital Futures at Swinburne Sarawak. Our engineering and science laboratories are well equipped with state-of-the-art scientific equipment for teaching, learning and research. Currently we have about 40 labs housed mostly in Building E and Building B, a building dedicated for engineering at Sarawak Campus.

Professional Recognitions

To ensure that all our Engineering degrees are recognized both locally and internationally, the School offers four-year Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) courses that are professionally accredited by both Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC) Malaysia and Engineers Australia (EA). Our curricula are well designed and contain rigorous technical breadth and depth to best prepare our students for their engineering careers. Our quantity surveying and biotechnology also recognized by The Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia (BQSM) and Malaysia Board Of Technologists (MBOT).

Enriching Learning Experience

We emphasis on student-centred learning approach to ensure the attainment of learning outcomes and skills/competencies at the end of the course of study. We embrace real-world/experiential-learning engaging our students in industry-based, problem-based and project-based learning. In their final two years, students will have to complete a capstone design project in addition to a year-long research project which allow them to put knowledge that they have acquired over the years into practice. Our 12-week compulsory industrial placement aims at developing students’ practical skills in a real work environment. Students also benefit from opportunities to study at Swinburne Melbourne for one semester under the exchange program whilst paying the affordable Swinburne Sarawak tuition fee. In a nutshell, students are equipped with the in-depth knowledge and skills that they need to compete in a global work-place and with friendships and networks that last a lifetime.

High Employability and Outstanding Achievements

We are very proud of our students and graduates for achieving great success in their endeavours. According to the last tracer study, graduates surveyed reported up to 100% employment six months after graduating for selected engineering courses, and an overall employment rate of 93%.

Apart from high graduate employment rates, our students have also achieved outstanding results in various competitions nationally and internationally. Among the awards won by our students included won top prizes in Mathstory video competition, won Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Palm Oil Processing Special Interest Group (POPSIG) Student Research Project Bursary, won all top prizes at Innovate Sarawak Design Competition, first runner-up in IEM-UTM InvencMax competition, second place in SEA Global Innovation Challenge 2020 as well as 2nd place at international biotechnology competition.

More news and activities/events can be found on our website including some of our students’ achievements/awards. I welcome you to explore our website and contact us to find out more information about our Engineering and Science degrees

Associate Professor Ir. Dr. Chua Hong Siang
Head of School (Engineering & Science)
Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science
hschua@swinburne.edu.my