KUCHING – Four members of Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus’ Institution of Engineering and Technology Student Chapter (SSIET) were presented with awards in recognition of their leadership skills and contribution to the SSIET, recently.
The SSIET was awarded the prize of second runner-up for outstanding performance in organising activities that benefit engineering students and the university community in general.
Club president Jarvis Ling, vice-president Alex Kueh, vice-treasurer Connie Tham and assistant event office Joanne Tan, were presented with the IET Leadership Award at the annual dinner of the Young Professional Section of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Malaysia, in Kajang, Selangor.
The leadership award recognizes student chapter representatives who demonstrate a high level of leadership, inter-personal skills and team work in organising events as well as their commitment in helping members achieve their potential with professional development resources including mentoring and training.
“I’m grateful to all the committee members. They had been very supportive in organising all the activities and events. I would like to extend to them and our advisors my personal thanks and sincere appreciation for their contribution,” said Ling after receiving his award.
He said the team had maintained an active interest in engineering and technology among its members.
“The student chapter has been actively organising industry visits and technical talks by guest lecturers. Such activities offer students first-hand experience and real-world exposure to professional engineering. They complement what is being taught and is one of the key assessments by Engineering Accreditation Council Malaysia of which Swinburne Sarawak has been duly accredited last year,” said Dr Kho Yau Hee, a lecturer with the School of Engineering, Computing and Science who is the main advisor of the SSIET.Kho, the IET representative in East Malaysia, said that besides serving fellow students being a student leader further provides unique opportunities to acquire soft-skills required in teamwork, event planning and time management.
“It is heartening to see that their efforts have been recognised and I hope this will motivate them to be good engineers in the future,” he said.
The Swinburne Sarawak IET student chapter, set up in 2010.
The IET is one of the world’s leading professional societies for the engineering and technology community. It has more than 150,000 members in 127 countries and offices in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. It provides a global knowledge network to facilitate the exchange of ideas and promote the positive role of science, engineering and technology in the world.