THE STERLING GROUP MALAYSIA TOUR
2008
MONDAY 17 – WEDNESDAY 19
MARCH 2008
1. PARTICIPANTS
Dr Richard H Scott
(Durham, Sterling Group Chairman)
Dr Alan R Chambers
(Southampton, Executive Committee)
Dr Sandy Anderson
(Newcastle)
Dr Stuart M Holmes
(Manchester)
Professor Ashok K
Kochhar FREng (Aston)
Professor Omar K
Matar (Imperial College
London)
Mr K Moodley (Leeds)
Dr Daniel T H New
(Liverpool)
Dr Mark J H
Simmons (Birmingham)
Dr Neil Storey (Warwick)
Professor A Robin
Wallace (Edinburgh)
2. INTRODUCTION
-
As
agreed at the 2007 Plenary Meeting of The Sterling Group, the tour this year
was just to KL with no lectures being given in Singapore. As usual, it was timed to mesh with the
British Council Education Fair. The tour
party of 11 was smaller than last year (15) but of similar size to the tour
parties in 2005 and 2006.
3. COLLEGE LECTURES
-
47
lectures were given at 17 venues. Four
venues, UKM, UTAR, UKM and Uniten were new. The total attendance was about 2400. This was a reduction on last year’s total of 4500
(with a bigger tour party) but similar to attendance levels of three/four years
ago. Venues visited are listed in the
Appendix.
-
The
shift from the almost entirely sixth form audiences traditionally associated
with the KL presentations to a mix of sixth form, undergraduate and
postgraduate audiences continues. Consequently,
more emphasis was given to university visits this year. These, generally, had smaller but more
specialised audiences which goes some way to explaining the drop in numbers. Of particular interest was the visit to UKM
(see below).
-
Ms
Elisabeth Lee (Executive Director of Sunway
University College)
again hosted an informal reception for the tour party. Her generous hospitality is now something of
an annual event. There were the
customary “party challenges” which elicited hitherto unknown talents from the
tour party.
4. UKM
(Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)
-
Omar
Matar and Richard Scott visited UKM and were made to feel particularly welcome.
-
Staff
at all levels, from the Director downwards, are very keen to develop links and
collaborations of all types with SG members.
There is funding available at
UKM to initiate such collaborations and enquiries from SG members would be
welcomed.
-
In the first instance, contact should be made with Assoc. Prof. Dr Hafriza Burhanudeen,
Director, Office of International Relations ([email protected]).
DrBurhanudeen will then liaise with the appropriate departments. UKM’s website is at www.ukm.my.
5. IEM
-
Ashok
Kochhar gave a presentation on Higher
Engineering Education in the UK to a meeting of IEM, accompanied by Richard
Scott. The timing was particularly
appropriate as it coincided with the start of IEM’s Engineering Week.
-
A
presentation at IEM is now an established, and very welcome, annual event.
-
The
next IEM President will be Prof. Engr. Dato’ Dr CHUAH Hean Teik, a long time
supporter of the SG. Professor Chuah has
recently moved from MMU to become President/CEO of UTAR (Universiti Tunku Abdul
Rahman).
6. PEB
-
Richard
Scott made a brief visit to Singapore
to meet Mr Chin Jen Chyi, Registrar of the PEB.
-
The new route to registration (via Engineering
Fundamentals and Professional Practice examinations) is becoming well
established. More specialist areas for
registration (e.g. Geotechnics) are likely to be introduced.
7. CONCLUDING COMMENTS
-
This
was, obviously, a shorter tour than in previous years due to the concentration
on KL. The smaller tour party and
increased number of university visits most likely contributed to the reduced
attendance figures. However, the level
of enthusiasm shown by the colleges was undiminished from previous years and
this is an important consideration. Nevertheless,
it must be noted that the decline in numbers was quite substantial.
-
The
trend towards undergraduate and postgraduate levels of activity seems likely to
continue and this is being reflected in the lecture programme. Useful links are being established with
universities.
-
Relationships
with the IEM and PEB remain excellent.
-
Overall,
the revised format of this year’s tour was a success. As always the excellent co-operation of all
members of the tour party was a significant factor in this. Particular thanks go to Alan Chambers for his
hard work in organising the lecture programme.
Dr R.H. Scott
Chairman
18/04/08
APPENDIX
Institutions
Visited
Alice Smith
International School
Garden International
School
HELP Institute
INTI College (Nilai)
INTI College (Subang Jaya)
Kolej Tuanku
Ja’afar (KTJ)
Multimedia University (MMU)
Sunway University
College
TAR College
Taylor’s College (Petaling
Jaya)
Taylor’s College (Subang Jaya)
Kolej Mara Banting (KMB)
Kolej Bandar Utama (KBU)
Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten)
(new venue)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
Johor Campus (new venue)
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
(UKM) (new venue)
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
(UTAR) (new venue)
The Institution of Engineers Malaysia
(IEM)
Professional
Engineers Board (PEB)
KYUEM, a regular destination on previous tours, was on
holiday this year.
