Adding another feather to their cap, INTI International University students walked away with their heads held high after receiving the Honourable Award at the University of Malaya Civil Engineering Competition (UMCEC), an annual event organised by the Department of Civil Engineering since 2017 and endorsed by the Institution of Civil Engineers Student Chapter (UMICESC) and Civil and Environmental Engineering Club (CEEC).
‘INTI Soil Baby’ was supervised by Nurul Ain Ibrahim, a lecturer from the Faculty of Engineering and Quantity Surveying (FEQS) and comprised of five Bachelor of Civil Engineering students, Tan Weng Kang, Chia Song Yew, Chu Jun Wei, Tee Khai Yean and Cheong Ting Hui.
Although it was on halt last year due to the pandemic, this year, the committee fortunately found a way to hold the event while embracing the new normal with online platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Mozilla Hub.
Striving to equip students with the ability to apply critical thinking in identifying, formulating, and solving civil engineering problems while promoting the art and science of civil engineering and the Learning Beyond Classrooms concept. This year, the competition focused on a geotechnical theme – a unique divergence from previous themes such as building structure and material.
“This year’s challenge was to analyse the geotechnical aspects of a slope including the study of soil type, ground water analysis and numerous other factors. The competition was concluded in the month of June after a period of three months, throughout which the team strived to design and develop an effective slope stability solution,” said Nurul Ain Ibrahim, a Geotechnical Engineering lecturer from the Faculty of Engineering and Quantity Surveying (FEQS).
Participating teams from Malaysia’s top-tier universities were tasked with the challenge to provide a solution and stabilise soil slope that could have prevented the tragic collapse of Kuala Lumpur’s Highland Towers from happening in December 1993.
One of the group members, Tee Khai Yean, presenting the slope stability solution to the judges during the competition.
Ain also shared, “The competition was a pathway for the participants to gain first-hand experience of Geotechnical Engineering as they studied the 1993 Highland Tower tragedy, allowing them to integrate real-world problems besides promoting students’ innovative learning and individual development in geotechnical designs.”
On top of accumulating numerous skillsets to solve complex engineering problems, Ain acknowledged that the competition formed new bonds between students from various universities.
“The competition enabled educational interaction between INTI students and participants from other institutions as they were given a platform to exchange their experiences, ideas and knowledge while preparing for the competition,” stated Ain who also recognized the objectives of the competition was in line with one of INTI’s programme outcomes – critical thinking.
Winners were selected and ranked based on the best proposal of maximum practicality, accessibility, sustainability and reasonable incorporation of “Green Technologies” which were covered and evaluated in the form of technical report and poster submissions followed by a design presentation during the live event.
‘INTI Soil Baby’ – the group that made INTI proud at the competition was supervised by Ain and led by five young and enthusiastic Bachelor of Civil Engineering students, Tan Weng Kang, Chia Song Yew, Chu Jun Wei, Tee Khai Yean and Cheong Ting Hui.
21-year-old Kuantan-born Chia Song Yew said, “Preparation for the competition was challenging as we had to conduct discussions online instead of face-to-face. But the overall process was fun and fulfilling as it gave me a chance to interact with my teammates frequently to complete the project without any hurdles. Today, I know how a slope failure occurs, ways to solve the problems arising from it and application of its preventive measures.”
‘INTI Soil Baby’ received the Honourable Award at the University of Malaya Civil Engineering Competition (UMCEC).
On the other hand, Chu Jun Wei and Tee Khai Yean confidently shared that the competition will accelerate their future careers even further.
“This competition is definitely a stepping stone towards my career as an engineer. It has offered me a chance to gain substantial experience, showcase skills, analyze and evaluate outcomes as well as uncover personal aptitude. I was excited as I was given an opportunity to adopt innovative techniques and develop multiple ideas and skills throughout the competition which are important criteria required by employers these days,” asserted Jun Wei.
Khai Yean who shared similar sentiments said, “The competition is very much a real life scenario. We pretended to be professional engineers and presented perspectives on our proposal, budget, designs, and sustainability to the judges whom we considered as our clients. Furthermore, this competition enabled me to explore my strengths and weaknesses that could possibly take me to greater heights when I land a job upon graduation.”
The team collectively reflected on this opportunity as an eye-opening challenge as it differed from the traditional face-to-face design competitions. While everything was done virtually, from the brainstorming, planning, and presentation, the end of the journey was a fruitful one for the whole team.