The IMechE – Brunei Group and IMechE – UTB Student Chapter Launched

The IMechE – Brunei Group and IMechE - UTB Student Chapter was launched today by Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB), as the Guest of Honour. The launching ceremony took place at the Multi-Purpose Hall, UTB.

 Welcoming remarks were delivered by Awang Hj Salleh Bostaman bin Hj Zainal Abidin, the Chairman of IMechE - Brunei Group. Awang Geoffrey Vun Yong An, President of IMechE - UTB Student Chapter also delivered a speech.

After the launching, the Chairman of IMechE-Brunei presented The Best Student Award to Dayang Affidah binti Darius, and The Best Project Award to Dayang Noorul Zatul Amali binti Awang Serbini, both are Mechanical Engineering graduates from UTB.

Mr Jon Hilton, President of the IMechE United Kingdom delivered an Industrial Lecture called ‘Engineering Your Own Future’. In his address, Jon shared some of his key achievements prior to becoming the President. He recalled how his life has been touched by great engineers and entrepreneurs and put a spotlight on mentoring. He desired for more engineers to get involved in mentoring. He also encouraged every engineer to have a mentor and at least one mentee. Highlighting the role of entrepreneurs and reminding professional engineers of how well-placed they are to take up this crucial role, is also a key element of the address. Jon reflected on his 15 successful years working in the motorsport industry and said that for him this was an opportunity to play with someone else’s multimillion-pound Meccano set.

The IMechE-UTB Student Chapter is established to help students gain industrial exposure and experience for professional development, and eventually registered as engineers, whilst building bridges between the academics and the industry. Currently, a total of 294 students have enrolled in the program, 160 students registered as student affiliates, and 97 students in the chapter itself. Some of the objectives of the IMechE-UTB Student Chapter are to take part in the Shell Eco-Marathon, and organizing events such as the Speak Out for Engineering Competition, where students will compete with their presentation skills at a global level. The student chapter also aims to supplement the existing curriculum with technical events suited to the selected modules, and to increase the public awareness of the student chapter in the country.

In its effort to produce all-rounded and marketable graduates, UTB has put emphasis in providing experiential learning to its students with wide opportunities for industrial experience. UTB is also working towards acquiring accreditation for all of its undergraduate programmes by professional bodies, including the IMechE for its Mechanical Engineering degree programme. Accreditation ensures that the programmes delivered are of consistently high quality and meet the strict standards set by the respective professions.