UTB undergraduate shares HK Research Experience
Syifaa Syafiqah Syaza binti Suhaili reads Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Civil Engineering at Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB). She is currently completing a two-month research internship at the prestigious University of Hong Kong under the UTB ExperiencePLUS programme, before continuing the fourth and final year of her degree programme. Despite majoring in Structures, she is also interested in getting involved in other branches of Civil Engineering especially in wastewater treatment and water resources engineering. In her opinion, versatility is very important as it enables one to be adaptable in any surrounding. In fact, it would equip her for the unpredictable work environment in the future. Receiving an offer to do research internship at the University of Hong Kong, which is famous for major research breakthroughs and innovations, would be a perfect opportunity to put her versatility to the test.
Syifaa is working under the supervision of Professor Xiao-yan Li, along with doctorate students from China with Environmental and Biological Engineering backgrounds. The research team has spent the last three years doing the research which is set for a pilot experiment by the end of this year. The research is on a novel technology that uses iron-enhanced primary sedimentation and sludge acidogenesis for resources recovery during wastewater treatment. The technology has the potential to be installed as an add-on unit in any conventional wastewater treatment plant. The simple mechanism could be one of the ways towards a green-era of wastewater treatment systems, discouraging incineration of sludge and expanding opportunities to acquire resources in the most environmental-friendly way possible.
The research project that she is working on demands a lot of hours in the lab. Normal work hours is eight hours per day, five times a week but occasionally when everything is done way ahead of time, rest days are granted. Outside her lab routine, Syifaa makes the most of her free time exploring the city and travels to other Hong Kong islands for sight-seeing and leisure. She believes having work-life balance is essential. Syifaa describes Hong Kong as a city of pedestrian subways and sky bridges. These infrastructures enable large number of pedestrians to cross the heavily trafficked areas in safety and comfort. She also finds the subways to be wide, clean and well-lit and the sky bridges give a bird’s eye view of all that traffic down below. These make Hong Kong a very pedestrian-friendly city. The public transport system in Hong Kong is nothing less than innovative. As an example, the 'Octopus Card' is used to pay for City buses or the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) trains. It can also be used to pay for a wide range of products and services from laundry to high-end dining. Imagine the convenience of swiping the Octopus Card for almost everything.
Reflecting on her brief stay in Hong Kong, Syifaa has gained quite a few important life lessons, challenging her to evolve into a better version of herself. She has learned that being away from home and constantly trying to adapt to the foreign surrounding are not as easy as it seems. It requires a sense of perseverance and independence. That being said, it is the effort to be adaptable which has trained her to be confident living independently and be less reliant on others. Apart from that, the locals have changed her perspective about communication with others. Despite having a different background, ethnicity and religion, communication proves to be crucial for maintaining unity. According to Syifaa, there is not even a day when she does not feel welcomed in Hong Kong, and she is stunned with the charm and grace of the locals.
The lessons do not end there. Working on that particular research project has made her realize its importance to mankind. There are a lot of initiatives out there, voices which are not heard that deserve to be put 'under the microscope'. She believes that when they are given the right opportunity, they can change the world for the better. A research project is more than just a platform to demonstrate a concept or prototype, but it also serves as a medium to promote revolutionary ideas and technological advancement.
