The Alumni Committee of Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FET) has launched a new webinar series “Globetrotting with FET Alumni” featuring overseas-based alumni in sharing their success stories and experiences with the engineering students in conjunction with MMU’s 25th anniversary this year. The first episode of the series was rolled out on 23 July 2022, 10 am (Malaysia time) with the invited alumni guest speaker – an Australian-based engineer, Dr. Ng Boon Thiam. Dr. Ng is an alumnus who graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons.) Mechanical in the year 2012. Currently, Dr. Ng is an R&D Mechanical engineer in Waterco Limited, Sydney, Australia.
In the session, Dr. Ng shared his wonderful undergraduate experience in FET with the audience. He highlighted that the MMU engineering degree programmes are accredited by Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC) and recognised internationally by professional engineering bodies which are signatories of the Washington Accord. He emphasised the importance of Graduate Engineer (GE) registration and that it is mandatory for MMU engineering graduates to register as Graduate Engineers with the Board of Engineers (BEM) upon graduation to take up employment and perform professional engineering services.
After graduating from FET MMU, Dr. Ng worked as a consulting engineer in one of the local engineering consulting firms. A year later, he was offered a scholarship by an overseas university to pursue a postgraduate degree in one of the highest-ranked Australian universities in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements in his engineering degree programme at MMU. During the Ph.D. candidature period, Dr. Ng took the chance to explore and collaborate with international researchers during the conference and research visits to higher educational institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom, which in turn made him an academician and a researcher before embarking on a life-changing journey down under as an R&D engineer.
Dr. Ng expressed his gratitude to his alma mater for the four years spent completing a Mechanical engineering degree in FET. It was an eye opener that has opened more doors of opportunity for him both within and outside the country and shaped him into who he is today. Dr. Ng encouraged his fellow FET juniors to appreciate student life at university and don’t be afraid to ask questions throughout the learning journey as every question leads to an answer or a new discovery.
