Curtin’s `Civil Engineering Week’ valuable learning platform
MIRI: `Civil Engineering Week’ was a really good learning platform for the Civil and Construction Engineering students of Curtin University, Sarawak, for it allowed them to put their theories into practice through various activities held.
The event, held recently at the campus in Senadin here had many interesting activities such as `Concrete Frisbee’, ` The Fallen Tower’, `Water Purification Challenge’ and ` Hero or Zero Sports’ competitions, as well as a site visit to the iconic Marina ParkCity development project.
Organised by the Curtin Civil Society in collaboration with the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering of the university, the `Civil Engineering Week’ which is an annual event, saw 50 students participating.
Eleven teams participated in the `Concrete Frisbee Competition’ that required the participants to build Frisbees from a mixture of materials such as cement, fine sand and fibreglass mesh.
The winners were judged on the farthest throw as well as the strength, durability and aesthetics of their concrete frisbees. The champion team comprised Ian Chuo Chung Yang, Chow Han Seng and Chin Jiun Yee.
In the `Fallen Tower Contest’, the participants applied their structural engineering knowledge to build structures using simple materials and tested them for strength and durability. The winning team was represented by Chow Han Seng, Wang Lu Yao and Liew Ng Chee.
For the ` Water Purification Challenge’, the team members built water filters using various materials of sand, rock and cotton. The filters were tested using contaminated water and the winners were picked based on water turbidity and colour using a Water Quality Test Machine.
“This is my way of practice ... I put my water engineering knowledge to good use in the challenge,” one of the winners, Joseph Wong, proudly commented.
Meanwhile, during their visit to the Marina ParkCity site, the students were briefed on the construction sequences and techniques by the project engineers.
Curtin Civil Society president and a third-year student, Kok Ka Yee, said the visit was a good opportunity to see practical and real-life applications of civil and construction engineering theories and principles.
Department of Civil and Construction Engineering head Dr Tang Fu Ee commended the students for striking a good balance between classroom studies and co- curricular activities in accordance with Curtin’s commitment to provide fulfilling learning experiences and opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.
He pointed out that civil and construction engineering graduates were in great demand, and companies often hired them even before they graduated.
“Many of our graduates are doing well in Malaysia and overseas.
“Our civil construction engineering programme provides a strong foundation for our graduates to start careers in the industry,” Tang said.