​ChExposium 2009 at UTP (21 - 23 Oct 2009)

The Chemical Engineering Exposition and Symposium (ChExposium 2009) was organised by IChem@UTP from 10-23 October 2009. Various events were planned to benefit the Chemical Engineering community at UTP. The events were Sharing Sessions (Industrial Internship, Student Exchange Programme, Study Abroad Programme and Chemical Engineering Specialisation), Industrial Talk Series, ChemE-Car Team Selection and Chemical Engineering Department Awards & High-tea Reception. The symposium aims at harnessing expertise from experienced industry practitioners, young professionals and lecturers in order to transfer knowledge to the students.

The Opening Ceremony and Family Day commenced in the morning of 10 October 2009. Our Club Advisor, Dr Nooryusmiza Bin Yusoff, officiated the ceremony and launched a new logo of IChemE@UTP. A number of indoor games were organised for the Family Day in order to enhance camaraderie among club members and lecturers as well.

The Sharing Sessions were held on two separate days, i.e., on 9 and 14 October 2009. Nine final year students volunteered sharing their expertise, knowledge and experience gained during the early years at UTP and abroad. The sharing sessions truly benefited those who attended the session.

For the Industrial Talk series, external speakers were invited. The first session was delivered by Mr. Phan Wei Loon and Mr Liew Geok Kwan from Malay-Sino Chemical Industries on 14 October 2009. The talk covered major aspects of chlorine alkali plant, equipment and products. The second session was hosted by Mr. Thanikaimani Elamparuthi, Business Development Manager of Malaysian International Shipping Corporation (MISC). He enlightened students with diverse job scopes in shipping industry and the potential of working offshore, especially in tankers. He also revealed how MISC leveraged on the skills and expertise of chemical engineering graduates.

During the second week of ChExposium 2009, two major events were held. They were ChemE-Car Team Selection and Chemical Engineering Department Awards & High-tea Reception. The ChemE-Car Team Selection aims at finding the best team to represent UTP at the National ChemE-Car Competition 2010. Five teams participated in the selection process.

Last but not least was the Chemical Engineering Department Awards & High-tea Reception in conjunction with the ChExposium 2009 Closing Ceremony. About 150 students and six academic staff attended the event. Among the activities were announcement of the ChemE-Car Team Winner and presentations of certificates to Dean’s List recipients, souvenirs to sharing sessions’ speakers and awards to distinguished lecturers. The Best Lecturer of the Year 2009 award was won by Assoc. Prof. Dr Thanabalan Murugesan. Together with a variety of performances by the students, the afternoon was indeed memorable to all.