Plenary Lecture

International Trends and The Profiles of Malaysian Engineers

Assoc. Professor Azami Zaharim
Coordinator for the Unit Fundamental Engineering Studies
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor
MALAYSIA
E-mail: azami@vlsi.eng.ukm.my, azaminelli@gmail.com

Abstract: Engineering has always played a major role in wealth creation. In the fast developing economy of Malaysia, the central role of the engineering community is unquestionable. This is precisely why engineering is the nation’s largest profession, and engineering education is the biggest sector in tertiary education. Being the biggest warrants that it is done right, especially in the context of the unique conditions of the nation and region. Engineering education in Malaysia is rapidly expanding and its direction needs to be charted. The study on The Future of Engineering Education in Malaysia, commissioned by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia in 2005 were covers the specific issues of engineer profiles, curricula and competencies, industrial training, demand and supply of engineers, accreditation, international benchmarking, outcome-based education, and human resource development. This paper discusses the international trends and the profiles of Malaysian professional engineers. A total of 422 companies from various industries in Malaysia were chosen for the face-to-face interview sessions using a set of questionnaires. The respondents were mainly from high ranking personnel in their firm. The outcomes of this study will later be considered as a revision guideline for the engineering education curricula of Malaysian Institutions of Higher Learning.


 

Brief Biography of the Speaker:
Azami Zaharim worked first 13 years as a lecturer in the Universiti Teknologi MARA (University of MARA Technology - UiTM) before joining the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia - UKM) in the year 2003. He is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment UKM, and is currently Coordinator for the Unit Fundamental Engineering Studies. He obtained his BSc(Statistics and Computing) with Honours from North London University, UK in 1988 and PhD (Statistics) in 1996 from University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. He specialize in statistics, public opinion, engineering education and renewable energy resources.
He has until now published over 80 research papers in Journals and conferences, conducted more than 15 public opinion consultancies and delivered 3 keynotes/invited speeches at national and international meetings. He is currently the head of Renewable Energy Resources and Social Impact Research Group under the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI). In the year 2007, he headed the Engineering Mathematics Research Group. At the same time, he is currently active involve in outcome based education (OBE) approach at the national level and the chairman of the Engineering Education Research Group since 2005. He is also involved actively in the research for the future of engineering education in Malaysia 2006 under the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia.