Engineer a Bright Future at Heriot-Watt
In line with its commitment to nurturing industry-relevant engineering graduates who not only possess technical knowledge but also crucial 21st century soft skills, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia encourages its students to participate in various industry competitions throughout the year, one of which is the Shell-Eco Marathon. The annual competition challenges young engineers from around the world to design, build and drive energy-efficient vehicles. To date, the Heriot-Watt University Malaysia team has successfully passed the second phase of the challenge along with 11 other teams in Malaysia and is looking forward to competing with other teams from across Asia at the Sepang International Circuit, Selangor, from 2nd to 5th June 2020.
“With our diverse academic backgrounds, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia students definitely have an advantage, which is also in line with the main objective of the competition: ‘collaborative work between multidisciplinary students’. Moreover, we have received endless support from our lecturers, lab technicians and supervisors who have been very generous in sharing their knowledge in building an electric car,” declared Nur Afifah Ab Wahab, a Construction Project Management student at Heriot-Watt University Malaysia who is the team manager of the team participating in the ongoing Shell-Eco Marathon Asia 2020.
The university’s team members are from various disciplines, including Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Civil Engineering, Construction Project Management, Quantity Surveying and even Business Management. Nevertheless, they all agree that everybody has learned a lot from this endeavour.
“An important skill that I acquired from being a technical leader was people management. I was able to tailor the technical roles according to the skills of my team members,” observed Abid Junaid bin Shaick Dawood Zainul Abideen, the co-leader of the technical team.
His fellow co-leader, Jason Wong Yuen Sung, cites time management as another crucial skill that they have honed, while Afifah applauds the tenacity of the team. “The passion, grit and perseverance in enduring the tough phase and tight schedule as a student has made us exceptionally resilient; giving up is not an option!” she said.
Heriot-Watt University was established in 1821 as the world’s first Mechanics Institute and is the eighth oldest higher education institute in the UK. Through the years, the university has gained a solid reputation as a leader in world-class teaching and in pioneering practical, leading-edge research. Among other achievements, Heriot-Watt is ranked 35th in the UK in The Complete University Guide 2020 and in the top 10 in the UK for subjects that include Chemistry, Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering by the Guardian University Guide 2020.
Heriot-Watt University Malaysia offers Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering and Mechanical Engineering programmes as three-year Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or four-year Master of Engineering (MEng) qualifications. BEng students who meet the progression requirements for the MEng programme may opt to transfer programmes at the end of Year 2.
Furthermore, the university’s close links with industry professionals give students the chance to participate in site visits, expert talks and field trips, and obtain invaluable insights and hands-on field experience to understand the industry better. Students also stand to gain from the mixed mode of teaching and assessments that is employed, as this also enables them to enhance both their academic knowledge and soft skills.
All are welcome to visit the Heriot-Watt University Malaysia campus at Precinct 5, Putrajaya, during its Open Day on 14th & 15th March 2020, during which you can find out more about the Engineering programmes as well as other programmes and scholarships on offer. Go to to register for the event and/or get the full schedule for the career talks and workshops that will be held then. There will be an Early Bird waiver of RM4,500 for those who apply and pay for their first semester tuition fees immediately.
You may also visit the campus during regular consultation hours, which are from 9am to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays, and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays. Alternatively, log on to www.hw.edu.my or call +603 8894 3888/e-mail hwum@hw.ac.uk.
