First Year Students Engaged with Stakeholders for Used Cooking Oil Treatment Project

Peng Yen Liew

KUALA LUMPUR, 27 Jan. – The first-year Chemical Process Engineering students presented in the “Used Cooking Oil Treatment Project Pitching Competition 2023” on 27 January 2023 at Seminar Rooms 1 and 2, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT). The program is hosted by the Department of Chemical and Environment Engineering, MJIIT, as the final presentation assessment for the project on the subject of SMJC 1202 – Introduction of Chemical Process Engineering. The subject is handled by Prof Dr Masafumi Goto and Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr Liew Peng Yen.

Six stakeholders judged the Pitching Competition from the government agency, industry and university, which include Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL – Mdm Nur Azyan Fathiah binti Azman), Petronas Group Technical Solution (Mdm Noorhidayah Hussein, Mr M Shihabudin bin Sapuruddin and Mr A Rahim bin Norman), Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT – Mr Mohammad Azreen Firdaus bin Abd. Aziz) and UCSI University (AP Ts. Dr Yeap Swee Pin). This pitching session is essential for first-year university students to give them exposure to real expectations in the industry and to help them create a personal soft-skill development goal for improving their presentation skills throughout the four years of study in MJIIT. Feedback is provided to the students based on their experience in a real working environment.

The project is inspired by Kuala Lumpur Low Carbon Society Blueprint 2030 and consists of three stages:
Stage 1: Understand the UCO problem, then survey the common practice on UCO disposal and its sustainability impact.
Stage 2: Identify the possible processes for treating UCO into different products, then select one process to be further developed.
Stage 3: Illustrate and explain the Process Block Diagram for the selected process, then discuss the contribution of the project to sustainability (Sustainable Development Goals and Circular Economy).

The project embedded the process block diagram concept and basic understanding of unit operation as the technical content. Besides that, the project also aimed to create students’ awareness of Sustainability, Circular Economy and various Sustainable Development Goals (7 – Affordable and Clean Energy, 11- Sustainable City and Community, 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, and 14 – Life Below Water).

The event ended with the Closing and Award Ceremony attended by Assoc. Prof. Ir. Dr Nurulakmar Binti Abu Husain (Acting Deputy Dean of Academic and Student Development), Prof. Dr Masafumi Goto (Deputy Dean of International), Assoc. Prof. Dr Azila bt. Abdul Aziz (Head of Department), Ir. Ts. Dr Kiew Peck Loo (Program Coordinator) and several lecturers in the department. The judges were impressed with the student’s understanding of the technical content. They also commented that some students impressed them with very confident presentation skills, a skill that should be developed before they graduate.