đź“ť Summary
Fourteen UTM students participated in a three-week mobility programme in China, gaining global exposure through academic sessions, laboratory visits, research seminars, and cultural classes. The programme included a competition where all four UTM teams received awards, and students also visited specialized laboratories and industrial sites. The experience allowed the students to learn outside the classroom, experience a different culture, and see how their engineering knowledge is applied in research and industry settings.
DALIAN, Aug 17 – Fourteen students from the Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering (FKT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), participated in a three-week Short-Term Outbound Mobility Programme at Dalian University of Technology (DUT), China, from 27 July to 17 August 2026. The students represented Chemical Engineering, Bioprocess & Polymer Engineering, Petroleum Engineering and Energy Engineering, accompanied by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zainul Akmar and Dr. Ong Pei Ying. The programme combined academic sessions, laboratory and industrial visits, research seminars, cultural classes and city tours.
The programme officially began with an opening ceremony held at DUT’s School of Energy and Power Engineering on 27 July. Following the ceremony, students were taken on a campus tour that introduced them to the university’s sports facilities, dining halls, halal canteen and the campus supermarket, helping the group settle into life on campus ahead of three intensive weeks of learning.
The first week focused on group discussions and preparation for the Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Competition. Students worked with their respective supervisors to refine their projects and presentations before exploring Dalian landmarks including Xinghai Square, the Dalian Urban Planning Exhibition Center and Donggang Venice Water City.
A centrepiece of the programme was UTM’s participation in the Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan & Belt and Road International Track of the 19th National College Student Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Social Practice and Technology Competition. All four UTM teams that competed received awards, with two teams winning Gold, one Silver and one Bronze.
The second week focused on research exposure through seminars delivered by international academics, including Prof. Victor Erokhin from Italy, Prof. Irina Karabulatova from Russia and Prof. Müslüm Arıcı from Türkiye. Students also visited specialised laboratories, including the Methane Hydrate Laboratory, Desalination Laboratory, Advanced Thermal Management Laboratory and Digital Twin Laboratory, gaining exposure to methane hydrates and CCUS, desalination surfaces, biomass pyrolysis, computational modelling and modern engineering applications.
The final week featured cultural immersion through Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese dance, painting, music and Tai Chi. Students also visited Dalian Songyo Cold Chain Company to learn about refrigeration and cold-chain equipment, and Dalian Spindle Environmental Equipment Co., Ltd., where they observed cooling tower systems, automated manufacturing processes and robotic arms.
The programme concluded with a closing ceremony where students presented their research outcomes and reflected on their three-week experience, bringing together technical, research and cultural learning.
Overall, the mobility programme gave UTM’s Chemical and Energy Engineering students an opportunity to learn outside the classroom, experience a different culture, and see first-hand how their engineering knowledge is applied in research and industry settings.
