Visited the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Malaya for Academic Exchanges
2024/6/26
By
Professor Emeritus Luh-Maan CHANG (張陸滿名譽教授)
Endowed Chair for High-Tech Fab Engineering
Engineering College of National Taiwan University
Introduction
According to multiple reports, Taiwan's globally renowned semiconductor chip manufacturing industry and its related sectors suffer from a labor shortage of less than 35,000 workers per month on average. This labor shortage poses a long-term latent threat to Taiwan's industry and is exacerbated by a more severe shortage of specialized technical engineers. In the short term, this could hinder Taiwan's ongoing leadership in advanced semiconductor chip manufacturing, becoming a stumbling block in the fiercely competitive international race【1,2,3】
In light of this, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is actively promoting a practical strategy focused on six Southeast Asian countries: the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and India. Through international cooperation platforms, regional academic collaborations, talent exchange and training, and international linkages of science parks, NSTC aims to achieve a vision of "people-centered, resource-sharing, and mutually beneficial outcomes." Regarding talent exchange and training, the emphasis is on "focusing on “people,” deepening exchanges and training with young scholars, students, and industry experts from these six countries, and promoting complementary and shared human resources with these six key countries." 【4,5】
Therefore, from September 2023 to February 2024, delegation teams detached by Civil Engineering Department of NTU Engineering College, visited major universities in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia. These universities included: 1) Hanoi University of Civil Engineering in Vietnam, 2) Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, 3) Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, 4) Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia, and 5) University of Indonesia.
The purpose of these visits was academic exchange, field research, and investigation of the teaching and research conditions in civil engineering and semiconductor chips manufacturing. For detailed reports, please refer to the following webpage 【6】: https://www.ntuce-newsletter.tw/archives/14419
To continuously carry out the National Science and Technology Council's mission for deepening bilateral relationships with other Southeast Asian universities, Chair Louis GE (葛宇甯系主任) of Civil Engineering Department led a delegation team of six faculty members visited Civil Engineering Department of Universiti Malaya. The team consisted of Chair Louis GE (葛宇甯系主任), Prof. Jiing-Yun YOU (游景雲教授), Prof. Yin-Nan HUANG (黃尹男教授), Prof. Albert Y. CHEN (陳柏華教授), Prof. Yu-Ting HSU (許聿廷教授) and Prof. Emeritus Luh-Maan CHANG (張陸滿名譽教授).
The Universiti of Malaya【7】
The University of Malaya is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest-ranked Malaysian institution of higher education. The university brief is UM and informally called the Malayan University. The university is proud of having graduated five prime ministers of Malaysia, and many other political, business, and cultural figures of national prominence.
The university was established on 28 September 1905 in Singapore under the name of King Edward VII College of Medicine. At that time, Singapore was a territory of the British Empire. In October 1949, the King Edward VII College of Medicine merged with Raffles College as a university. Then, the university grew rapidly that caused the university to organize as two autonomous divisions on 15 January 1959, one located in Singapore and the other in Kuala Lumpur.
In 1960, the governments of Malaya and Singapore indicated that these two divisions should become autonomous and separate national universities. One branch was located in Singapore, becoming the University of Singapore Eventually, University of Singapore was evolving into the National University of Singapore in 1980.
After Singapore separated from Malaysia as an independent country, all the other branches located in Kulua Lupur retained the name University of Malaya. The University of Malaya was officially established on 1 January 1962. Meanwhile, UM was granted autonomy by the Ministry of Higher Education. Presently, UM has more than 2,300 faculty members. The university is also divided into fourteen faculties, two academies, five institutes and six academic centers.
The reader could zip into the following websites for detail information about the well-round Universiti Malaya and her excellent & diversified Civil Engineering Department:
https://www.um.edu.my/
https://engine.um.edu.my/about-civil-engineering
Academic Exchange
The NTU CE delegation team departed on June 6 at 8:45 AM on China Airlines flight CI721, arriving at Kuala Lumpur Airport at 1:25 PM. Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area has a well-developed transportation system that made the Team's travel very convenient. After landing and clearing customs, the team took the KLIA Express to KL Sentral, then transferred to the city's MRT Red Line to KJ18 Kerinchi Station. From there, it was a 5-minute walk to the Wyndham Grand Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Hotel, recommended by the Civil Engineering Department of Universiti Malaya, where we stayed.
On the morning of June 7 at 9:30 AM, Dr. Yap Soon Poh, a Senior Lecturer from the Department of Civil Engineering,Universiti Malaya, arrived the hotel with a dedicated vehicle and took the delegation team to the conference room in the Engineering Tower Universiti Malaya.
At 10am, after getting to know each other, Chair Ge was invited to begin introducing National Taiwan University (NTU), the College of Engineering, and the Department of Civil Engineering.
Following Chair Ge's presentation, the moderator of the conference, the Head of Civil Engineering Department, Universiti Malaya, Associate Professor Zainah Ibrahim, introduced Universiti Malaya, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Department of Civil Engineering, covering their history, current status, and vision. With her introduction, the NTU delegates were pleased to have such an opportunity for learning more about Universiti Malaya and her Civil Engineering Department's many innovative programs, as well as to meet many outstanding faculty members, as shown in the photo below.
In the picture, the first row from left to right includes: Prof. Yin-Nan HUANG, Prof. Jiing-Yun YOU, Prof. Luh-Maan CHANG, Chair Louis GE, Head Zainah Ibrahim, Prof. Faridah Othman (Former Head,) and Prof. Albert Y. CHEN. The second row from left to right includes: Dr. Farahin, Professor Yu-Ting HSU, Dr. Huzaifa, Dr. Mohd Fazaulnizam, Dr. Yap Soon Poh, Dr. Yuen Choon Wah, and Dr. Wan Zurina.
After gaining mutual understanding of each other's universities and civil engineering departments, Associate Professor Zainah, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering Universiti Malaya, suggested to break all attendants into smaller groups, based on specific professional fields for further exploration of potential collaboration. This allowed both faculty members of UM and NTU to engage in more meaningful one-on-one or small group discussions, delving into research topics or broadly exchanging insights on R&D and Teaching.
During the final comprehensive discussion, both sides proposed valuable suggestions and feasible ideas to initiate substantial future exchanges between faculty and students, as well as to develop collaborative research and teaching models.
Meanwhile, Professor Ge expressed a warm welcome for Universiti Malaya's faculty, researchers, undergraduate, and graduate students to pursue further studies at National Taiwan University (NTU). He also highlighted that Taiwan Ministry of Education has established special projects offering scholarships specifically for students from Southeast Asia to study in Taiwan.【8】
Moreover, Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has corresponding encouragement policies. 【9】After completing their studies in Taiwan, foreign students can freely choose to return to their home countries to serve, or continue their studies in Taiwan and eventually stay in Taiwan for long-term residence and work.
A Seminar on Semiconductor Chips Manufacturing
After initial contact meeting with the Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Malaya, the same vehicle took the NTU CE Delegation Team back to the hotel. Additionally, Dr. Yap Soon Poh came back to pick up Prof. Luh-Maan Chang at 14:30 for giving a seminar while the other team members had other engagements near UM in Kuala Lupur city.
The seminar was organized by the Centre of Advanced Materials (CAM) of the Engineering Faculty at Universiti Malaya. The seminar was hold at the same conference room in UM Engineering Tower and moderated by CAM Director, Associate Professor Hendrik Simon Cornelis Metselaar. The theme of the seminar was on " Civil Engineering Plays Important Roles in the Forefront of Semiconductor Chips Manufacturing & R&D.”
The seminar was originally scheduled to last from 15:00 to 16:00 PM, but due to the high level of interest and numerous questions from the attendees, it extended until 16:30pm as shown in the following pictures.
The above picture is a scene from the interactive seminar.
References
- Taiwan's Semiconductor Talent Shortage-The Diplomat
https://thediplomat.com/2024/02/taiwans-semiconductor-talent-shortage/
- Taiwan’s TSMC and other chipmakers facing labor shortage
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/4397608
- 104 Job Bank’s 2022 Semiconductor Talent White Paper
https://semiconductor.events.104.com.tw/articles/story/
- https://www.ey.gov.tw/Page/5A8A0CB5B41DA11E/86f143fa-8441-4914-8349-c474afe0d44e
- https://www.nstc.gov.tw/folksonomy/detail?subSite=main&article_uid=a3252294-b744-46f3-b5f8-acef2f6d1ce7&menu_id=9aa56881-8df0-4eb6-a5a7-32a2f72826ff
- Fab Facility of Civil Engineering and Semiconductor Chips Manufacturing
https://www.ntuce-newsletter.tw/archives/14419
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Malaya
- Elite Study in Taiwan (ESIT) Progra
https://www.studyintaiwan.org/esit
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taiwan Scholarship (for Foreign Students)
https://www.mofa.gov.tw/cp.aspx?n=4326BCFE40D0A361