Don’t be afraid and run away from challenges, secret of Thiew Jih Herng’s success, recipient of UMP Chancellor Award

PAYA Besar, 6 August 2022 – “Do not be afraid and always welcome and do not run from challenges because you do not know what you are capable of,” said Thiew Jih Herng, 25, graduand of B.Eng (Hons.) Civil Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP).

The second of four siblings currently serves as a Civil Engineer at TWT Design Sdn. Bhd. did not expect to receive the Chancellor Award from the UMP Pro-Chancellor, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. (Dr.) Abi Musa Asa’ari Mohamed Noor at the UMP 16th Convocation Ceremony today.

This KL-born is also following in the footsteps of his father who is also a civil engineer.

The son of Thiew Ming Day (civil engineer), 58, and Ow Yin Chin (housewife) also earned the Dean's List Award for eight consecutive semesters with a CGPA of 3.93.

He said that his parents were the biggest contributors to his life.

“My father is a Professional Engineer (Professional Engineer with Practicing Certificate) and has the title Ir.

“He has a lot of experience and knowledge in structural design and construction.

“In fact, he also sacrificed a lot for the family and was willing to sacrifice his health,” he said, aspiring to become a professional in engineering who can benefit the community and the beloved country.

He added that he felt like he was dreaming and did not expect to receive this prestigious award.

When asked if his current scope of work is appropriate and similar to what was learned at UMP, he acknowledged that although what was taught at UMP was not 100 per cent practised at work, the concepts and knowledge taught by lecturers had become a good basis in the learning process at work.

“As a civil engineer, I am involved in designing structural components for a two-storey office shop, a two-storey sales gallery, a three-storey bungalow house with 11000 square feet of built area, a high-rise engineering project containing nine floors of podiums and seven 29-storey apartment blocks and was involved in on-site inspections.

 “During my study, UMP lecturers gave opportunities to students to self explore.

“The advantage of this teaching process is that students will find and learn knowledge on their own and it will be remembered by students more deeply.

“Meanwhile, in the aspect of co-curricular, UMP has given students a lot of freedom to engage in any preferred co-curricular activity,” he said.

In fact, he explained, the merit system has also been an encouragement for students to engage in many co-curricular activities.

“In addition, UMP provides complete laboratory equipment to give opportunities for students to learn and apply the knowledge taught during lectures,” he said.

According to Thiew Jih Herng, his biggest success and unforgettable experience while at UMP was when he held the position of  UMP Diabolo Club Chairman in Year 2 at the university.

“My team and I were able to present our skills in several performances held inside and outside UMP.

“I am also very fortunate and appreciate the opportunity given by lecturer Dr. Lim Kar Sing to become a team member to represent the university in the competition of Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools 2019.

“The international competition held in Taiwan aimed to create and build building models that can withstand seismic loads,” he said.

During his study at UMP, he has won several competitions and held several important positions in the field of co-curricular, association and sports including UMP Bridge Competition 2019 (second place), National Tower Crane Building Competition (third place), UMP Diabolo Club 2018-2019 (Chairman), university representative for 2019 IDEERS competition in Taiwan, UMP Badminton Open 2019 and the UTAR Structural Earthquake Stability 5.0 competition held at Tunku Abdul Rahman University and UMP Engineering Week 2019.

By: Safriza Baharuddin and Nur Hartini Mohd Hatta, Corporate Communications Division, Chancellery Department

Translation by: Dr. Rozaimi Abu Samah, Engineering College/Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology