The participants with the USM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak (Siting, second left) before departing to the United States recently.
The six participants who have been selected are from the School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Aerospace, USM. They will leave for the United States today as the sole challengers from Asia in the prestigious competition, “Global Design Challenge 2009” (GDC).
The competiton is organised by Spirit AeroSystems Malaysia Sdn. Bhd (http://www.spiritaero.com), a well-known company dealing with the design and manufacture of aerospace equipment and which is a subsidiary of Spirit AeroSystems, a company based in the United States.
In this competition, participants are required to create aeroplane wings, which include leading edge, trailing edge and wing box.
Other universities that are participating in this prestigious challenge are Wichita State University, USA and University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
The six students from USM are Ong Yu Xiang, Ng Kok Chian, Lee Ying Wei, Ng Hong Fai, Teo Eu Jin and Saw Kee Hong. The USM delegation will be led by Dr. Abdul Rahim Othman, from the School of Mechanical Engineering, USM.
Meanwhile, in a press conference held at the Bayan Lepas International Airport (LTABL), Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said that USM is very proud that for the first time, it has been selected to take part in such a prestigious competition at international level.
He said that the students will receive invaluable exposure and experience as companies related to airlines will be participating in the international competition.
“The students have to undergo a tough challenge in the competition and create a design that is contemporary and durable which can be used by global airline companies.
Prof Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli added that the participants would also have the opportunity to exchange ideas with their international counterparts in creating designs which are of high quality through a competition which has a slightly different concept from other competitions.
Participants will not compete as representatives of their respective institutions but rather will be split into smaller teams comprising participants from different institutions.
“This will enable them to gain different experiences and skills,” he explained at the press conference. Also in attendance were Prof. Omar Osman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs and Development and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zaidi Mohd. Ripin, Dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering.
He added that the competition will be held in three phases. In the first phase, Wichita State University, USA will host the competition; in October, USM will act as host and in the last phase which will take place in February next year, the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, will act as host.
Picture: The participants with the USM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak (Siting, second left) before departing to the United States recently.
