Medallion Of Excellence For APU E&E Students At WorldSkills Malaysia University Challenge 2021

Two Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical & Electronic Engineering (EEE) students from APU – Chan Pei Jie & Jordan Leonard Yeo Yong Wei, won the Medallion of Excellence title in the Mechanical Engineering CAD (Computer-aided Design)  category at the recently held WorldSkills Malaysia University Challenge (WSMUC 2021).

According to their mentor, Ts. Dr. Alexander Chee Hon Cheong, Lecturer in the School of Engineering, the competition required contesters to design and model many sophisticated mechanical components. As for a matured mechanical engineer, they need to have skillsets of designing 3D models, 2D Engineering Drawing and Exploded Animation. 

Organised by UniKL Malaysia France Institute (MFI) and the Department of Skills Development (DSD), the competition aims to recognise the skills of youths, and to improve the level of manpower skills in Malaysia.

Held virtually from 27 to 28 Oct, the competition involves four categories in future skills namely Mobile Applications Development, Cyber Security, Mechanical Engineering CAD, and Building Information Modelling (BIM).

Even though not pure mechanical students, both Chan and Yeo boldly gave it a try by signing up for the Mechanical Engineering CAD category. “Just before the competition began, we both learned the “Autodesk Inventor” software in four workshops to hone our CAD skills, having already gained ‘SolidWorks’ knowledge in the ‘Engineering Design’ module in our first year,” said Chan Pei Jie. 

“I got a good chance to refresh my current knowledge about CAD, I also learned new skills such as welding, producing sheet metal and creating presentation video of exploded view by using the CAD software,” she continued. 

As for Yeo, “Autodesk Inventor” was entirely new software for him. “I have gained skills in creating various essential products by using this software, such as models, assembly drawings of designs, exploded views, and model presentation videos, in addition to generating sheet metal and metal frame parts, assemblies, and welding,” he said. 

On their achievement, Chan said she was surprised by the results as many more experienced computer-aid designers participated in this competition. She expressed her gratitude to Dr. Alexander for guiding and mentoring them through the basics of the ‘Autodesk Inventor’ while preparing for the competition.

Yeo echoed, “The competition was challenging for there were many highly skilled competitors with a competitive edge backed up by years of experience in manoeuvring this software. That’s why I feel fortunate to have won the title of Medallion of Excellence. I am grateful to have the opportunity to participate in this competition and I greatly appreciate Dr. Alexander for his guidance and mentorship.”