SOFE explained
SOFE aims to foster public speaking prowess among engineering students, focusing on conveying a technical subject to a non-technical audience.
The annual competition is organised by the Young Members of the Institution. The competition was originally established in 1964 to challenge young engineers to prove that they could communicate effectively. The competition has been adapted over the course of time to allow for greater participation, but the original theme of 'communicating effectively' remains the emphasis of the competition. In 2004 changed its name to ‘Speak Out for Engineering’ presentation competition.
Southeast Asian Region (SEAR) finals
The event was led by SEA Regional Young Members Representative, Dr. M.E. Raghunandan and the SEA Chair, Ir. Mathew Thomas, with the active support of the IMechE Malaysia Branch and the IMechE Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) Student Chapter.
The event was directed by Mr. Satheesh Kumar, Ms. Choong Pooi Ying and Mr. Duane Yeoh Du-Wei, high committees of IMechE UNITEN Student Chapter with the assistance from IMechE UNITEN board of committees. Mr. David Tiah, a mechanical engineering student of UNITEN, served as master of ceremony. Deputy Vice Chancellor of UNITEN, Dato’ Prof. Dr. Mohd. Zamri Bin. Yusoff addressed IMechE delegates, participants and audience in his welcoming speech.
SEA Chair, Ir. Mathew Thomas delivered his welcoming speech and introduced the panel of judges.
A special video presentation from the host officially initiated the competition. Pictures of previous Speak Out For Engineering competitions held in Malaysia and South East Asia were included in the video, including tributes to former champions of SEAR SOFE and an introduction to the 2018 participants. Before the competition began, SEA Regional Young Members Representative, Dr. M.E. Raghunandan briefed the participants and audience on the rules and regulations of SEAR SOFE.
The judges
Three judges from different backgrounds were invited to assess the participants’ communication skill of conveying technical topics in Engineering to a non-technical background person effectively.:
Dr. SKL Walia: a certified trainer with Human Resources Development Council, under the Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia, and a Certified NLP Practitioner/Neuro Semantics Practitioner, USA. A professional trainer with approximately 45 years’ experience in the education sector. Dr. Walia has been a Toastmaster International Member since 1994, back in Melaka. She became a Distinguished Toastmaster Member in July 2009.
Professor Andrew Walker: President and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Monash University Malaysia and an anthropologist specialising in the society of culture of Southeast Asia. Professor Walker has a strong interest in educational innovation. For more than a decade he has been exploring how new technology and new forms of media can transform the ways academics share knowledge and promote learning.
Mr. Ramachandren Subramaniam: holds a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Lincolnshire & Humberside, UK and a Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Western Sydney, Nepean, Australia. He has vast experience in power distribution systems especially with the main power company in Malaysia.
2018 participants
The SEA Regional (SEAR) SOFE 2018 commenced with four participants from the region:
- Mr. Mohamed Elkhair Arif Mohamed Elkhair Elhag Abdalla (Brunei),
- Ms.Hajah Nur Amirah Adilah binti Haji Mahadi (Brunei),
- Mr. Bhoshaga Mitrran S/O Ravi Chandran (Malaysia)
- Mr. Muhammad Syafiq bin Nor Azmi (Malaysia).
Ms.Hajah Nur Amirah Adilah binti Haji Mahadi from Universiti Teknologi Brunei, presented on ‘Design and Fabrication of a Compact Window Type Air Conditioner Installer’. Her project aims to minimise the risk of manual handling for the air conditioning installation and servicing process.
Mr. Mohamed Elkhair Arif Mohamed Elkhair Elhag Abdalla, from Universiti Teknologi Brunei, presented on ‘Clean Energy “Petroleum Alternatives”. His presentation was about clean energy, why should it substitute the current most used energy source which is oil to reduce pollution and which forms of renewable and green energy is suitable according to Brunei’s geographical profile.
Mr. Muhammad Syafiq bin Nor Azmi from Universiti Malaya, presented on ‘Why is Biomimicry The Way Forward?’. Mr. Muhammad Syafiq’s presentation was about finding successful solutions by mimicking biological entities and processes found in flora and fauna as mother nature is the best teacher of life and humans imitate mother nature so that humans can continue to sustain humans, just like how mother nature sustains herself.
Mr. Bhoshaga Mitrran S/O Ravi Chandran from Universiti Tenaga Nasional, presented on ‘Smoking the Life Out of Us’. His presentation touched on air pollution and how seriously it has affected us all, with a solution that promises to be energy efficient and effective in cleaning up the air around us.
The results
This year's Southeast Asian Regional SOFE Champion, hailing from Malaysia, is Mr. Bhoshaga Mitrran s/o Ravi Chandran with his topic, ‘Smoking the Life Out of Us’.
First runner-up of the competition this year, also hailing from Malaysia, is Mr. Muhammad Syafiq bin Nor Azmi with his topic, ‘Why is Biomimicry The Way Forward?’.
As SEAR SOFE 2018 champion, Mr. Bhoshaga will be competing in the International SOFE in India next year, representing the Southeast Asian Region.