Preface

The Material & Energy Engineering for Sustainable Advancement 2021 (MEESA 2021) conference was organized by the Mechanical Engineering Programme, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.The conference was held virtually on the 29thand 30thof September 2021. The 1stMEESA conference was organized to enculturate research and collaborative involvement between researchers in the engineering materials and energy field. Researchers and postgraduate students from multidisciplinary research backgrounds gathered to share new findings and ultimately building a better network for long term collaboration opportunities. The silver lining in organizing this online conference is the participation of international researchers, offering a more diverse network to be built between participants. Twenty-one papers have been presented in MEESA 2021, of which a total of 17 papers was selected for this publication. Four keynote speakers, who are experts in their respective fields were invited.The keynote speakers were Dr. Habibah binti Ghazali (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia), Dr. Ong Hwai Chyuan (University of Technology Sydney), Ir. Dr. Mohd Azlan bin Ismail (Universiti Malaysia Sabah) and Ir. Ts. Dr. Melvin Gan Jet Hong (Universiti Malaysia Sabah).Although this year’s conference was held virtually, we strongly believe that this conference does not reduce the purpose or benefit to the scientific world,in particular,and the general public to share current issues and the latest findings in the field of materials and energy for our environment. All manuscripts published in this proceeding have been vetted through a rigorous review to meet the requirement of high-quality papers.Lastly, we would like to thank the MEESA 2021 Advisor:Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Ismail bin Saad, session chairpersons, and members of the Scientific and Technical Committees for their support and undivided commitment to make the conference possible. The committee would also wish to acknowledge all the keynote speakers, reviewers and all participants for their time and effort in making this conference a success. Warmest Regards, List of Organizing Committee are available in this pdf.

THE COMPREHENSION OF CHEMISTRY TEACHER TOWARD STEM INTEGRATION IN CHEMISTRY LEARNING

This study was aimed to investigate the chemistry teacher knowledge related STEM integration in chemistry learning at automotive engineering programme of vocational school This research belonged to descriptive study with survey methods. The samples consisted of 19 ChTAE at automotive vocational school in Bantul Regency, Indonesia that were established through saturated sampling technique. The preceding knowledge about the IC-STEM learning integration of ChTAE were achieved by using STEM Knowledge Questionnaire (STEM-KQ) consisting of 9 opened questions. The responses of ChTAE toward STEM-KQ were analysed using question-by-question with interpretative coding of content analysis. The results of this research indicate that the ChTAE have good knowledge in defining and explaining STEM which in line with chemistry subject. However, their skills in designing and implementing CI-STEM still need to be enhanced. As the matter of that, the ChTAE must follow the activities relating with the preparation of CI-STEM. Therefore, the ChTAE could implement a meaningful chemistry subject in line with automotive expertise programme at vocational school.

Virtual Reality and BIM Methodology as Teaching- Learning Improvement Tools for Sanitary Engineering Courses

Virtual Reality (VR) is the term often used to describe a 3D environment where objects and images of the real world are simulated through technology. In Architecture or Civil Engineering, the design process with 2D planes could lead to error due to misinterpretation in the visualisation of elements. The civil engineering programme of a University mandates teaching of the BIM methodology in all courses, allowing the students to learn about the organisation and optimisation of projects from design to construction. The engineering students are required to manage many variables with BIM methodology, especially in mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems (MEP). Nevertheless, the BIM´s teaching method could be enriched by analysing 3D project models using virtual reality (VR). Whereas BIM organises and optimises a project through a 3D model, VR can introduce the user into a model very close to reality, improving the interpretation and analysis of details. The present study contributes to the implementation of a Plumbing Engineering course in a Civil Engineering programme. The proposed methodology was applied in an experimental group of undergraduate students and test results compared with a corresponding group that made used of a traditional approach. Based on the results of the study, students can visualise the accessories and recognise a good design in a creative and innovative way using the VR–BIM method

Concerns with computational protein engineering programmes IPRO and OptMAVEn and metabolic pathway engineering programme optStoic

It has become customary in engineering to require a modelling component in research endeavours. In addition, as the code for these models becomes more byzantine in complexity, it is difficult for reviewers and readers to discern their value and understand the underlying code. This opinion piece summarizes the negative experience of the author with the IPRO and OptMAVEn computational protein engineering models as well as problems with the optStoic metabolic pathway model. In our hands, these models often fail to predict reliable ways to engineer proteins and metabolic pathways.

Assessing ‘lifelong learning’ through the capstone design project of BSc in EEE Programme

Engineering education accreditation agencies have prepared a list of skills called programme outcomes (POs) or graduate attributes that a graduate must attain before his graduation from any engineering discipline. Of these POs, one of the important outcomes is lifelong learning. This skill is one of the most perplexing skills that graduates require in their professional careers. While most of these outcomes are measurable through the accustomed techniques, assessing lifelong learning is more challenging for faculty members and educators. Selecting a course to teach and assess lifelong learning is also a difficult job. The capstone design project (CDP) course may be an excellent means of transferring and strengthening the skills and proficiencies associated with lifelong learning. This paper explores how ‘lifelong learning’ as one of POs can be delivered, supervised, assessed and evaluated through the three CDP courses (EEE492, EEE494 and EEE496) integrated into the Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering programme at Southeast University. Furthermore, this paper discusses about developing an appropriate assessment plan and rubrics to ascertain the achievement of these three courses in fulfilling this component of the accreditation. Evaluation data of the lifelong learning, assessed by the board of examiners during the final defence, is presented. Based on this, their achievements of the PO related to lifelong learning are discussed. Keywords: Capstone design project, lifelong learning, OBE, PO assessment.

Development of Psychomotor Skill and Programme Outcome Attainment of Civil Engineering Students in Malaysia

A substantial amount of practice is required throughout an engineering programme to develop the psychomotor skill for a practice-oriented industry and fulfil the hands-on component of the accreditation requirements. This study aims to analyse the engineering students‟ psychomotor skill development based on psychomotor programme outcome (PO) attainment during their course of study and to determine the important suggestions on improvement in the learning and teaching processes in the programme based on the respondents‟ feedback. A quantitative research design was adopted using a questionnaire survey to record the students‟ opinions on skill development and PO attainment, classified under the psychomotor domain in an undergraduate civil engineering programme in Malaysia. Out of the 327 chosen students, who consisted of final year students enrolling in open ended laboratory (OEL) and final year project (FYP) courses, approximately 32% of them responded to the survey. It was agreed by most of the students that psychomotor skill assisted the development of their self-confidence and proficiency, which consisted of complex skill sets and movement. The students also agreed that they have attained the PO through usage of laboratory apparatus and data collection. As they agreed that their psychomotor PO attainment was influenced by the condition of the equipment in the laboratories, they proposed that the programme should increase the number of equipment and enhance the laboratory facilities by implementing new and up-to-date technologies relevant to the programme. It was shown from a direct PO measurement from the myCOPO system that the students attained the psychomotor skill required by the programme. This study contributes to the improvement in the engineering curriculum development and assists the Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) in fulfilling the requirements by the Board of Engineers Malaysia, which are related to psychomotor skill development. As it captures an important aspect of psychomotor skill acquired by civil engineering students, it would be a positive approach for IHL to apply a more practice-based learning curriculum to prepare them for future careers in design consultant office, contractor site operations, and other construction-related work environment.