Beyond the horizon, into the future

Adhering to the theme, ‘Horizons - A Glimpse into the Future’, the Monash University Malaysia School of Engineering & IT held their annual Engineering & IT Leadership Program (EILP) Conference on 16 April 2016, sponsored by Sunway Construction Group and co-sponsors Shell Malaysia and Ikhmas Jaya.

From ‘Personal Development’ to ‘Leadership Philosophy: Preparing for the Future’, esteemed speakers and panellists spoke on a range of topics, to eager and passionate student delegates from Monash, as well as other public and private institutions.

In his keynote address, Shell MDS Malaysia Managing Director Liang Kok Siang addressed the future of the energy sector. Having served for 34 years in the organisation, Liang shared about the predicted surge in Earth’s population in 30 years, and the subsequent demand in energy that is expected to rise with it.

“Based on US projections, there could be well over 9 billion people on the planet by the year 2050, with a rising demand in the energy sector. Even today, billions around the world do not have access to energy. We will thus have to find new sources of energy, otherwise we risk a future of greater volatility in energy markets, and consigning millions of people to a future of energy poverty,” he said, adding that the challenge was to get more and cleaner energy.

The one-day summit, which was supported by Engineers Australia Malaysia Chapter (EAMC), also gave students an opportunity to participate in an informative forum, discussing academics, entrepreneurship, and the current and future of the industry.

Head of School of Engineering and School of IT Professor Anthony Guo explained that the EILP summit has become a key event for the school.

“This program complements our education purpose and defines the kind of graduates we produce, a group of useful and good people with integrity and a compassion for the society. We try to inculcate leadership qualities in our students, that’s why we have EILP to provide opportunities to engage with external industry representatives and peers from other institutions,” he said.

Prof Guo congratulated the staff and students spearheading the summit, applauding the Horizon theme and the attendance of over 250 participants.

EILP is a 9-month program designed to equip high-performing Engineering and IT undergraduates with leadership and employability skills. The program includes a retreat, a series of experts-led workshops, field trips to companies, industry leadership engagement evenings and culminates in a participant-organised leadership summit.

This article was adapted from Monash University Malaysia's website, www.monash.edu.my