Universiti Teknologi Petronas
 |
 | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (January 2007) |
University Teknologi PETRONAS | |
| File:Logo-UTP.jpg The UTP logo | |
| Motto | Engineering Futures |
|---|---|
| Type | Private University |
| Established | January 10 1997 |
| Chancellor | YAB Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad |
| Vice-Chancellor | YB Tan Sri Dato Sri (Dr) Mohd Hassan Marican |
| Rector | Prof. Dr. Zainal Abidin Hj. Kasim |
| Students | approx. 6000 undergraduates, and a smaller number of postgraduates |
| Location | , , |
| Affiliations | ASAIHL |
| Website | www.utp.edu.my |
Universiti Teknologi Petronas (Abbreviation: UTP; English: Petronas University of Technology; Chinese:国油大学) was established on 10 January 1997 when PETRONAS was invited by the Government of Malaysia to set up a university.
History
The university was formerly known as The Institute of Technology PETRONAS (ITP) and was a wholly owned subsidiary of PETRONAS, the national oil company of Malaysia. It was registered with the Ministry of Education on 26 April 1995 and obtained approval under the "Essential Higher Education Institute Regulation 1996". ITP began operations at PERMATA, Bangi, Selangor on 3 July 1995. On 26 July 1995, ITP was registered as a private limited company and transferred its operations to Tronoh in the state of Perak, on 1 July 1996. Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) was established on 10 January 1997 when PETRONAS was invited by the Malaysian government to set up a university.
The campus is built on a 400 hectare (1,000 acre) site strategically located at Bandar Seri Iskandar, Tronoh, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia. When University Teknologi PETRONAS first moved to Tronoh, it took over the campus of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)'s engineering faculty, which has since moved to their new campus in Penang. In its initial years, lectures, lab sessions and tutorials were held in the old USM facilities, and University Teknologi PETRONAS gradually shifted all operations to newer facilities once construction was completed.
The university has just concluded its Sixth Convocation Ceremony on 27 August 2006. This year, a total of 725 UTP students graduated in their respective fields of studies. Of these, 699 were undergraduate students in various fields, namely Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Business Information Systems and Information and Communication Technology while 26 were postgraduates students majoring in Petroleum Engineering, Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Information Technology .
Facilities
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS is one of the universities with the best facilities in Malaysia or even in the world[citation needed]. The university has world class academic and administrative office buildings, Information Resource Centre and laboratories equipment.
New Academic Complex
The New Academic Complex was designed by Foster and Partners, and the first-phase construction was completed in 2004.The overall layout of the New Academic Complex is in the shape of a 5-pointed star made up by 5 semi-circles. The New Academic Complex was officially opened by the former chairman of PETRONAS and ITPSB Board, Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Azizan Zainul Abidin. Currently, almost all of the academic activities have been shifted to the new campus.
The front-most point of the star where the New Academic Complex is facing is the elliptical Chancellor Complex. The Chancellor Complex houses the Chancellor Hall, the new Information Resource Centre, and Security Department, Finance Department and some of the other important administrative department offices. It is affectionately dubbed the "UFO building" by the students due to its futuristic design.
Another two points of the New Academic Complex is where the buildings commonly known as Pocket C and Pocket D is situated.
Pocket C is an orange building with a slanting foyer look. A cafeteria, a clinic and a security office is located at the ground floor of the building. The first floor and second floor of the building consist of 2 computer-aided design theatres and 4 lecture theatres.
Pocket D is a blue building with the same architectural design as Pocket C. The ground floor of the building is where a cafeteria, the UTP Gallery, and the Student Card Centre located. The first floor and second floor are seated by 6 lecture theatres. The Student Support and Services Department (SSSD) is located at the third floor of Pocket D. Pocket A and Pocket B are another two buildings at the points of the New Academic Complex. They are yet to be built.
Along the perimeter of each semi-circles, there are several buildings at the outer of the New Academic Complex. Each building is assigned to a programme. Some programmes has several buildings. The buildings are named with numbers. On the way from the Chancellor Complex to Pocket D, the buildings are Building 23, Building 22, Building 21 and Building 20. From Pocket D to Pocket C, the buildings are Building 19 up to Building 16 and Building 15. From Pocket C to Pocket B that is yet to be built, only Building 14 and Building 13 are available and in use now. From the Chancellor Complex to the not-yet-built Pocket A, there are Building 1 up to Building 5.
The numbered buildings are generally similar in design. The ground, first and second floor of the buildings consists of laboratories and discussion rooms. The third floor of the buildings is always the lecturers' offices.
Sports complex
The university has a centralised sports facility, commonly known as the Sports Complex, located near the main gate. It consists of a swimming pool, several soccer fields, three takraw courts, a basketball court, five tennis courts, three volleyball courts, four squash courts, three badminton courts, a jogging track and a netball court.
In general, students participate actively in sports, with the most popular sports being soccer and futsal.
Computer, network and Internet access
Almost all dorms in the hostels in UTP are provided with network sockets with Local Area Network (LAN) and broadband Internet access through a central server maintained by the Information Technology and Media Services (ITMS) Department. Students are able to connect to the network and Internet 7/24.
Beginning 1 February 2007, wireless access will be provided to UTP students at selected areas (namely the villages and their cafeterias).
Besides, the network and Internet are also accessible through the IT Sections in the Information Resource Centre, and also computer labs in each general academic buildings in the New Academic Complex. Self printing service is also available in the computer labs.
Education
The foundation programmes are offered for students that enroll to UTP with SPM level or other equivalent levels to prepare them for degree programmes. Newly enrolled students with STPM level or other equivalent levels are exempted from the foundation programmes. Other newly enrolled diploma graduades are exempted from certain courses according to their academic performance and courses taken during their diploma programmes.
Currently, UTP offers two foundation programmes, four engineering degree programmes and two technology degree programmes. A new engineering degree programme will commence starting January 2007.
Academic circulations
In UTP, there are two semesters a year. A semester starts in January or July, with 14 weeks of studies per semester, divided by a one-week mid-semester break and ends with 3 weeks of final examination. The end of semester is followed by a 7-week semester break.
Foundation programmes
The foundation programmes offered in UTP are engineering foundation programme and technology foundation programme. As the names suggest, the engineering foundation programme prepares the students to continue with engineering degree programmes in UTP, whereas the technology foundation programme is a preparation programme for students to pursue their studies in technology degree programmes.
Undergraduate degree programmes
The engineering degree programmes take a total of four years to complete (including internship), while technology degree programmes take four and a half years.
The seven degree programmes offered are:
- Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EE)
- Majors offered as of 2006:
- Instrumentation and Control
- Power Systems Engineering
- Computer Systems Engineering
- Communication Systems
- Micro Electronics
- Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Chemical Engineering (CHE)
- Majors offered as of 2006:
- Industrial Environmental Engineering
- Process Plant Engineering
- Gas and Petrochemical Engineerin
- Petroleum Engineering
- Process Analysis and Control
- Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Civil Engineering (CVE)
- Majors offered as of 2006:
- Building Construction Technology
- Urban Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Offshore Structures and Oceanography
- Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Mechanical Engineering (ME)
- Majors offered as of 2006:
- Automotive
- Energy
- Manufacturing
- Materials
- Petroleum
- Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Petroleum Engineering (PE) (Starting 1st Semester of 2007)
- Majors offered as of 2007:
- Reservoir Studies
- Drilling and Production Operations
- Bachelor of Technology (Hons) Information Communication Technology (ICT)
- Majors offered as of 2006:
- Virtual Reality & Multimedia
- Software Engineering
- Minors offered as of 2006:
- Financial Management
- Corporate Management
- Digital Electronics (Last Offered)
- Bachelor of Technology (Hons) Business Information Systems (BIS)
- Majors offered as of 2006:
- E-Business
- Knowledge Management
- Minors offered as of 2006:
- Financial Management
- Corporate Management
Postgraduate degree programmes
UTP also offers postgraduate degree programmes by research, and by coursework and dissertation.
The programmes by research offered are:
- MSc and PhD in Mechanical Engineering
- MSc and PhD in Civil Engineering
- MSc and PhD in Chemical Engineering
- MSc and PhD in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
- MSc and PhD in Information Technology
The Master of Science programmes by coursework and dissertation offered are:
- MSc in Process Integration
- MSc in Petroleum Engineering
Industrial internship programme
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS offers one of the longest industrial internship programmes in the country. The students are posted as interns for 32 weeks (approximately 8 months). This is excellent as it allows the students to gain maximum exposure to their future field of undertaking.
Student accommodation
Almost all students reside in Residential Colleges within the campus grounds, except for a rare few who choose to stay off-campus. Male and female students are placed in different blocks. There are a total of six residential colleges, called Villages:
Old Village 5
Originally a collection of temporary residential buildings used by USM students, this village is slowly being phased out as students are moved to more modern facilities elsewhere on campus.
Previously used to accommodate students from the latest intake due to a lack of available rooms, but with the completion of the second phase of the new Village 5, many blocks in the old village are no longer in use. There was a convenience store here called Kopetro, so-named because it was originally funded by a university cooperation system.
This village is planned to be removed to make way for the main gate project which its progress is going as usual.
Village 1
Known as Jaya due to its old name during USM time. A group of hostel buildings, only slightly newer than Old Village 5. Usually, visitors to the campus will see this village first, since it is located nearest to the main gates. There is a small, privately owned laundry service located here, which is reasonably priced (approximately RM2 per kilogram of clothes, with additional charges for blankets/bedsheets) and generally reliable. The cafeteria for Jaya have specialty for its cheap price food.
Jaya located just by walking distance to the Old USM cafe which provide CIMB Bank (also known as Bumiputra-Commerce Bank) ATM, mini post office, KOPETRO and a cafeteria which known as "USM cafe". USM cafe have its own specialty for wide variety of Western food for very reasonable price.
Village 2
Known as Lembaran due to its old name during USM time. Similar in style to Village 1, but located further in, at the base of a small hill. Conveniently located near the on-campus petrol station.
Villages 3 and 4
Villages 3 and 4 are new, apartment style hostels, located near the new academic campus buildings. Village 3 is located on higher ground, overlooking Village 4. Each village has its own cafeteria, and there is a small convenience store located in Village 4.
New Village 5
The newest residential college: located furthest from the gate, deep inside the campus, it originally consists of three apartment-style hostel blocks (Blocks A to C, all for male students). Upon completion of the second phase in 2005, it has been expanded to ten residential blocks (four of them for girls) and a central cafe/meeting area/office structure, complete with a small artificial pond. There is also a privatised laundry service here called SpeedKleen. When it first started, SpeedKleen was plagued by reliability problems with frequent complaints of lost items of clothing, which led to the implementation of a tagging system for the clothes.
Community
A majority of the students are local, but there are foreign students studying in the university as well. The foreign students are from countries like (sorted alphabetically) Cambodia, Chad, East Timor, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar, Mozambique, Pakistan, South Africa, Sudan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Vietnam and Yemen. A large number of students, local and international, study under convertible loans or scholarships from the Education Sponsorship Unit of PETRONAS itself. Besides foreign students, there are also foreign lecturers and tutors in UTP. Their countries of origin includes (sorted alphabetically) Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines and Sudan.
Awards
2005
- Open source Expo & National Hacking Competition 2005 - Forensic (1st & 5th place), Capture the Flag (1st & 5th place)
2006
- i-HACK 2006 - Capture the Flag (CTF), UTP won 1st & 2nd place
- Malaysia Book Of Record - highest number of participants of 960 people taking part in UTP Open Chess Competition 2006 in conjunction with ConvoFair 2006
- ENGINEERING INVENTION N INNOVATION COMPETITION (EINIC) 2006 - Overall Champion (NETTER)
- 34th International Exhibition Of Invention, New Techniques And Products of Geneva 2006 - Gold Medal (Biomass Fuel Briquette From an Optimised Mixing Ratio of Oil Palm Waste), Silver Medal (InTERPRID Intelligent Predictor & PANDANEX: The Ingeniously Developed Water Filteration Kit)
- ITEX 2006
| Gold Awards | Silver Awards | Bronze Awards |
|---|---|---|
| Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle With On-Board Linear Generator
Project Leader: Assoc Prof Dr Abdul Rashid Abdul Aziz |
Milder Route for MEOH Synthesis From Renewable Resources
Project Leader: Dr Suzana Yusup |
Paxfil: Water Treatment System Using Natural Product
Project Leader: M Zamri Abdullah |
| Computer Cardiologist For Quick Diagnosis of Heart Conditions
Project Leader: Prof Dr P A Venkatachalam Also won The Moscow Award for Best Invention in Medical Science |
Vehicle Remote Control and Monitoring System Using GSM Architecture
Project Leader: Abdullah Sani Abdul Rahman |
Effect of Used Oil on the Properties of Concrete
Project Leader: Assoc Prof Dr Nasir Syafiq |
| Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Ultrasonic Techniques
Project Leader: Prof. V R Radhakrishnan |
Kitchen Helper System with Voice Recognition
Project Leader: Yong Suet Peng | |
| Cooling Helmet
Project Leader: Dr Balbir Singh |
NETTER: Development of Household Water Filteration Kit Using Low Cost Natural Product
Project Leader: Hj Bawadi Abdullah | |
| Smart Messaging Parking System
Project Leader: Koh Moi Ing |
Imaging Coursework Data Entry
Project Leader: Patrick Sebastian | |
| REVO Badminton Shuttlecock Launcher
Project Leader: Kee Kok Eng |
In-situ Transesterification of Rubber Seed
Project Leader: M Tazli Azizan | |
| Hexapod Robot Using Tripod Technology
Project Leader: M Haris Md Khir |
External links
- Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS The official UTP website.
- UTPian.NET The unofficial UTP student community website.
- UTPAlumni.com The official UTP Alumni website.
- UTP-Open Source Society Google Group