Universiti Teknologi Petronas
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS | |
| the UTP logo | |
| Established | 10 January 1997 |
|---|---|
| Chancellor | Y A Bhg Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad |
| Vice-Chancellor | Y Bhg Tan Sri Dato Sri (Dr) Mohd Hassan Marican |
| Rector | Prof. Dr. Zainal Abidin Hj. Kasim |
| Students | approximately 6000 undergraduates, and a smaller number of postgraduates |
| Location | , , |
| Nickname | UTP |
| Website | www.utp.edu.my |
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) was established on January 10 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 April 26, 1995 and obtained approval under the "Essential Higher Education Institute Regulation 1996". ITP began operations at PERMATA, Bangi, Selangor on July 3, 1995. On July 26, 1995, ITP was registered as a private limited company and transferred its operations to Tronoh in the state of Perak, on July 1, 1996. Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) was established on January 10, 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 .
Vision and Mission
- Vision
"A Leader in Technology Education and Centre for Creativity and Innovation."
- Mission
"Universiti Teknologi Petronas is an institute of higher learning. We provide opportunities for the pursuit of knowledge and expertise for the advancement of engineering, science and technology to enhance the nation’s competitiveness.
Our objective is to produce well-rounded graduates who are creative and innovative with the potential to become leaders of industry and the nation.
Our aim is to nurture creativity and innovativeness and expand the frontiers of technology and education for the betterment of society."
New Academic Campus
Currently, almost all of the academic activities have been shifted to the new campus. Only 16 out of 23 planned general buildings and 2 out of 4 lecture/administration buildings have been completed, which is more than adequate for the current requirements of the university. The new campus is designed by Foster and Partners, and construction was completed in 2004.
Each general building belongs to one faculty, and the general buildings are all similar in design: the first three floors consist of laboratories or tutorial rooms, while the topmost floor holds the lecturer offices for the respective faculties. The lecture/administration buildings consist of a collection of lecture theatres, with capacities of either 100 or 200 students. The blue lecture structure is known as Pocket D, while the orange one is Pocket C. Pockets A and B have yet to be constructed.
An important part of the new academic campus is the elliptical Chancellor's Complex which houses both the Chancellor's Hall and the new Library, as well as the Security Department, Finance Department and many of the important academic offices. It is affectionately dubbed the "UFO building" by students due to its unusual design. The Academic Complex was officially opened by the former chairman of PETRONAS and ITPSB Board, Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Azizan Zainul Abidin
Courses
Universiti Teknologi Petronas mainly offers technological courses for undergraduates and postgraduates in the engineering and information technology fields.
For undergraduate courses, the engineering courses take a total of five years to complete (one year of pre-university, followed by a four year degree program, including internship), while non-engineering courses take four and a half years. There are two semesters a year, with 14 weeks of studies per semester, divided by a week-long mid-semester break and ending with 3 weeks of final examinations, followed by a 14-week semester break.
The seven undergraduate courses 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
Also, the seven postgraduate courses 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
- MSc in Process Integration
- MSc in Petroleum Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Petronas also offers one of the longest industrial internship programs in the country, where 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. In addition, Universiti Teknologi Petronas also offers its own foundation courses for students who have just finished their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examinations in preparation for an undergraduate course.
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.
- Village 1
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.
- Village 2
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.
- Village 3 & 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.
Students
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 South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, Iran, Myanmar, Indonesia, Sudan, Egypt, Cambodia, Chad, Pakistan, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, East Timor, Yemen and Turkmenistan. A large number of students, local and international, study under convertible loans or scholarships from the Education Sponsorship Unit of Petronas itself.
The university's student council is called Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar Universiti Teknologi Petronas (MPPUTP), and they are elected to a 1-year term in office through the standard student election process. There is also an Islamic student body named Rakan Masjid (literally, Mosque Friends) which organizes events for the students as well as conducting various campaigns to raise awareness on certain religious issues.
In order to address International Student's issues and activities, UTP has also formed a committee called the International Student Committee (ISC) which consists of representatives of international students from each country.
Co-curricular activities
The university has a centralised sports facility located near the main gate, which is home to a swimming pool, several soccer fields, three takraw courts, a basketball court, four tennis courts, three volleyball courts, four squash courts, three badminton courts, a jogging track and a netball court.
In general, students participate actively in cocurricular activities, with the most popular sports being soccer and futsal.
Being a technologically-oriented university, almost all the hostels are provided with network sockets, with Internet access through a central server maintained by the Information Technology and Media Services (ITMS) department. Internet access has been generally fast and reliable since a major upgrade in 2005.
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)
- 34 th 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 |
UTPian .NET
UTPian.NET is the first and the only unofficial site of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS which is available online after the merger of UTPian.NET and myUTP.
Eventhough UTPian.NET is opened on August 03,2006, UTPian.NET is officially launched on August 16,2006. The Head of ICT/BIS Dept , Dr. Ahmad Kamil Mahmood, officially launched the portal site at a function which was to celebrate and appreciate the Dean's List Award recipients of ICT/BIS students.
UTPAlumni.com
UTPAlumni.com UTP Alumni Association was initiated by UTP as a means to connect the graduates. In July 2001, the responsibilities were the delegated to the trainee lecturers and master students of UTP. In August 2002, High Tea Gathering was held in order to mark the establishment of UTP Alumni Association. Pro tem committee was formed soon after. We are officially registered with the Registrar of Society on the 19th March 2003. Till date UTP Alumni has around 1000 registered members. . In August 2002, High Tea Gathering was held in order to mark the establishment of UTP Alumni Association.
UTP Open Source Society
http://www.utpian.net/utp-oss/wiki/
On August 2006, UTP, trying not to be left behind in Malaysian government's campaign in promoting usage of Open Source softwares, have created their own Open Source Society pioneered by a group of students. The society is very new and still in its pre-establishment state.
External links
- Universiti Teknologi Petronas The official UTP website.
- UTPian.NET The unofficial UTP student community website.
- UTPAlumni.com The official UTP Alumni website.