UNITEN Student Researches Won Big at World Water Day 2017

PORT DICKSON, 25th March – The research projects of 3 UNITEN students has made the university proud by winning accolades for \”Best Thesis Award in Water Resources and Hydrology 2017\” at the officiating ceremony of the national level of World Water Day 2017, which took place at Dataran Teluk Kemang, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The awards were presented to our winners by Deputy Prime Minister, Dato\’ Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The three award recipients were Dr. Nor Azlina binti Alias, Mohd Nazmi Ahmad and Andy Ngiew Qi Ying and they pursued Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D), Masters and Bachelor Degrees in Civil Engineering respectively.  All of their projects were under the supervision of Datin. Prof. Ir. Dr. Lariyah Mohd Sidek, who is the Assistant Vice Chancellor (Research) and head of Center for Sustainable Technology and Environment (CSTEN), UNITEN.

\”I\’m really happy and grateful for the opportunity given by Datin (Prof. Ir. Dr. Lariyah) to participate in this competition. My winning of this competition was unexpected.\” said Andy, whom is also a Final Year Bachelor Degree student in UNITEN. His project on flow forecasting and early warning system for Kelantan river with the usage of tank model has landed him with silver in the Bachelor Degree category.

The competition was opened to all local and international students studying at Malaysian universities with 3 categories being contested, namely Ph.D, Masters and Bachelor Degree. Each institution are required to send up to 3 entries per category, making each university to be allowed to send in a total of 9 entries. The participants were required to submit their hard-bound and soft copy of their theses together with a journal paper. The winner will receive medals, certificates and cash prizes.

\”I\’ve never expect to be nominated for \’The Best Thesis Award\’ under UNITEN\’s name, let alone to win the Gold prize of the Master category at national level.  This achievement has indeed boost my confidence to further pursue my goals in the academics and research field in the future.\” said the Gold prize winner of the Master category, Nazmi Ahmad. While explaining his project entitled \”Empirical Rainfall Model Based on Urban Heat Island Related Parameters : Case Study – Sg. Penchala, Malaysia\”, Nazmi added that his research was about an empirical model to forecast and predict the amount of rainfall affected by air pollution in urban areas, which helps in the development of green cities.

The other winner, Dr. Nor Azlina, has won bronze in the Ph.D category with her project entitled \” An Integrated Numerical Hydrodynamic Shallow Flow Model for Urban Areas\”.

Facing troubles along her journey, Dr. Nor Azlina was admitted to hospital twice throughout her studies for being involved in an accident that resulted in the dislocation of her leg after a rough fall in the airport. However, she remained determined to complete her studies to an end regardless. “I have to finish it,” she firmly stated.

Though often busy, Datin Prof Lariyah was always prepared to spare her time for all of the students under her supervision in order to meet and follow up with their progress of their respective projects.

“I want to express my appreciation to my students and I think they deserve it. I think, along the lines, they encountered multiple challenges: illnesses, cases of not feeling well. But no matter what happens, the thing that matters most is that you must finish it (your thesis),” Datin Prof Lariyah said passionately.

The NADi UNITEN team would like to convey our heartiest congratulations to the three project award recipients. Your achievements has set another milestone for UNITEN\’s research and development (R&D) and we wish you all the best for your future endeavours.

By : Gan Zhi Han

Photo Source : UNIVERSITI TENAGA NASIONAL – UNITEN official Facebook page