SYNOPSIS

A recent survey by one job placement agency indicates that an engineering career is one of the most “unhappy” jobs in Malaysia besides the medical and legal fields. Traditionally, engineering education focuses on imparting technical knowledge and soft skills which include leadership and communication skills.  The inculcation of humanistic skill as an engineer is less emphasized. Engineers are presumed to focus more on financial rewards than job satisfaction and contribution to the society. This could be due to the unwarranted high living cost that forces every job seeker to place salary as their highest priority in terms of job satisfaction factor.   Can we achieve a work-life balance in an engineering career? What is the role of engineering education to provide a happier and balanced life expectation among engineers? One possible option is the inclusion of humanistic skill in engineering education. Humanistic skills include honesty, integrity, altruism, honour, self care, self awareness, enthusiasm for learning, commitment for lifelong learning, respect and care for others and volunteerism. It can be taught as part of technical subjects and/or included in the religious/moral subject. This presentation explores the possibilities of introducing humanistic values and skills in engineering education while these future engineers are in universities.


BIODATA OF SPEAKERS
    
Dato’ Prof. Ir. Dr. Mashkuri Yaacob obtained his MSc and PhD degrees respectively in Computer Engineering from the University of Manchester, UK, and an Honours Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Australia. He has served in several positions in University Malaya, including Founding Dean of the Computer Science and Information Technology Faculty and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs). In 2005 he joined MIMOS as the Director of Grid Computing and Bioinformatics spearheading R&D activities to accelerate scientific advancement for value creation of homegrown technologies.

From January 2007, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). Prof. Mashkuri has published over 200 technical papers in local and international journals and has presented papers in numerous international conferences across the globe. He also served as the Chairman of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Malaysia Network and was also a Council member of the IET in London. He is a Fellow of the IET, Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM). As Vice Chancellor of UNITEN, Prof. Mashkuri has played a major role in the growth of the leading private University in Malaysia particularly in rebranding the University as a quality institution. UNITEN won the coveted Prime Minister’s Industry Quality Excellence Award in 2009, the International Asia Pacific Quality Award 2010 for Education and the International Crown Quality Award 2010 for Education (in UK).