Thursday 24 October 2013

Industrial Talk: Food Processing and Career Opportunities






 A talk was delivered by Dr Hii Ching Lik (CEng MIChemE) from the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering to student members of The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (UNMC student chapter). 

In his talk Dr Hii shared his experience while working as a researcher in the food industry prior to joining UNMC and the technical skills required to work as a food engineer. It was mentioned in the talk that specific knowledge/skill in food processing is not a key pre-requisite to work as a food engineer but it would serve as an added advantage in job application. 


Currently, a Food Processing Technology module is offered in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering as an elective for the year 3 and 4 students. Malaysia is rich in agriculture resources and investment in domestic food industry is projected with annual growth of 5.3% till the year 2020. Therefore, the domestic food industry is able to generate numerous job opportunities which are a promising outlook especially for the young engineering graduates. Future challenges such as food safety, future food, land use, weather, government policy and issues on sustainability are some of the critical areas currently faced by the food industry.



Dr Hii briefing on the food industry


Turnout for the talk


Token of Appreciation given to Dr Hii by our Vice President, Josh Lau