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UKM “Chem-E-Car” History, Implementation and Achievement

Article  in  Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences · October 2012

DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.408

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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 60 (2012) 468 – 471

UKM Teaching and Learning Congress 2011

UKM “Chem-E-Car” History, Implementation and Achievement

Mohd Shahbudin Masdara,b, , Rahaiza Misnonb, Siti Nurul Hunadia Husinb,
Noorhisham Tan Koflia,b, Siti Kartom Kamaruddinb
b
Centre for Engineering Education Research, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
b
Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Abstract

Disclosure of extra-curricular activities among students is a catalyst to foster creativity and innovation capacity in them. It was
seen as an added value in building and improving communication skills, leadership and cooperation between groups, apart from
having a competent knowledge in a competent engineer. Furthermore, these elements also meet the Outcome Based Education
curriculum (OBE), which was adopted by the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment Engineering since 2005. Based on
the requirements of this OBE, Department of Chemical and Process Engineering (JKKP), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
(UKM), has successfully organized a Chem-E-Car Competition at UKM since 2005. Chem-E-Car is an extra-curricular activity
in groups among the students of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. This paper describes the history of Chem-E-Car
competition at UKM, the method of implementation and student achievement through the Chem-E-Car activity. This activity has
contributed and provided opportunities for students to develop generic skills. Furthermore, it also raised the name of UKM in the
country and internationally.
© 2011
© 2011Published
PublishedbybyElsevier
Elsevier Ltd.
Ltd. Selection
Selection and/or
and/or peer peer reviewed
reviewed underunder responsibility
responsibility of theTeaching
of the UKM UKM Teaching
and and Learning
CongressCongress
Learning 2011. 2011

Keywords: Communication skills; creativity; innovation; chemical and biochemical engineering

1. Introduction

Based on curriculum reform practiced around the world, the development of generic attributes has become an
important indicator in determining the level of excellence in higher education. The properties of a generic refer to
the personal nature of good and quality in which undergraduates should have it as a citizen capable (Wincy 2010). In
terms of learning design, Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) outlines the goals and objectives which are
essential in chemical engineering courses:
• Develop an integrated approach to chemical engineering.
• Promote the application of chemical engineering principles to current issues and future.
• Encourage students to develop and apply creative and critical skills in performing a difficult decision.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +6-03-8921-6409 ; fax: +6-03-8921-6148.
E-mail address: shahbud@eng.ukm.my.

1877-0428 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer reviewed under responsibility of the UKM Teaching and Learning Congress 2011
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.408
 Mohd Shahbudin Masdar et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 60 (2012) 468 – 471 469

• Promote the development of transfer-skills such as communication skills and group projects.
• Provide reassurance to the students in their ability to apply technical knowledge in real situations.

Some of these approach shows that high-potential graduates should be able to adapt the method of analysis,
synthesis and evaluation of complex information. The ability to work as a team and apply technical knowledge in
real-life problems is a key to the field of employment in the chemical engineering industry (Nancy 2010). Kumar
and Kent (2007) states that in the past, engineers learn leadership skills and time management during working and it
is a skill that is difficult to adapt directly. However, it will be easier for the engineers if they had been trained in
advance, such as by exposure to these skills at the tertiary level before going out into the working world. Currently,
the engineering curriculum in Higher Education Institutions (IPT) has an approach to implement and measure these
generic skills. As a result, the instructors take the initiative teaching and to follow learning process that can measure
the level of generic skills such as communication skills, teamwork skills, organizational and management skills to be
more comprehensive assessment of student performance (Azizan & Fatimah 2010).
Thus, some extra-curricular activities have been planned and exposed to students, including Chem-E-Car, as a
platform to foster creativity and innovation capacity and generic skills in students. In addition, these activities also
meet the Outcome-Based Curriculum (OBE) which are practiced by the Faculty of Engineering and Built
Environment (FKAB), UKM (Kamaruddin et al. 2009, Misnon et al. 2010).
Chem-E-Car is a group co-curricular activity among students in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering in the
form of a competition. This activity gives students an opportunity to design and construct a mini vehicle that is
powered with a chemical energy source that will carry a load to a given distance and stop. The vehicle will be
judged based on the combination of completion of the defined task and a judging of the most creative design. The
main objectives of the Chem-E-Car competition are to provide opportunities and exposure as well as a platform for
the students to show their creativity and knowledge in chemical/ biochemical engineering through the fabrication of
the car model.

2. Chem-E-Car Competition History

Chem-E-Car Competition is an annual event carried out at national or international level organized by the
Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). In Malaysia, the competition is organized by the Technical Department
of Chemical Engineering (CETD), Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) and started since 2005. Generally, co-
organizer of the university will be selected to provide the location and competition, and different arrangements for
each year.
In line with the competition at the national level, UKM also organized Chem-E-Car competition to select a
representative group of students to the national level. In UKM, the competition is organized by the Department of
Chemical and Process Engineering (JKKP), FKAB. Based on positive feedback among students related to these
activities, JKKP has set the Chem-E-Car as an annual event with the support from the faculty. In 2010, the JKKP
has been able to register this activity as optional extra-curricular courses in UKM in line with the objectives of OBE,
comprising:
• Ability to understand the basic concepts of sustainability in the chemical and biochemical engineering.
• Ability to design a product and take into account the needs of sustainability.
• Ability to deliver the work/ written and oral project effectively.
• Ability to work in a team.

3. Implementation of the Competition

In general, Chem-E-Car competition is open to students from various fields of study. However, members of the
group must have at least two students from chemical and biochemical engineering. The total members of group are
limited to four students. As a first step, a special briefing will be given to all students who participate in these
activities. Briefing will include rules, conditions of competition and security measures to be taken in the
competition. Thus, every group is required to submit a project proposal including the introduction of Chem-E-Car,
reaction mechanisms, design of the car and also the estimated cost of which will be used.
470 Mohd Shahbudin Masdar et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 60 (2012) 468 – 471

In Chem-E-Car competition, evaluation by experienced judges will be made against presentation of posters and
model cars racing in which each of these categories accounted for 50% overall score. In car racing, all the rules in
terms of chemicals and safety aspects of specific conditions of the competition are based on the implementation
used by IChemE (AIChE 2007). Each group will be evaluated in terms of car performance where each car model has
to move and stop at a distance determined by carrying the burden of particular water. The length of the track may
vary between 15 and 25 m, meanwhile water-load in the range of 0-500 ml, according to the competition judges’
decisions for a given competition. The distance and the water-load will be notified during the competition.
Participants in the performance portion are allowed two separate “runs” of their vehicle. After two runs, the team
that achieves the single best result (i.e. whose car runs and stops closest to the goal) is deemed the winner.
All of the formation on car design, reaction mechanisms, and the advantages of car model, the calibration graph
and the cost of making should be included in a poster. Generally, several criteria will be assessed through the
presentation of posters including in terms of design creativity, reaction mechanisms, safety and environmental
aspects, economic aspects and the quality posters and the manner of service of the participants.

4. UKM Chem-E-Car Achievement

Overall, the performance of UKMs Chem-E-Car in national level is good. UKM student have several times
became a champion in the competition either in the race car or in the poster presentation. Table 1 shows the
performance of UKM students in Chem-E-Car competition at the national and international level since 2005.
Generally, the car competition winner will be received a certificate, trophy and cash amounting to U.S. $ 1,000,
while for the runner-up and third place will be received U.S. $ 700 and U.S. $ 500, respectively. For the poster
category, the winners will be getting a trophy and a certificate, while the certificate and cash amounting to RM500
will be granted to the special award categories.
Based on these performances shown in Table 1, this activity directly raised the name of UKM in the country and
international arena. Furthermore, it will be developed self-confidence and enhancing the generic skills of students in
the process of their learning activities.

Table 1. UKM Chem-E-Car performances

Year Events Performances

March 2011 6th Chem-E-Car competition at the national First place in car competition
level (3 groups)

July 2010 5th Chem-E-Car competition at the national Second place in car competition
level (3 groups)

March 2009 4th Chem-E-Car competition at the national No

level (3 groups)

January 2008 3th Chem-E-Car competition at the national Second place in car competition
level (2 groups) First place in poster presentation
Special Award (Most consistent
car)

January 2006 2th Chem-E-Car competition at the national No

level (3 groups)

January 2005 1st Chem-E-Car competition at the national First place in car competition
level (6 groups) (Representing the country to the
international level in Glasgow,
Scotland (ranked 5th))
 Mohd Shahbudin Masdar et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 60 (2012) 468 – 471 471

5. Conclusion

According to history, implementation and achievements of Chem-E-Car in UKM, this activity is seen as a
platform for students to apply their knowledge learned in practical engineering and the nature of the catalyst to
foster creativity and innovation within. In addition, this activity is able to increase faculty success in achieving the
OBE, and raise the name of UKM in the country and internationally.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank UKM for providing the research grant (PTS-2011-004)

References

AIChE (The American Institute of Chemical Engineers). (2007). General Guidelines for Chem-E-Car Competition Organizers. New York:
AIChE.
Azizan, Z.A. & Fatimah, S. (2010). International Conference on Mathematics Education Research 2010 (ICMER 2010): Soft skills in the
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Kamarudin, S.K., Kofli, N.T., Ismail, M., Mohammad, A.B., & Takriff, M.S. (2009). Soft skill development via Chem-E-Car project. Seminar
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Kumar, S. & Kent, H. J. (2007). Engineers learn “Soft Skills the Hard Way”: Planting a seed of leadership in engineering classes, Leadersh.
Manage. Eng. 7 (1), 18-23.
Misnon, R., Othman, N.A., Kamaruddin, S.K., & Kofli, N.T. (2010). Memupuk sifat kreativiti dan inovasi melalui pertandingan “Chem E Car”,
Kongres Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran UKM 2010, 383-390
Nancy, E.F. (2010). The views, attitudes and learning style preferences of Higher National Chemical Engineering students, Education for
Chemical Engineers, 5, e55–e71
Wincy, S.C.C. (2010). Students’ understanding of generic skills development in a university in Hong Kong, Procedia Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 2, 4815–4819.

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