International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Young Professional Award 2022 For APU’s SoE Senior Lecturer

Ir Eur Ing Ts Dr Lau Chee Yong, Senior Lecturer of the School of Engineering, Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), recently completed the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Young Professional Programme in San Francisco, USA, and was subsequently certified as the IEC Young Professional.

Dr Lau is the ONLY candidate in Malaysia nominated by the Department of Standards Malaysia (DSM) to attend this programme, organised in conjunction with the 86th IEC General Meeting which was held from 24th October to 4th November 2022. 

He was also the finalist for the candidature of Young Professional Leader for Asia & Middle East region.

Dr Lau received this recognition from the IEC President-Elect 2022, Mr Jo Cops; and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Suruhanjaya Tenaga (Energy Commission) Malaysia, Ir Ts Razib Dawood.

Ir Eur Ing Ts Dr Lau Chee Yong (2nd from left), the only candidate in Malaysia nominated by the Department of Standards Malaysia (DSM) to attend the Young Professional Programme in San Francisco, USA, is certified as the IEC Young Professional. He received the accolade from the IEC President-Elect 2022, Mr Jo Cops (centre). With him in this picture are the CEO of Suruhanjaya Tenaga (Energy Commission) Malaysia, Ir Ts Razib Dawood (3rd from the right), as well as national committee members from DSM.

With this new feather in his cap, Dr Lau will be working closely with DSM, IEC, as well as the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM), to continue work on achieving worldwide use of IEC International Standards and Conformity Assessment Systems to ensure the safety, efficiency, reliability and interoperability of electrical, electronic and information technologies, to enhance international trade, facilitate broad electricity access and enable a more sustainable world.

Each year, the IEC Young Professionals Programme seeks new participants - engineers, managers, and technicians - involved in the fields of electricity and electronics from more than 130 countries, to join the YP Programme and to qualify themselves as IEC Young Professionals.

Before this, Dr Lau needed to get through the nomination processes in Malaysia. He first passed the assessment conducted by the Electrical Engineering Technical Division (EETD) of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM). He was then nominated by DSM for the final selection, which was subject to one’s qualifications, experience, and involvement in standardization. 

 “This is the third year I'm applying to attend the Young Professional Workshop since 2019 and have kept improving myself since then. I obtained more qualifications and also joined as a co-opted member of the National Standard Committee (NSC) Section G: Information Technology, Communication and Multimedia under the Brain Computer Interface Advisory Group (AG16). 

“From there I learned about the process of standardization and conformity assessment, met with different countries’ representatives and joined the meeting together. 

“This indeed is an eye-opening experience and it is very beneficial in my career path. I believe these initiatives made me qualified to be nominated by DSM this year. I would like to thank Prof Ir Ts Dr Vinesh Thiruchelvam, our Chief Innovation & Enterprise Officer, for recommending me to join the AG16 working group so I can kickstart the entire journey in standardization works,” said Dr Lau.

At the venue, participants of the YP Programme had a chance to observe IEC management and technical meetings and also took part in interactive breakout sessions related to particular IEC themes where their ideas will be presented to IEC leaders. They also had the opportunity to network with professionals who are assisting in the development of the laws and best practices governing the security, efficiency, and dependability of technology.

Dr Lau has been lecturing at the School of Engineering of APU for seven years. Dr Lau’s specialist areas of expertise comprise Artificial intelligence, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, and Renewable Energy.