The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) announced that two outstanding engineering projects and four eminent engineers were accorded prestigious regional accolades at the 35th Conference of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organizations (CAFEO35) on 18 November 2017, in Bangkok, Thailand.
The two projects that received the esteemed ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Awards 2017 are:
- Mitigation of Pollution at Kandy Lake and Mid-Canal, Sri Lanka by Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University & University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka; and
- Singapore Sports Hub by ARUP, DP ARCHITECTS & AECOM
Presented by the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organizations (AFEO), a non-governmental organisation affiliated to the ASEAN Secretariat, the annual awards pay tribute to the most distinctive engineering projects in the region. The Singapore projects were selected for making significant contributions to advancing engineering and improving quality of life amongst the ASEAN countries.
At the ceremony, AFEO also conferred four eminent Singaporeans with the AFEO Honorary Fellowship title, for rendering exemplary and meritorious services to the engineering profession, IES and Singapore. They are:
- Wong Yui Cheong, Past Council Member, IES;
- Er Low Wong Fook, Past Council Member, IES and Past Principal, Singapore Polytechnic;
- Er Khoo Seow Poh, Deputy CEO, National Environment Agency; and
- Dr Boh Jaw Woei, Past Honorary Secretary and Past Council Member, IES
IES-AIT MoU on Climate Change
In conjunction with CAFEO35, IES also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asian Institute of Technology Thailand, to enable cooperation in promoting capacity building and project development in climate change through joint activities.
Both parties kicked off their collaborative partnership by signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to deliver a professional development workshop on ‘Managing Project Preparation for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation’. Targeted at senior level officials and executives responsible for climate change and mitigation projects, the workshop aims to deepen understanding and skillsets in project proposal preparation to facilitate acquisition of financing from the growing pool of climate resources in the region. The inaugural workshop will be held in Singapore in 2018.
This MoU represents another significant step forward in IES’ continuous efforts to strengthen global resilience towards the impact of climate change through engineering. Since 2013, IES has held the World Engineers Summit every two years in Singapore, to facilitate engineering-led discussions amongst the world’s engineering communities, to drive global climate action and sustainable urban development.
IES assumed AFEO Chairmanship for 2018
At the conclusion of CAFEO35 on 18 November 2017, IES officially took over the AFEO Chairmanship, with a key role to host CAFEO36 in Singapore in November 2018. In alignment to the Master Plan on ASEAN connectivity 2025 and Singapore’s assumed role as ASEAN Chair in 2018, IES will focus CAFEO36 on enhancing rail connectivity and fostering excellence in engineering education.
“IES is excited to assume the Chairmanship of AFEO for 2018 as it coincides with Singapore’s role of ASEAN Chair. We aim to make CAFEO36 into a focal point for exchange of knowledge, standards and best practices in engineering amongst member countries, to support the development of a seamlessly and comprehensively connected ASEAN. Through CAFEO36, we also hope to spur greater engineering contributions towards infrastructural development in ASEAN and promote a strong collaborative engineering community,” said Er Edwin Khew, President, IES.
IES led a contingent of engineering representatives to attend CAFEO35 in Bangkok from 16 to 18 November 2017. Since 1982, the annual CAFEO has been hosted in different ASEAN member countries to promote goodwill, understanding, cooperation and exchange of ideas and experiences in the fields of education, science, engineering, technology, environment, human resource, training and registration of professional engineers. — Construction+ Online
