HIGH ACHIEVERS
Ir . Dr Lai Khin Wee –
BEM Most Prominent Young Engineering Leader 2022
The Board of Engineers Malaysia ( BEM )’ s Most Prominent Young Engineering Leader 2022 , Ir . Dr Lai Khin Wee has made outstanding contributions in engineering research in the biomedical field . He heads the Advanced Analytic Research Group at Medical Imaging Laboratory , at Universiti Malaya ( UM )’ s Faculty of Engineering . His research efforts have garnered him 17 patents for various biomedical devices and he has made inroads into commercialisation . Besides research excellence , he devotes time to his other passion to teach post-graduate engineering students as Associate Professor and Head of Department ( Biomedical Engineering ) in UM .
The 39-year-old Ir . Dr Lai hails from Kuching , Sarawak . In an interview with The Ingenieur , he says that invaluable guidance from mentors and peers have contributed to his success . Personally , he attributes it to hard work , self-motivation and embracing challenges . Two unexpected education opportunities also paved the way .
He first chose to study electrical and electronics engineering at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia ( UTM ), Johor but half-way through the Bachelor Degree course , a new faculty called Biomedical Engineering opened . He and his classmates were offered to be the pioneer batch and they took the opportunity . So started his journey in this field . He views biomedical engineering as a multi-disciplinary field which covers mechanical engineering and electrical & electronic engineering plus medical knowledge on human physiology relating to medical devices like CT Scans and X-ray machines .
The second unexpected opportunity was a scholarship to do his PhD ( Biomedical Engineering ) in Germany in 2010 , one year after his Bachelor of Engineering degree . “ The sheer surprise of receiving this scholarship highlighted important lessons : always be prepared for the
Ir . Dr Lai Khin Wee
unexpected and just do it ,” he recalls . It appeared to be serendipity as he could take up his study from Bachelor degree to PhD with Technische Universitat ilmenau ( Germany ) and UTM under a DAAD PhD Sandwich Programme .
“ Recognising the potential life-changing impact of this opportunity , I embraced the challenge , prepped myself in a month and embarked on this incredible journey . The journey to Germany was more than a geographical transition ; it was a leap of faith ,” he recalls . He came back empowered to embark on an engineering career . Over the years , he built many professional credentials locally and abroad . Among these are Professional Engineer PEPC with BEM , ACPE ( Malaysia ), Chartered Professional Engineer CPEng ., Engineers Australia NER , APEC Engineer IntPE ( Australia ), Chartered Engineer CEng and MIET , UK Engineering Council .
What drove Ir . Dr Lai to research work was his childhood ambition to be an inventor who
HIGH ACHIEVERS
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