Mienczakowski (right) receives a plaque, which will be displayed alongside the transformers at the new laboratory, from Wan Othman, witnessed by others.
MIRI: Curtin University, Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) received four units of German-manufactured HTT Three Phase Cast Resin Transformers donated by Offshore Industries Sdn. Bhd. for research and teaching purposes on Friday.
The donation of the transformers worth some RM1 million by the reputable vendor for the oil and gas and petrochemicals industries will enable the university’s Faculty of Engineering and Science to conduct research on partial discharge and aid in teaching electrical and electronic engineering students about transformer relay protection systems.
Present at the handover ceremony held at the university campus were Curtin Malaysia’s pro vice-chancellor, president and chief executive prof Jim Mienczakowski; deputy pro vice-chancellor prof Beena Giridharan; chief operating officer Kingsley Francis Charles and dean of its Faculty of Engineering and Science prof Lau Hieng Ho; executive chairman Wan Othman Dato Wan Morshidi; HSE manager Kong Bee Kek and engineer Victor Huong of Offshore Industries.
Also attending were some 80 staff and students of the Faculty of Engineering and Science.
The transformers are unique high-voltage, high-power industrial grade equipment designed based on the standards and scale of offshore oil and gas production industries.
They were produced by transformer manufacturer HTT Hochspannungsteknik und Transfromatorbau GmbH in Munden, Germany — a company renowned for high quality standards and customised solutions for resin-encapsulated and oil-immersed transformers.
Partial discharge is one of the defects that ae always found in high-voltage applications. Therefore, with the availability of these transformers, researchers at Curtin Malaysia can develop lab-scale experiments to detect partial discharge and enhance power system protection.
The transformers will be installed in the university’s new Engineering Research Laboratory that focuses on niche and high-impact research areas. It is scheduled to be completed in 2019.
In his speech during the presentation ceremony, Mienczakowski thanked Offshore Industries for its generous donation of the four transformers, saying that they would go a long way towards the advancement of research and education at Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science.
He remarked that Offshore Industries continues to be one of Curtin Malaysia’s strongest industry partners in contributing technology and expertise to the engineering and science faculty.
He said such state-of-the-art equipment would help make Curtin Malaysia a truly world-class teaching and research facility.
“Over the last 18 years, Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science has grown significantly into a very well-established and reputable one, offering a strong suite of undergraduate and postgraduate courses and an emerging and distinctive research profile.
“Curtin’s magnificent reputation is based first and foremost on the success of its outstanding graduates, but this reputation is also based, in part, on the superb facilities it provides, facilities that are essential to innovative education and research,” said Mienczakowski.
Wan Othman, meanwhile, said Offshore Industries had over the years built a very strong partnership with Curtin Malaysia, in research and in industrial training for undergraduate students.
He added that being an industry player in Miri, primarily in the oil and gas sector, Offshore Industries is pleased to contribute to local institutions of learning like Curtin Malaysia and support the development of skilled manpower for the oil and gas sector.