Speak Out for Engineering in Papua New Guinea

In July 2019, Leslie Yeow, Chair of IMechE's Oceania Region, was invited to be a judge for the Speak Out For Engineering (SOFE) competition held in Papua New Guinea. Leslie reports on the competition.

Since the first SOFE in 2017, the PNG University of Technology (Unitech) has been hosting the annual SOFE competition in Lae which is a 40 minute flight north of PNG's capital Port Moresby.

Although rich in natural resources, the students and staff at the University learn and teach the fundamentals of engineering in challenging surroundings using the limited resources that they have. Things that are taken for granted in more developed countries like stable electricity supply, continuous running water and, in this day and age, stable WiFi connections, is a challenge for locals. The students and staff are however resourceful and achieve a lot with what they have. This is reflected in the projects that the students choose, to highlight their ability to be immediately relevant to the local community.

Nineteen enthusiastic students competed in the SOFE competition which lasted over two days.  Examples of projects presented were:

• High speed abrasive hot water jet cutters
• Corrosion under insulation in oil and gas pipes
• Mini hydro plants for the local community.

Although the presentations were being assessed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree course, judging was also being done against SOFE presentation criteria.

Once again, many of the students chose topics that had the potential to have immediate beneficial impact to local communities. As usual, the standards were high which made the selection of the winner a difficult one. After much debate, a decision was made to select Mr Stanley Anton as the winner of the 2019 PNG SOFE with his project "Harnessing solar and wind energy to pump and purify ground water for the 40 mile settlement". The runner up was Ms Eileen Rawali with her "Autonomous Robot" project. I look forward to seeing Stanley compete at the Regional SOFE Finals which will be held in Melbourne in November 2019.

I was also pleased to have met the newly appointed Vice Chancellor, Dr Ora Renagi as it provided me with an opportunity to re-establish the good relationship Unitech has with the IMechE. Dr Renagi was very appreciative of the support provided by the IMechE and encouraged his staff to provide greater collaboration between the two Institutions.

My thanks to all the academic, technical and administrative staff of Unitech, especially, Prof John Pumwa, Assoc Prof Syed Wahid and Ms Geraldine Kapipi for organising the SOFE and making my trip as enjoyable as always.