Brief Account on Half-Day Workshop on IEM “JURUTERA” Publication

Today Saturday, March 19, 2016, I attended a Half-Day Workshop on IEM Bulletin Publication ("JURUTERA") from 9.00am till 12.00pm at Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya. 

This event was organized by the Standing Committee on Information & Publication (InfoPub) of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM), of which I am the Secretary (a post continuously held by me since 2007), and championed by the Bulletin Editor, Ir. Mohd Khir Muhammad, who is also the InfoPub's Vice Chairman for the current session 2015/2016.

I left home at 8.00am and arrived at Crystal Crown Hotel within half an hour due to smooth traffic condition on a Saturday morning.  The journey would normally take at least 1 ½ hours during normal working days as my office is nearby the hotel.  Nobody was present yet at 8.30am when I entered the venue at Crystal Hall 2 on Level 4.

The Workshop started punctually at 9.00am with a briefing by Ir. Mohd. Khir.  He identified the major issues on IEM’s monthly bulletin “JURUTERA” being the publication/delivery deadlines and quality of the published articles and contents.

The Bulletin Editor presented his views on the basic issues with the bulletin publication, background on possible causes and the objectives and strategy of this brainstorming session.

Participants were then split into two groups for separate discussions in the same hall: (1) Group 1 (comprising Editorial Board members, invited members and the representative from the publisher Dimension) on the review of editorial policy, quality and content improvement; and (2) Group 2 (comprising IEM Secretariat staff from InfoPub and all Technical Divisions) on review of workflow process and improvement of work coordination.   

Summary and action plan arising from the discussions was then presented by a representative from each group to the floor for deliberation and adoption.

After the workshop ended at 12.00pm, we adjourned to the Coffee House at the Ground Floor for buffet lunch till 1.00pm. 

In conclusion, it was a successful brainstorming session and the dynamic leadership of the Bulletin Editor  Ir. Mohd Khir must be commended!

The participants of the workshop were as follows:

From the Editorial Board & InfoPub Standing Committee: 

1. Ir. Mohd Khir Muhammad
2. Ir. Lau Tai Onn
3. Ir. CMM Aboobucker
4. Engr. Dr. Wang Hong Kok
5. Ir. Tejinder Singh
6. Engr. Abdul Fattah Mohd.Yatim

Invited Member:

1. Engr. Michelle Lau
2. Engr. Izni Zahidi

From IEM Secretariat: 

1. Ms. Janet Lim
2. Pn. Nurul Aida
3. Pn. Shafiqah
4. Ms. Roseline
5. Pn. Zainun
6. Others

 From Dimension Publishing Sdn Bhd

1. Ms. Shirley Tham

 The following are some snapshots taken during the Workshop

Pic taken at 8.30am as nobody was present yet and I was the earliest bird.

Participants on my right hand side

Participants on my left hand side

Pic from right: Ir, Mohd Khir (chairman of the Workshop), Ir. Aboobucker (veteran IEM member), Engr. Dr. Wang Hong Kok (senior member but newcomer to this board), Engr. Fattah and Engr. Michelle Lau

Ir. Aboobucker presenting the summary of Group 1 discussion

Another glimpse of the proceeding of the Workshop 
(Courtesy of Dr. Wang)

A group photo of the Workshop participants.  Pic. front row from left: Engr. Fattah, Engr. Dr. Wang, the blogger, Ir. Mohd. Khir, Ir. Aboobucker, Ms. Shirley Tham, Ir. Tejinder 
(Courtesy of Ms. Janet Lim)