AIChE at HKUST

Mahak Sharma interviewed Mr. Adetoyese Olajire Oyedun, an alumnus from HKUST who completed his Masters from UST and continued as a Teaching Assistant (TA) in the Chemical Engineering Department.

 

Mahak Sharma (MS): How did you come to the decision to pursue Chemical Engineering and what were your reasons behind choosing HKUST for your Masters?

 

Adetoyese Oyedun (ADE): Actually, the reason why I chose HKUST was very simple and straightforward. I chose UST because it was the only University in Hong Kong that offers Chemical engineering. So, that was an easy and logical choice.

 

As for, Chemical Engineering, I chose this particular field because I did Chemistry in Nigeria as my first degree. And I chose Chemistry out of my immense love for the subject. So, in my Bachelors Degree, at my University, I specialized in Industrial Chemistry. This mainly focused on the application of Chemistry to the industry in fields such as Textile, Petroleum, and Pharmaceutical. I always felt that I had a flair for Engineering. And I realized that after completing my Bachelors in Chemistry, I could easily change to Chemical Engineering for my Masters.

 

MS: Could you elaborate a little on your Career Path starting from your Bachelors Degree up till now?

 

ADE: I had very good results for my Bachelors in Chemistry. I came out at the top of my class. The, I got this Scholarship to study at Imperial College, London. At Imperial, I studied Advanced Chemical Engineering. At first, I found it very challenging because I hadn’t been enrolled in Basic Chemical Engineering; instead, I was doing Advanced Chemical Engineering. And what made it more challenging was the fact that Advanced Chemical engineering was coupled with Process Systems Engineering (Application of Chemical Engineering in Chemical Systems; for example: optimization, plant processes, et al). But I was able to cope somehow.

 

I wrote a paper on Sewage Sludge Treatment, which focused on optimization of transferring sludge between different points in the plant.

 

With this in mind, I decided to pursue my PhD. I heard about the HKUST PhD fellowship program and I applied to Hong Kong for the HKPAD fellowship. I contacted Professor David Hui at UST and he changed my research area a little bit upon admission to UST. So, my research interest now shifted from Sludge treatment to waste treatment. Under the guidance of David Hui, I worked on waste treatment to generate Bio-diesel and Electricity.

 

MS: What are your views on AIChE and how did you come around to join this international organization?

 

ADE: I happened to be a member (not student member) of AIChE since I was in Paris. So, I met Samantha Kong (founding President AIChE-HKUST Student Chapter) last year, and I told her my intentions about doing a Safety Course under AIChE. And as AIChE offers student discounts to organizations or student chapters opened up in Universities across the world, I approached Samantha regarding the possibility of establishing the aforementioned student chapter.

 

It was very challenging to establish this student chapter as it required a lot of meeting and there were always time constraints as we were UG and PG students. Finally, she and I got together a team and set up the student chapter.

 

I love the concept and the aim of AIChE-HKUST as it is a little different from the CBMESS Student Body. I like the fact that they focus more on what happens next, after graduation, which, according to me, is very important. Because while I was working as a TA for a course called Process design, I got the chance to interact with a lot of UG students and they were all very confused and scared at the prospects of finding a job related to chemical engineering in Hong Kong. But, AIChE was established to serve this purpose as they bring in companies from Hong Kong to talk to the students. AIChE-HKUST also organized a talk for students interested in Masters, research and PhD programs.

 

MS: What is the advice that you would like to give our students who are pursuing this degree at UST?

 

ADE: I am very pleased by the work the group is doing and I would advise them to keep up the great effort and good work.

 

To the students studying Chemical Engineering, I would like to tell them that it is a great course and there is a booming industry developing around the world concerning our field and that our time is now. I wish you all will study hard, do well and go on to pick up amazing jobs in your future. All the Best!

 

2 Jan 2015