The Regional Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Conference (RCEUC) is an annual student run conference organised under the auspices of the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Malaya and supported by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). Due to the unique circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, RCEUC 2021 was successfully held on 1—2 September 2021 as a virtual conference.

In conjunction with the theme for the Regional Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Conference (RCEUC) 2021 – ‘Repositioning Future Chemical Engineers to Embrace the Circular Economy’, we aim to provide a dynamic platform for knowledge sharing on the leading research and latest developments. RCEUC 2021 recorded a participation of over 100 attendees from five countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines and Egypt. Over 60 papers were presented and submitted under both the online presentation and paper writing competitions.

This year, three distinguished speakers were invited to share their experience in RCEUC's Plenary Forum about the roles of engineers in a post-pandemic world. The esteemed invited forum panels included Ir Freddy Teo Wee Teck, Senior Process Engineer of T7 Global; Nora Hany Ibrahim Shaheen, Lecturer Assistant in MSA University, Egypt; and Dr Viknesh Andiappan, Assistant Professor in Heriot-Watt University Malaysia. The session was moderated by Ir Dr Jegalakshimi Jewaratnam, who is the Conference Chair and a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Malaya. The whole session was conducted online through Zoom and broadcasted on the Facebook page – “Regional Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Conference – RCEUC” and successfully reached over 120 audiences.

On the second day, the attendees were enlightened by our first keynote speaker, Ir Ammar bin Mohd Rashid, Managing Director of AMR Environmental, about the survival skills for the young engineers in the new normal. Our second keynote speaker, Harsachin Kumar, ROC Optimisation and Improvement Manager of Linde Malaysia, shared an interactive session and useful knowledge regarding the energy intensive industries and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. How Chee Yang, Manager of Top Glove Corporation Berhad delivered an insightful speech on water security and sustainability.

We welcome any and all collaboration or partnership opportunities for RCEUC 2022. Interested parties or organisations are invited to drop an email to the Conference Secretariat at rceuc@um.edu.my.