Students encouraged in civil engineering in Kalaymyo

20 January 2014: Salai Van Cung Lian, a Chin engineer working in the UK, talked to 120 students of the Lois Children Education Centre (LCEC) on civil engineering in Kalaymyo, Sagaing Region in Burma.

The 29-year-old visited the privately run Christian school, regarded as one of the best education centres in the region, in an attempt to introduce and promote the subject by sharing his experiences.

He said: “Our country needs a lot of engineers and the key is to promote the profession to children. In the UK, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and the company I have been working for visit many schools to promote civil engineering. I want to bring the same ideas into our country.”

“LCEC founder Miss Ciang gave me the opportunity to do so. To my surprise, the students are very active, enthusiastic and keen on the subject. Some of them even started drawing and came up with bridge designs.”

Lian, a B.Eng graduate from the University of Nottingham, made a 40-minute powerpoint presentation showing various types of bridges, how they are constructed, and basic engineering principles.

He has been involved in several fundraising events including the half-marathon of the Great North Run to make contributions towards helping schools and children in Chin State.

The school, founded in 2001 by Miss Ciang and her sister Ngun, currently has more than 500 Christian and non-Christian students aged between 3 and 16.#