DLSU - Chula U Student Exchange Program 2012

Chulalongkorn University

The DLSU Undergraduate Students Exchange Visit at Chulalongkorn University (CU) proposed in February 2012 was realized last Sept. 2 - 7, 2012 when Irene Ubay, Asst. Professor of the CE Department and seven undergraduate senior students who are undergoing OJT visited CU. The seven  students are Mervy Jan Malvar, Ivan MIguel Lim, Svend Ezer Young, Justin Victor Angeles, Harold Torres, Marcus Kyle Baron and Ismael Concepcion, Jr.

The visit was a mix of cultural tours, research exchange and technical visits. The CU faculty conducted lectures for the DLSU students on the 2nd day. These lectures were about the on-going researches in the master’s level of civil engineering. The specializations in the department were structural, geotechnical, transportation and construction technology management. They showcased several researches which the students may be interested in joining in the future if they apply for a master’s degree in CU. After the lectures, the DLSU participants presented the following for the Student Research Forum:

•  “Influence of Seawater Curing to Reinforced Fly Ash Mortar Mixed with Seawater” by Mervyn Jan Malvar
•  “Influence of Various Replacement Ratios of Fly Ash to Reinforced Mortar Mixed with Seawater” by Ivan Miguel Lim
• “Durability and Structural Stability of Ferrocement Garbage Disposal Barge” by Svend Ezer Young
• “Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems: An Effective Flood Mitigation Technique” by Justin Victor Angeles and Harold Torres
• “Application of the Bus Rapid Transit along Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue” by Marcus Kyle Baron
• “Shallow Foundation Design Reference for Metro Manila” by Ismael Concepcion Jr.

The Chulalongkorn University students also presented their thesis and there was an exchange of comments and suggestions to improve the thesis.

The Virtual Reality Tour of a Building

A tour of the CU laboratory was held on the 3rd day. The CU tour showcased the different equipment and tools used to enhance the learning of civil engineering. The CTM lab faculty presented their virtual reality software and hardware. They would model the structure using Autodesk BIM software and then generate it onto the 3D screen which would allow clients or engineers to walkthrough and have a better idea of the structure. The laboratory equipment was incredibly high-tech! The next laboratory visit was for the geotechnical division which was similar to the laboratory in De La Salle University. It had the same testing equipment. As for the full-scale structural laboratory, they had a whole warehouse with several footings, columns, beams and slabs which they would test.

The MRTA site visit

A technical tour was also organized by CU. The site visit was held at a fire laboratory and a construction site. The fire laboratory tests the capability and characteristics of certain objects against fire. For the demonstration, they tested a hotel door and observed at what parts burning would occur during an actual fire. The results showed that it would burn on the upper left part of the door. They did not continue the test until the whole door burned but only until the data which they needed was obtained (example: highest temperature of door and average 10-15 minutes to burn door). After the laboratory testing, we headed to the MRTA or Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand. They showed  the sites wherein they were building the bridges and passages of the MRT for future use. They were building several new lines to create transport for people faraway from Bangkok.

The King's Summer Palace

To complete the visit, cultural tours were also held. They visited Chatuchak Market, summer palace of king of Thailand, several Buddha temples and Samphran Elephant Zoo. The group was joined by the DLSU Alumni (Jamiel Jayme, Daniel Valerio, Erica Uy, and Emilia Sevilla) who are now taking their Master’s Degree in Chulalongkorn University under the AUN/SEED-Net Scholarship.

Street food at Chatuchak Market.
At right is Justin Victor Angeles (the writerof this report)

"I would definitely come back to Thailand after this trip. It’s a place worth visiting again because of its sophistication and food!" remarked Justin Angeles.

Write-up based on the report

by Justin Victor Angeles