The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia — Young Engineers Section (IEM YES) was honoured to be represented by Chuah Pei Lim and Nigel Chuah at the inaugural ISO Young Professionals Workshop held in Singapore. This landmark event marked the first time a Young Professionals workshop was convened at the ISO level, bringing together emerging leaders from national standardization bodies and professional institutions across the Asia-Pacific region to shape the future of international standards development.
Throughout the three-day programme, the Malaysian delegates contributed actively to the workshop discussions, with a particular focus on the theme of stakeholder engagement. Drawing from their experience in professional engineering institutions and industry practice, they shared ideas on how standardization bodies can more effectively engage young professionals, industry practitioners, and academia in the standards development process, ensuring that standards remain relevant, practical, and inclusive of the next generation of users and contributors.
Speaking from the perspective of engineering representatives, the delegates also highlighted the vital role of standardization in driving the advancement of technology within a country. Standards provide the common technical language that enables interoperability, assures quality and safety, and reduces barriers to innovation. For a developing technological ecosystem, active participation in standardization is not merely a matter of compliance — it is a strategic enabler that allows a nation’s industries to adopt emerging technologies with confidence, compete in global markets, and contribute to shaping the international frameworks that govern future technologies.
Beyond the formal sessions, the workshop offered invaluable opportunities to network with young professionals and delegates from countries across the Asia-Pacific region. These exchanges provided insights into how different nations approach standards development, capacity building, and youth involvement, and laid the foundation for future cross-border collaboration among young engineers and standardization practitioners. The delegates also engaged in extensive discussions with representatives of national standardization bodies (NSBs) from across the Asia-Pacific. These conversations covered the challenges of onboarding young professionals into technical committees, the balance between national priorities and international harmonization, and the potential for digital tools to make standards more accessible to practitioners.
As part of the programme, participants undertook a technical visit to STT Engineering, offering a first-hand look at how international standards are applied in practice within a leading engineering organisation. The visit reinforced the connection between standards development and real-world engineering outcomes, demonstrating how adherence to and participation in standardization underpins operational excellence, safety, and technological capability.
The inaugural ISO Young Professionals Workshop was a significant milestone in involving the next generation in international standardization. For IEM YES, the participation of its delegates reaffirmed the importance of Malaysian young engineers having a voice at the international standards table. The insights gained — on stakeholder engagement, regional collaboration, and the strategic value of standardization to national technological advancement — will inform IEM YES’s ongoing efforts to promote standards awareness and participation among young engineers in Malaysia.
IEM YES extends its appreciation to ISO and the organising partners for the opportunity, and looks forward to continued engagement with the international standardization community.
