Alumnus Thomas Cheang – Contributing to the Community with Professional Knowledge
鄭德信校友：以專業知識貢獻社會建設

Dr Thomas Cheang is an alumnus of the University of Macau (UM), who completed his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral studies at UM. He is currently a senior engineer at the Companhia de Electricidade de Macau (CEM), the city’s only electric power utility company. ‘Thanks to the education I received at UM, I have been able to make a contribution to the community with my professional knowledge.’ says Cheang.

A Long Quest for Knowledge

In 1989, after graduating from Instituto Salesiano, a Catholic school in Macao, Cheang enrolled in the electrical and electronic engineering bachelor’s degree programme at the University of East Asia (UEA), the predecessor of UM. Starting in his freshman year, Cheang worked as an intern at CEM during every summer holiday through a training programme jointly organised by the company and the university. Impressed by Cheang’s good performance, CEM hired him as a full-time employee after he graduated from UM in 1993. Despite securing a high-paying stable job after college graduation, Cheang did not stop improving himself professionally. Indeed, he spent the following 16 years pursuing further studies at UM while holding a full-time job. He obtained his master’s degree in 1997 and his PhD in 2009. Working and studying at the same time was challenging, but he managed to overcome all the hurdles with a can-do attitude.

In his PhD programme, Cheang was the only working student. ‘I always went to the library and the laboratory after work late at night,’ he says. ‘I was fortunate to have the full support of my employer and my mentors such as Prof Rui Martins, who provided me with great guidance according to my situation.’

During his interview with My UM, Cheang says repeatedly that he is deeply indebted to his professors, particularly his master’s thesis advisor Prof Zhang Lin Zheng and doral thesis advisor Prof Dong Mingchui. ‘Prof Zhang is an expert in electrical engineering, and Prof Dong is an authority on artificial intelligence,’ he says. ‘Over a decade ago, they foresaw that research on smart city and artificial intelligence would become popular, and encouraged me to delve deep into these fields.’ Following their advice, Cheang completed his PhD thesis titled ‘Math-model-based Machinery and AI-based Diagnostic Technologies for Detecting and Locating the Inner-faults of Three-phase Squirrel-cage Induction Motors’, which was rated by a panel of examiners as ‘excellent’.

Internships Are Vital for Engineering Students

Cheang is a senior engineer at CEM. He holds many professional qualifications, including Chartered Engineer, Chartered Environmentalist and Chartered Building Engineer in the United Kingdom; Registered Senior Engineer in China; and Senior Member of the Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. For his professional contributions, Cheang received the 2016 IEEE Power and Energy Society Outstanding Engineer Award.

Cheang says the UM Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) has nurtured many engineering professionals for Macao through its programmes that provide comprehensive training to students. He encourages students to actively seize the many internship opportunities in Macao and elsewhere in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in order to see the big picture of the engineering field across the region. More importantly, internships allow students to gain practical work experience which is highly valued by engineering firms.

As the first engineer who holds a PhD degree at CEM, Cheang says, ‘Over the years, the top management and my mentors at CEM have given me many opportunities to learn and expand my horizons. I’m most proud of my participation in the bidding, review, design, and testing of the Coloane Power Stations. It gave me great pleasure to contribute to Macao with my professional knowledge.’

Encouraging UM Students to Serve Macao with Knowledge

As UM is celebrating its 40th anniversary, Cheang hopes his alma mater will become even more international, and play a bigger role in Macao’s transformation into a smart city. He also encourages UM students to learn more about industry trends and set clear career goals. ‘I hope they will find their university study a rewarding experience, make a career in a field related to their studies, and use their knowledge and skills to make a contribution to Macao, the Greater Bay Area, China, and the world.’

在澳門大學從本科讀到博士的澳門電力股份有限公司高級工程師鄭德信說：「我很感謝澳大栽培，讓我糅合學術知識與工作經驗，以專業知識貢獻社會。」

漫漫求學路

1989年，鄭德信從慈幼中學畢業後，入讀澳大前身東亞大學的電機及電子工程學士課程。從大一起就參與大學與澳門電力股份有限公司（下稱「澳電」）合辦的暑期培訓計劃，在澳電實習。1993年本科畢業後，他憑著優異的實習表現順理成章入職澳電。此後他沒有停止學習的腳步，公餘時間在澳大攻讀碩士，1997年畢業後繼續兼讀博士學位，至2009年取得博士學位。16年的求學路，他以無比的毅力去完成，過程中無論遇到甚麼困難，他都以篤定的意志告訴自己：「我可以做得到！」

鄭德信讀博時，同班同學都立志全職走學術路，唯獨他一人選擇兼職讀博。回想這段不輕易走過來的經歷，他說：「我經常下班後『決戰』到深夜，在圖書館找資料或到實驗室做實驗。慶幸公司十分支持我進修，馬許願教授等教授們也很體諒我，令我十分感動。」

訪問期間，他常說自己很幸運，在澳大遇到很多恩師，尤其是他的碩士論文指導老師張麟征教授和博士論文指導老師董名垂教授。「張教授是電機專家，董教授則是人工智能專家，他們都很有遠見，十多年前就洞悉到研究智慧城市、人工智能等領域是大勢所趨，鼓勵我多鑽研這些領域。」他的博士畢業論文也以《利用數學電機模型及人工智能非數學模型診斷技術在三相異步電機的內部錯誤的查明及定位》為題，論文答辯時獲專家評委讚譽「非常好」！

工程界重視實習經驗

鄭德信現時是澳電的高級工程師，他持有英國皇家特許工程師、英國皇家特許環保師、中國註冊高級工程師、英國皇家特許建築工程師、電機及電子工程師學會高級會員等眾多專業資格。憑著出色的專業貢獻，他曾獲頒2016國際電機及電子工程師學會電力與能源協會傑出工程師獎。

鄭德信表示，澳大科技學院的課程十分全面，為澳門培育了大批工程人才。他又說，工程界很看重求職者的實戰經驗，而澳門及粵港澳大灣區其它地方也有很多實習機會，因此學生應該多實習，從而瞭解其行業在各地發展趨勢。

鄭德信也是澳電第一位擁有博士學位的工程師，「這麼多年來，管理層及前輩們給了我很多學習機會，讓我擴闊視野。工作至今，我最自豪的是參與路環發電廠機組的招標、審查、設計、測試等統籌工作，利用我的專業知識，造福澳門社會。」

冀盼學弟妹以知識貢獻澳門

在今年澳大40週年校慶之際，鄭德信祝福母校進一步推進國際化，並且助力澳門建設智慧城市。他亦鼓勵澳大學生畢業前多瞭解行業趨勢，定下清晰的發展目標。「希望學弟妹學有所成，並投身與自身專業相關的行業，以知識貢獻澳門、大灣區、袓國乃至世界的發展。」