Completing a dual degree gives graduates a competitive edge, according to Adrain Seet the University of Queensland's inaugural Graduate of the Year, who holds engineering and Japanese language qualifications.
Adrian Seet an electrical engineer and first class honours graduate in engineering and arts, said employers were seeking well-rounded graduates and gave preference to candidates with double degrees.
"From my own point of view, I found it relaxing to study Japanese to counterbalance my engineering subjects," he said.
The University's Alumni Association this year initiated the Graduate of the Year award for the University medallist with the highest Grade Point Average. Mr Seet will return to Brisbane to receive his award at the August 26 ceremony at Mayne Hall, St Lucia at 8pm.
Mr Seet finished his bachelor of engineering degree with a Grade Point Average of 6.982. He achieved a perfect grade of 7 for all but one graded engineering subjects, including scores of 98 to 100 percent for a number of subjects. In 1998 he was awarded the David Andrew Krnak Memorial Prize for the highest rated average for the degree.
Born in Malaysia, Mr Seet grew up in Singapore, migrating to Australia in 1985. After completing primary school and secondary school in Brisbane, he attended UQ, gaining a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Japanese in 1997, and a Bachelor of Engineering (electrical/electronics) with first class honours, in 1998. He also spent a year from 1995-96 as an exchange student in Japan at Kochi University on a Monbusho Scholarship. Mr Seet was also a national finalist this year in the Siemens Prize for Innovation for a study in the field of semiconductor device physics.
"I enjoy study, and because I'm interested in subjects I put effort into them," he said. Lecturers at UQ have encouraged me, and when I've asked questions, they helped me. UQ was a natural choice. It was the only University I wanted to attend because it had the reputation as the best University in the State, and it had a good international reputation."
This year Mr Seet has been working in the engineering division of DASCOM Inc, a leading provider of scalable Intranet solutions.The firm is based in Santa Cruz, California, with international offices in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and the United Kingdom. In September he will take up postgraduate studies (Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering) at Stanford University, on the Lawrence R. Thielen Memorial Fellowship from Stanford. Mr Seet's brother, Andrew, of Westlake, completed a commerce degree at UQ last year at the same time as Adrian completed his engineering studies, and this year is undertaking a masters degree in financial management.
Further information: Adrian Seet, telephone 07 3279 2140 between August 25 and September 12.
