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Derek Chan MSc 2017

Derek graduated with a Merit from the MSc course in Soil Mechanics and Engineering Seismology at 51�Թ��� in 2017. He is now a Chartered Civil Engineer and a Registered Ground Engineering Professional working in the Highways Department of the Hong Kong Government.

“51�Թ��� is such a wonderful University. It’s like the United Nations, you get to meet students and professors from all sorts of background and culture, it was truly an eye-opening experience. Besides, the MSc course itself was very enlightening, not only it teaches you the theory and application of a wide range of geotechnical topics, but also the opportunity to have hands-on experience to appreciate the practical side by attending field trips, site visits and conducting your own laboratory testing.”

After graduation, Derek joined Tony Gee UK as a geotechnical engineer, where he has worked on several mega-scale international projects, ranging from land reclamation in Hong Kong to an onshore wind farm in Scotland. These projects involved a wide range of geotechnical analysis, such as earthworks, foundations and retaining structures, which were covered comprehensively by the MSc course.

Apart from his work life at Tony Gee, Derek continued his research on interface shearing in chalk, extending his findings from the MSc dissertation, and he co-authored two conference papers on interface shearing in chalk with Professor Richard Jardine and the 51�Թ��� College research team.

In 2020, Derek took on a new role with the Hong Kong Government’s Highways Department, which his role is to cope with the Government’s policy of redeveloping Kowloon East into a new central business district. “It’s more of a project manager role, requiring commercial, communication and problem-solving skills. Nevertheless, it remains extremely useful to have the geotechnical knowledge and experience to manage the projects across buildings, railway and road infrastructures.”