Stepping out of her comfort zone, a working professional with a non-technical background embraced Wawasan Open University’s (WOU) flexible learning to deepen her understanding of complex engineering concepts and support her progression into leadership.
After completing her first degree in corporate management, Seng Choi Yee began her career in recruitment, sourcing talent and managing contracted teams for multinational tech clients. Engineering was not part of her original plan.
That changed in 2014, when she joined Prestige Dynamics Industries, a precision plastic injection moulding company founded by her parents-in-law. Initially hired for a logistics role handling invoices, customs matters, deliveries, and stock coordination, her responsibilities soon expanded to purchasing, marketing, and eventually engineering.
For the 38-year-old Penangite, the widening scope was demanding, but it gave her a cross-functional view of the business. It also showed her how customer requirements, supply chain decisions, production processes, and technical execution were closely connected, while exposing the limits of learning through workplace experience alone.
A project that sparked her interest
The turning point came around 2015, when Choi Yee unexpectedly became the main customer contact and project lead for an automotive sensor project involving the company’s first automated, high-volume production line.
Her husband, Brandon Tan (pic), currently the company’s Advanced Technology Director, led the technical set-up, while Choi Yee coordinated the timeline and communicated with the customer. As the project progressed, she was drawn into increasingly detailed technical discussions.
“The technical details were unavoidable. I realised I could understand much of what was being discussed, and that was when my interest in engineering began to grow.”
Encouraged by this realisation, Choi Yee began studying engineering topics independently. However, self-directed learning lacked the structure and consistency she needed to deepen her knowledge.
Finding structure through WOU
In 2017, she enrolled in WOU’s Bachelor of Technology (Honours) in Mechatronics. The flexible, part-time programme allowed her to continue working while developing a stronger technical foundation through structured learning.
“I had been learning on my own, but that often meant studying only when I felt like it. I needed the discipline to push myself further.”
Through her studies, concepts Choi Yee had previously encountered informally at work began to make sense within a broader engineering framework. Subjects covering measurement and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) helped her move beyond a basic working knowledge to understand the engineering principles behind the methods used.
She adds: “Control systems was one of my favourite subjects. It was around 2018 to 2019, just as we were improving our automation structure at work. I learned about programmable logic controllers (PLCs) at the same time the company was implementing PLCs, so the subject came at exactly the right moment.
“WOU helped me understand the subjects from beginning to end. I became more confident discussing technical matters with customers and people across the supply chain.”
The programme’s multidisciplinary course offerings also allowed Choi Yee to broaden her capabilities through electives in Python programming and accounting.
Combining her theoretical learning with practical industry experience, she developed a Cubli-inspired Self-Balancing Cube prototype for her final-year project, which earned her the Most Market-Ready Innovation Award at WOU InnovateX 2026, the University’s annual innovation competition.
Growing into leadership
As Choi Yee’s technical understanding developed, so did her confidence at work. She became better equipped to explain engineering issues, engage customers in technical discussions, and connect commercial requirements with production realities, helping strengthen her credibility within the industry.
In January 2020, after six years with Prestige Dynamics Industries, she was appointed Programme Director. She credits her studies with contributing significantly to that progression.
“The learning changed the way I spoke about technical matters and approached problems. Engineering involves a great deal of logical thinking, and I found that it improved the way I think even outside engineering.”
Completing the degree over almost nine years reflected the way Choi Yee adapted her studies to different stages of her work and personal life. The flexibility to adjust her course load allowed her to continue learning at a pace that worked for her, without compromising her priorities.
When her mother suffered a stroke in 2021, she chose to take fewer subjects each term rather than put her studies on hold.
“I knew that if I paused, it would be difficult to regain the momentum,” she says.
For Choi Yee, the journey was never about completing the qualification as quickly as possible, but about gaining knowledge she could apply.
“I was doing it for the knowledge, not only the certification. Further study felt more relevant after I entered the industry because I could connect what I was learning with the real world.”
WOU did not replace what Choi Yee had learned through experience. It gave her the structure, theory, and confidence to understand that experience more deeply and apply it more effectively.