Posted on June 26, 2012, Tuesday
IT’S OFFICIAL: Sarawak Islamic Council president Datu Putit Matzen hitting the gong to launch the diploma programme while others look on.
Thursday 13 September 2012
Limkokwing to set up more campuses
KUCHING: The Limkokwing University of Creative Technology is planning for campuses in 20 more countries in the next five years.
Founder Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing said the university had received invitations from countries in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe to set up campuses.
The university now has 12 campuses in seven countries, including Indonesia, Cambodia, China and England. It has some 25,000 students from 145 nations. Its Kuala Lumpur campus has 9,000 students from 135 countries.
“We should be reaching one million students in the next 10 years,” Lim said after the opening of the Limkokwing Institute of Creative Technology by Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud yesterday.
He said the target would include those taking online courses.
Limkokwing Sarawak chief executive officer Prof Datuk Parid Wardi said Limkokwing had built up a collegial network of more than 170 universities in over 77 countries in support of its “global classroom” concept.
“We receive more than 4 million visitors from 188 countries every month to our website, making it one of the most popular university sites in the world,” he added.
Limkokwing now offers a 3+0 degree programme through partnership with the 150-year-old Anglia Ruskin University of Cambridge, Britain.
Parid said the Sarawak institute now had 500 students and there were plans to upgrade it to a university in three years.
He said some western countries had now moved from knowledge to creative economy.
Universiti Tun Hussein Onn's (UTHM's) research outputs continue to attain world recognition
Old Spitalfields, London - Universiti Tun Hussein Onn's (UTHM's) research outputs continue to attain world recognition when all of its entries were awarded a gold medal each in addition to one special diamond award at the British Invention, Innovation and Technology Show 2011 (BIS '11) which was held at the Old Spitalfields Market in London from the 19 -22 October 2011.
In addition to the gold awards, UTHM received the Special Diamond Award, the highest award for the International Invention of the year category that was awarded to the Multi-Function Tunable Broadband Flat
Antenna, a product developed by a team of researchers led by Dr. Muhammad Yusof Bin Ismail. Although this is only the second time that UTHM has participated at the British Invention Show, this outstanding success is a testimony to the increasing international industry acceptance and recognition of the industry-focused research that is being undertaken by the University.
The Office for Research, Innovation, Commercialization, Consultancy Management (ORICC), in particular and the wider community of UTHM would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the award winners at the BIS '11. ORICC also would like to thank everyone who has contributed their ideas and hard work in the selection and preparation process leading to the resounding success of our products at this international event. With continued support towards ORICC that serves as the focal point of research and innovation in the University, high level of commitments and efforts from all concerned , it is highly likely that UTHM researchers will continue to demonstrate their excellence in the international scenes from now onwards .
MAMPU Gives High Marks to UKM ICT Strategic Plan
By Saiful Bahri Kamaruddin
Pix Shahiddan Saidi
Pix Shahiddan Saidi
BANGI, 11 May 2012 – The Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit, MAMPU has given high marks to The National University of Malaysia (UKM) as an agency leading the charge in research through Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
MAMPU Director-General, Dato' Mohamad Zabidi Zainal said he was impressed with UKM's commitment to working with the agency in raising the stakes of research in the university through its ICT strategic plan.
He took pride with the support and involvement of MAMPU as the consultant to UKM’s ICT experts to come up with an ICT strategic plan for institutions of higher learning in the country.He made the remarks at a brief ceremony for the submission of UKM's 2011–2015 ICT Strategic Plan at Cancellory meeting room today. The document was handed over to UKM Vice-Chancellor, Prof Tan Sri Dato' Wira Dr Sharifah Hapsah with a copy given to Dato’ Zabidi.
The plan takes into account the development, planning and implementation of ICT in UKM's main campus in Bangi as well as at its other campus in Kuala Lumpur and the UKM Hospital in Cheras.
Dato' Mohamad Zabidi said the processes used had helped raise awareness and expertise for all those involved. The UKM ICT Strategic Plan began in August 25 2010 and is all-encompassing.
Prof Sharifah Hapsah said that ICT is the key to the core business of UKM, that is teaching, learning and research saying since ICT became widespread on the main campus, UKM became more efficent and speedier including among students and the teaching staff as can be seen all over the campus in Bangi.
The in-depth development of the ICT Strategic Plan was carried out by a team led by Prof Ir Dr Othman Abdul Karim as the project director.
Consultancy for the project was provided by a team of strategic ICT consultants at MAMPU led by Dato' Dr Zahari Othman.
The plan is a long-term one that determines the direction of planning, strategic development and implementation of ICT projects to support the achievement of UKM's vision and mission.
The plan, which is part of the public sector ICT strategy, details the objectives of the ICT policies. It is aimed at ensuring that ICT management in all agencies are in line with the public sector ICT strategy.
Also present at the ceremony were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic and International Affairs, Prof Datuk Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali; Prof Ir Othman who is also Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs and Alumni and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Inovation, Prof Dato' Dr Rahmah Mohamed.
MAMPU is tasked with taking the lead role in implementing modernisation strategies for the Malaysian Public Service.
In implementing its responsibility, MAMPU says it focuses on initiatives that can upgrade the quality, efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Public Service.
All these initiatives encompass the areas of quality acculturation, organisational development, integrity management, ICT development and enhancing relationships between the public and private sectors.
The modernisation initiatives implemented by MAMPU have to be conveyed widely to all government agencies by all available channels in order ensure accurate and updated information are readily available.
Autonomy for UTM
JOHOR BARU: The Higher Education Ministry has granted Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) autonomy in four areas, making it the first in the country to receive the status.
Its minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said UTM was capable of handling its affairs independently in these areas.
“The ministry has also identified several other universities but I will only announce their names on Jan 26 (when he delivers his new year address),” he said.
Mohamed Khaled explained that with the autonomy, the university would now take full responsibility for institutional governance, academic governance, financial management and human resource management.
He was speaking to reporters after presenting endowment scholarships to 100 UTM undergraduates at the campus in Skudai here yesterday.
“UTM will also handle its student intake and will no longer have to go through the ministry's Universities Admissions Unit (UPU),” he said.
He added that autonomy for UTM would take effect starting this year but the formal announcement would be made on Jan 26.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Khaled also urged university alumni to play a more active role in developing their respective universities.
“The alumni should not only limit their contributions to financial aid but other areas as well.
“For example, the alumni can help with establishing internship programmes or create business opportunities for students,” he said
INTI's Industry Collaborations Link Students to Latest Resources in ICT
IBM, Cisco and SAP are among INTI’s list of global IT partners providing students with cutting edge technological know-how and professional certification to ensure their high employability upon graduation.
In fulfilling its brand promise to bring industry into the classroom, INTI through synergistic alliances such as MyUniAlliance with SAP and Software Career Training (SCT) with IBM, have enabled its students to gain access to a wealth of resources, technologies, industry best practices and business solutions.
INTI was one of the first educational institutions in Malaysia to participate in MyUniAlliance, an initiative by Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) to upscale and hone the abilities of undergraduates in ICT. A special hosting service is available to INTI’s students to access SAP systems for hands-on learning under a free software license that will provide knowledge of integrated business processes and industry best practices.
“Graduates need to be knowledgeable about Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems which integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization. We are very pleased to be in partnership with SAP, the world’s largest ERP solutions provider, to create educational opportunities and promote innovation among our students,” said Professor Walter Wong, Vice-Chancellor of INTI International University.
Professional certification provides INTI students with additional practical skills and knowledge that will give them a competitive edge over their peers. IBM’s SCT programme offers students a combination of technical knowledge, IBM leading technology, industry best practices and personal professional development in one integrated, career-enhancing learning experience. Graduates will acquire a high quality and recognised Malaysian qualification from INTI as well as an international IBM professional certification which gives them an immediate edge in job interviews and employment.
INTI has also worked alongside Cisco Networking Academy for many years. By incorporating the CCNA and CCNA wireless syllabus into its Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Network & Mobile Computing programme, INTI ensures that students develop the skills to design and manage medium-sized networks. The partnership also presents a pathway to professional certification in CCNP and CCIE.
The INTI curriculum emphasises on all-rounded development of a student’s cognitive and practical skills. Close collaboration with the industry ensures that the curriculum developed is relevant to the market’s needs, and more importantly, focuses on soft skills such as project management, team work, and proposals among others, which are essential skills when entering the work force.
Students of INTI benefit not only from the institution’s over 25 years of experience and strong track-record, but also gain from the global synergy and resources that Laureate International Universities provides. Laureate – the world’s largest private education network – has a presence in 29 countries, with more than 60 accredited universities and 130 campuses, serving more than 675,000 students globally.
No need to open up UiTM to other races
In a response to the proposal by Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim for UiTM to open up 10% of its intake to other races, PPIM said the move would be seen as challenging the special rights of the Malays.
PPIM project director Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin said the government and its leaders had to be tougher in defending such issues because although the country was multiracial, there was "no need to sideline Malay special rights."
"If something like this is allowed to happen, then there will be a worrying situation where many Malay institutions will crumble and be 'Malaysia-nised'.
"It is hoped that the exclusiveness of UiTM is not undermined by anyone and it be allowed to continue as an institution that will strengthen the Malays," he said in a statement.
Noor Nirwandy said that UiTM has not only produced many excellent scholars but has also had many graduates who were able to compete with other races in the job market.
He added that the reason given by Khalid, which was to create more competition amongst students, was unnecessary because university students already competed amongst each other.
Over 200 visitors at OUM’s open day
KUCHING: Over 200 visitors were at the Open University Malaysia’s (OUM’s) open day at its Mile 9, Penrissen Road campus yesterday.
OUM also accepted new enrolments for its September intake.
The open day aimed to raise awareness on OUM programmes, which cover a wide range of disciplines and are all accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).
Many of the programmes are also offered by international universities, further proof of OUM’s quality.
There were also promotional booths set up during the one-day event including automobile displays, sale of plants and flowers, telecommunication products and services, as well as financial products and services.
OUM also worked together with Normah Medical Specialist Hospital to hold a blood donation drive as part of its corporate social responsibility.
OUM is Malaysia’s first open and distance learning (ODL) university, and is for those who aspire to attain skills and knowledge to move up in their careers.
Apart from giving learners the flexibility to choose what and when they want to learn according to their own schedule, OUM also provides lower fees and zero interest for instalment payments until the end of their semesters.
Learners can also study from printed modules or access its learning resource online — there is at least one OUM learning centre in every state with well-equipped computer labs, tutorial rooms and WiFi Internet facilities as well as meeting rooms and reading areas.
There is flexible entry where if one does not meet the usual minimum requirements for entry to a university, OUM may allow admission with a lower entry qualification.
OUM is owned by a consortium of the first 11 Malaysia public universities and as such has access to renowned subject-matter-experts to develop its learning materials, to supervise and where appropriate to serve as tutors and facilitators.
Learners also have the advantage of using the university’s digital library with some 100,000 e-books and an extensive collection of academic journals.
UTAR joins YTL Communications’ Education Partner Program
This marks another major milestone in the extensive EPP project spearheaded by YTL Comms to bring 4G converged service, offering data, voice and mobility to all public and main private universities in Malaysia. UTAR is the first private university to join EPP with UTM as the first public institution of higher learning we signed up earlier.
“We believe that being part of EPP will transform the way of life on our campuses. 4G Mobile Internet will provide new levels of interactivity among students and faculty personnel. Also, being a university that delves in extensive research work we are happy with the new innovative functions and capabilities our researchers will have access to with 4G Mobile Internet,” said Ir. Professor Dato’ Dr. Chuah Hean Teik, President of UTAR.
According to Professor Dato’ Dr. Chuah, this partnership will empower 12,000 students in the UTAR Kampar campus, and another estimated 7,000 students in all of the UTAR campuses around the Klang Valley, with enhanced accessibility to both Intranet and Internet facilities throughout the campus grounds.
Under the EPP, all UTAR students will enjoy high-speed, wireless broadband access at anytime and from anywhere within the campuses. Every student will get converged data and voice services totalling 300 Megabytes per user, per month for a period of 3 years.
“As we bring our 4G network capabilities to all Malaysians, it is crucial that we give special consideration to our university students, the pillar of our future. Therefore we are very pleased that UTAR has joined our EPP. We will be working closely together to foster a new generation of progressive, tech savvy and innovative students that are able to create a positive impact to the development of the nation,” said Wing K Lee, CEO of YTL Comms. “Malaysian students are among the first, if not the first in the world to have such pervasive use of the most advanced Internet technology today”.
“Students are constantly moving, always communicating on-the-go, and have this endless need for information to supplement their studies, course-works, and daily lives. Wherever the student sits or ride is a potential seat for learning and development. While on campus, they can open their laptops and immediately connect to the world – anywhere, anytime,” Professor Dato’ Dr. Chuah explained.
Once the infrastructure is up and running, UTAR will be working closely with YTL Comms to nurture the development of Internet applications in the university’s technology degree courses.
“We plan to make YTL Comms’ 4G Mobile Internet the foundation in our center of excellence for the 4G network applications and devices our students are developing. On the Kampar campus alone, we have an immediate sample size of 12,000 users to carry out our research on the 4G network in our efforts to further advance the telecommunications engineering courses”, elaborated Professor Dato’ Dr. Chuah.
Present to witness the signing ceremony was Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik, Chairman of the UTAR Council, members of the UTAR council, Professor Dr. Lee Sze Wei, Vice President (R & D and Commercialisation), UTAR, Jacob Yeoh, Executive Director of YTL Comms, and the senior management of YTL Comms.
UUM Hosts ITU’S ‘GIRLS IN ICT DAY’ Celebratory Programme
UUM ONLINE: The world celebrated the ITU international ‘Girls in ICT Day’ on 26 April 2012. In Malaysia, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), chosen as the host to celebrate the occasion, held ITU’s ‘Girls in ICT Day’ programme under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union-Universiti Utara Malaysia Asia Pacific Centre of Excellence for Rural ICT Development (ITU-UUM ASP CoE).
The event, which is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday in April, honours girls’ interests and strengths, and encourages them to choose a career in information and communication technologies.
The one-day programme was replete with various activities for the edification of the participants comprising over 300 students from UUM and several secondary schools from around the Kubang Pasu district in Kedah. Among the activities were a talk on ICT awareness by James L. Sinclair, Manager of the Broadcast Engineering Programme at the Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD); a talk on Soft Skills Development by Huraizah Abdul Rahman, Manager of the Desa Balik Pulau Internet Centre, Penang; a talk on Careers in ICT by Dr. Azizah Ahmad, a lecturer at UUM; a quiz on ICT; and a creative video contest.
The Deputy Secretary-General (Communication), Ministry of Information, Communication, and Culture, Che Azemi Haron, when officiating the opening of the event at the Seminar Hall of the School of Computing, UUM, said that ICT was fast becoming integral to every aspect of the world of work, practically paralleling the pivotal importance of the economic factor in the advancement of a developing nation.
He said that many countries around the world were now facing a dearth of suitably qualified personnel in the fields of mathematics, science, engineering, and computing. In consequence, he said, to meet the increasing demand for such personnel in the workforce, big corporations were vying with each other in the recruitment of qualified women in this sector.
"This fortuitous phenomenon has presented highly qualified women in the technical field the golden opportunity to carve for themselves a place in the sun in terms of their career development and prospects. At present, at the global level, there is a need for an estimated two million ICT professionals. This huge imbalance in the supply-demand dynamic of this field is largely due to the glaring want of awareness among students, teachers, and parents concerning career prospects in this area,” he averred.In light of this, he hoped that ITU’s ‘Girls in ICT Day’ programme would be duly appreciated as another invaluable contribution by ITU-UUM to the nation by way of raising consciousness among the people concerning the importance of ICT to national development, cautioning them against ICT abuses, and educating them about the rapid advancements and career prospects in this field.
CAMP12ideal platform to solve technology challenges
 SERDANG, March 14 – The International Conference of Information Retrieval and Knowledge Management (CAMP ‘12) which was held from 13-15 March 2012 was the ideal platform for academicians and researchers from various countries to discuss the challenges of Information Retrieval, Computational Linguistics, and Knowledge Management. Deputy Vice Chancellor of Industry and Community Network, Prof. Dr. Tai Shzee Yew said he was amazed by the rapid development of software and applications and noted that CAMP ’12 offered a great opportunity for participants from various countries to share information and create solutions for many technical challenges. “Through this conference, there was transfer of knowledge and expertise and the promotion of research activities aimed at producing cost-effective base technology platforms,” said Prof Tai, who added that the role of such a knowledge-sharing platform was vital to help the nation become a high knowledge society through innovation and creation. PECAMP President, Prof. Dr. Tengku Mohd T. Sembok believed that Malaysia needed its own search engine in order to manage the political, societal, and business sectors. The three-day conference theme, “Towards Global Information Seeking and Knowledge Success” was targeted to bring together participants from private industry, government agencies, and academic institutions to share their ideas and findings gained from their research and creations. The keynote speakers for this conference were Prof. Dr. Fabio Crestani from the University of Glasgow, UK, Prof. Dr. Alan F. Smeton from Dublin City University (Ireland), and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tang Enya Kong who is a well-known authority on machine translation. The 100 participants were from various countries including India, Japan, the Middle East, Myanmar, USA, France and Malaysia while UPM was represented by a total of 30 participants. The Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology (FCSI), UPM was the main organizer of this very successful conference. News by Nur Hafiza Pakhurdin, 03-8946 6190 (MarComm) and Photo by Mohd Azreen Awang, 03-89 | |
Pelancaran UM E-journal Management System
KUALA LUMPUR, 27 JULAI 2012 - SELARAS dengan aspirasi Universiti Malaya dalam penghasilan jurnal mengikut piawaian antarabangsa, pihak pengurusan UM dengan kerjasama Pusat Teknologi Maklumat melancarkan sistem pengurusan jurnal yang lebih sistematik dan mengikut piawai antarabangsa - E-journal Management System – dalam satu majlis ringkas di Bilik Court, UM semalam.
“E-journal sudah lama wujud di UM tetapi usaha untuk menggerakkannya tidak dilakukan secara bersepadu,”kata Timbalan Naib Canselor (Penyelidikan & Inovasi), Profesor Dr. Hamzah Abdul Rahman sejurus berakhirnya majlis pelancaran.
“Kelemahannya adalah e-journal tidak mengikut standard yang diamalkan seperti sistem pengurusan journal lain seperti SCORPUS dan ISI. Justeru sistem pengurusan E-journal Management System yang dilancarkan hari ini lebih sistematik dan mengikut piawai antarabangsa.
“Sebelum ini, pihak fakulti mempunyai pilihan sama ada untuk menyenaraikan jurnal mereka dalam E-journal tetapi dengan pengenalan E-journal Management System, kami mewajibkan kesemua fakuti untuk menggunakannya kerana ia adalah mirip sistem klasifikasi jurnal lain seperti ScholarOne milik Thomson Reuters.
“Sistem ini (ScholarOne) adalah bagus dan kami pernah terfikir untuk melanggan sistem ini tetapi tidak berbuat demikian kerana kekangan kewangan.
“Oleh itu, kami mengambil alternatif untuk mewujudkan sistem kami sendiri yang boleh diakses oleh warga kampus dan luar,” tambah Dr. Hamzah.
SOURCE / AUTHOR : UM Official Website
Sunday 2 September 2012
Pelancaran UM E-journal Management System
KUALA LUMPUR, 27 JULAI 2012 - SELARAS dengan aspirasi Universiti Malaya dalam penghasilan jurnal mengikut piawaian antarabangsa, pihak pengurusan UM dengan kerjasama Pusat Teknologi Maklumat melancarkan sistem pengurusan jurnal yang lebih sistematik dan mengikut piawai antarabangsa - E-journal Management System – dalam satu majlis ringkas di Bilik Court, UM semalam.
“E-journal sudah lama wujud di UM tetapi usaha untuk menggerakkannya tidak dilakukan secara bersepadu,”kata Timbalan Naib Canselor (Penyelidikan & Inovasi), Profesor Dr. Hamzah Abdul Rahman sejurus berakhirnya majlis pelancaran.
“Kelemahannya adalah e-journal tidak mengikut standard yang diamalkan seperti sistem pengurusan journal lain seperti SCORPUS dan ISI. Justeru sistem pengurusan E-journal Management System yang dilancarkan hari ini lebih sistematik dan mengikut piawai antarabangsa.
“Sebelum ini, pihak fakulti mempunyai pilihan sama ada untuk menyenaraikan jurnal mereka dalam E-journal tetapi dengan pengenalan E-journal Management System, kami mewajibkan kesemua fakuti untuk menggunakannya kerana ia adalah mirip sistem klasifikasi jurnal lain seperti ScholarOne milik Thomson Reuters.
“Sistem ini (ScholarOne) adalah bagus dan kami pernah terfikir untuk melanggan sistem ini tetapi tidak berbuat demikian kerana kekangan kewangan.
“Oleh itu, kami mengambil alternatif untuk mewujudkan sistem kami sendiri yang boleh diakses oleh warga kampus dan luar,” tambah Dr. Hamzah.
SOURCE / AUTHOR : UM Official Website
CAMP12ideal platform to solve technology challenges
| SERDANG, March 14 – The International Conference of Information Retrieval and Knowledge Management (CAMP ‘12) which was held from 13-15 March 2012 was the ideal platform for academicians and researchers from various countries to discuss the challenges of Information Retrieval, Computational Linguistics, and Knowledge Management. Deputy Vice Chancellor of Industry and Community Network, Prof. Dr. Tai Shzee Yew said he was amazed by the rapid development of software and applications and noted that CAMP ’12 offered a great opportunity for participants from various countries to share information and create solutions for many technical challenges. “Through this conference, there was transfer of knowledge and expertise and the promotion of research activities aimed at producing cost-effective base technology platforms,” said Prof Tai, who added that the role of such a knowledge-sharing platform was vital to help the nation become a high knowledge society through innovation and creation. PECAMP President, Prof. Dr. Tengku Mohd T. Sembok believed that Malaysia needed its own search engine in order to manage the political, societal, and business sectors. The three-day conference theme, “Towards Global Information Seeking and Knowledge Success” was targeted to bring together participants from private industry, government agencies, and academic institutions to share their ideas and findings gained from their research and creations. The keynote speakers for this conference were Prof. Dr. Fabio Crestani from the University of Glasgow, UK, Prof. Dr. Alan F. Smeton from Dublin City University (Ireland), and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tang Enya Kong who is a well-known authority on machine translation. The 100 participants were from various countries including India, Japan, the Middle East, Myanmar, USA, France and Malaysia while UPM was represented by a total of 30 participants. The Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology (FCSI), UPM was the main organizer of this very successful conference. News by Nur Hafiza Pakhurdin, 03-8946 6190 (MarComm) and Photo by Mohd Azreen Awang, 03-8946 6199 (MarComm) | |
UUM Hosts ITU’S ‘GIRLS IN ICT DAY’ Celebratory Programme
UUM ONLINE: The world celebrated the ITU international ‘Girls in ICT Day’ on 26 April 2012. In Malaysia, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), chosen as the host to celebrate the occasion, held ITU’s ‘Girls in ICT Day’ programme under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union-Universiti Utara Malaysia Asia Pacific Centre of Excellence for Rural ICT Development (ITU-UUM ASP CoE).
The event, which is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday in April, honours girls’ interests and strengths, and encourages them to choose a career in information and communication technologies.
The one-day programme was replete with various activities for the edification of the participants comprising over 300 students from UUM and several secondary schools from around the Kubang Pasu district in Kedah. Among the activities were a talk on ICT awareness by James L. Sinclair, Manager of the Broadcast Engineering Programme at the Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD); a talk on Soft Skills Development by Huraizah Abdul Rahman, Manager of the Desa Balik Pulau Internet Centre, Penang; a talk on Careers in ICT by Dr. Azizah Ahmad, a lecturer at UUM; a quiz on ICT; and a creative video contest.
The Deputy Secretary-General (Communication), Ministry of Information, Communication, and Culture, Che Azemi Haron, when officiating the opening of the event at the Seminar Hall of the School of Computing, UUM, said that ICT was fast becoming integral to every aspect of the world of work, practically paralleling the pivotal importance of the economic factor in the advancement of a developing nation.
He said that many countries around the world were now facing a dearth of suitably qualified personnel in the fields of mathematics, science, engineering, and computing. In consequence, he said, to meet the increasing demand for such personnel in the workforce, big corporations were vying with each other in the recruitment of qualified women in this sector.
"This fortuitous phenomenon has presented highly qualified women in the technical field the golden opportunity to carve for themselves a place in the sun in terms of their career development and prospects. At present, at the global level, there is a need for an estimated two million ICT professionals. This huge imbalance in the supply-demand dynamic of this field is largely due to the glaring want of awareness among students, teachers, and parents concerning career prospects in this area,” he averred.In light of this, he hoped that ITU’s ‘Girls in ICT Day’ programme would be duly appreciated as another invaluable contribution by ITU-UUM to the nation by way of raising consciousness among the people concerning the importance of ICT to national development, cautioning them against ICT abuses, and educating them about the rapid advancements and career prospects in this field.
UTAR joins YTL Communications’ Education Partner Program
This marks another major milestone in the extensive EPP project spearheaded by YTL Comms to bring 4G converged service, offering data, voice and mobility to all public and main private universities in Malaysia. UTAR is the first private university to join EPP with UTM as the first public institution of higher learning we signed up earlier.
“We believe that being part of EPP will transform the way of life on our campuses. 4G Mobile Internet will provide new levels of interactivity among students and faculty personnel. Also, being a university that delves in extensive research work we are happy with the new innovative functions and capabilities our researchers will have access to with 4G Mobile Internet,” said Ir. Professor Dato’ Dr. Chuah Hean Teik, President of UTAR.
According to Professor Dato’ Dr. Chuah, this partnership will empower 12,000 students in the UTAR Kampar campus, and another estimated 7,000 students in all of the UTAR campuses around the Klang Valley, with enhanced accessibility to both Intranet and Internet facilities throughout the campus grounds.
Under the EPP, all UTAR students will enjoy high-speed, wireless broadband access at anytime and from anywhere within the campuses. Every student will get converged data and voice services totalling 300 Megabytes per user, per month for a period of 3 years.
“As we bring our 4G network capabilities to all Malaysians, it is crucial that we give special consideration to our university students, the pillar of our future. Therefore we are very pleased that UTAR has joined our EPP. We will be working closely together to foster a new generation of progressive, tech savvy and innovative students that are able to create a positive impact to the development of the nation,” said Wing K Lee, CEO of YTL Comms. “Malaysian students are among the first, if not the first in the world to have such pervasive use of the most advanced Internet technology today”.
“Students are constantly moving, always communicating on-the-go, and have this endless need for information to supplement their studies, course-works, and daily lives. Wherever the student sits or ride is a potential seat for learning and development. While on campus, they can open their laptops and immediately connect to the world – anywhere, anytime,” Professor Dato’ Dr. Chuah explained.
Once the infrastructure is up and running, UTAR will be working closely with YTL Comms to nurture the development of Internet applications in the university’s technology degree courses.
“We plan to make YTL Comms’ 4G Mobile Internet the foundation in our center of excellence for the 4G network applications and devices our students are developing. On the Kampar campus alone, we have an immediate sample size of 12,000 users to carry out our research on the 4G network in our efforts to further advance the telecommunications engineering courses”, elaborated Professor Dato’ Dr. Chuah.
Present to witness the signing ceremony was Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik, Chairman of the UTAR Council, members of the UTAR council, Professor Dr. Lee Sze Wei, Vice President (R & D and Commercialisation), UTAR, Jacob Yeoh, Executive Director of YTL Comms, and the senior management of YTL Comms.
Over 200 visitors at OUM’s open day
KUCHING: Over 200 visitors were at the Open University Malaysia’s (OUM’s) open day at its Mile 9, Penrissen Road campus yesterday.
OUM also accepted new enrolments for its September intake.
The open day aimed to raise awareness on OUM programmes, which cover a wide range of disciplines and are all accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).
Many of the programmes are also offered by international universities, further proof of OUM’s quality.
There were also promotional booths set up during the one-day event including automobile displays, sale of plants and flowers, telecommunication products and services, as well as financial products and services.
OUM also worked together with Normah Medical Specialist Hospital to hold a blood donation drive as part of its corporate social responsibility.
OUM is Malaysia’s first open and distance learning (ODL) university, and is for those who aspire to attain skills and knowledge to move up in their careers.
Apart from giving learners the flexibility to choose what and when they want to learn according to their own schedule, OUM also provides lower fees and zero interest for instalment payments until the end of their semesters.
Learners can also study from printed modules or access its learning resource online — there is at least one OUM learning centre in every state with well-equipped computer labs, tutorial rooms and WiFi Internet facilities as well as meeting rooms and reading areas.
There is flexible entry where if one does not meet the usual minimum requirements for entry to a university, OUM may allow admission with a lower entry qualification.
OUM is owned by a consortium of the first 11 Malaysia public universities and as such has access to renowned subject-matter-experts to develop its learning materials, to supervise and where appropriate to serve as tutors and facilitators.
Learners also have the advantage of using the university’s digital library with some 100,000 e-books and an extensive collection of academic journals.
No need to open up UiTM to other races
In a response to the proposal by Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim for UiTM to open up 10% of its intake to other races, PPIM said the move would be seen as challenging the special rights of the Malays.
PPIM project director Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin said the government and its leaders had to be tougher in defending such issues because although the country was multiracial, there was "no need to sideline Malay special rights."
"If something like this is allowed to happen, then there will be a worrying situation where many Malay institutions will crumble and be 'Malaysia-nised'.
"It is hoped that the exclusiveness of UiTM is not undermined by anyone and it be allowed to continue as an institution that will strengthen the Malays," he said in a statement.
Noor Nirwandy said that UiTM has not only produced many excellent scholars but has also had many graduates who were able to compete with other races in the job market.
He added that the reason given by Khalid, which was to create more competition amongst students, was unnecessary because university students already competed amongst each other.
INTI's Industry Collaborations Link Students to Latest Resources in ICT
IBM, Cisco and SAP are among INTI’s list of global IT partners providing students with cutting edge technological know-how and professional certification to ensure their high employability upon graduation.
In fulfilling its brand promise to bring industry into the classroom, INTI through synergistic alliances such as MyUniAlliance with SAP and Software Career Training (SCT) with IBM, have enabled its students to gain access to a wealth of resources, technologies, industry best practices and business solutions.
INTI was one of the first educational institutions in Malaysia to participate in MyUniAlliance, an initiative by Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) to upscale and hone the abilities of undergraduates in ICT. A special hosting service is available to INTI’s students to access SAP systems for hands-on learning under a free software license that will provide knowledge of integrated business processes and industry best practices.
“Graduates need to be knowledgeable about Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems which integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization. We are very pleased to be in partnership with SAP, the world’s largest ERP solutions provider, to create educational opportunities and promote innovation among our students,” said Professor Walter Wong, Vice-Chancellor of INTI International University.
Professional certification provides INTI students with additional practical skills and knowledge that will give them a competitive edge over their peers. IBM’s SCT programme offers students a combination of technical knowledge, IBM leading technology, industry best practices and personal professional development in one integrated, career-enhancing learning experience. Graduates will acquire a high quality and recognised Malaysian qualification from INTI as well as an international IBM professional certification which gives them an immediate edge in job interviews and employment.
INTI has also worked alongside Cisco Networking Academy for many years. By incorporating the CCNA and CCNA wireless syllabus into its Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Network & Mobile Computing programme, INTI ensures that students develop the skills to design and manage medium-sized networks. The partnership also presents a pathway to professional certification in CCNP and CCIE.
The INTI curriculum emphasises on all-rounded development of a student’s cognitive and practical skills. Close collaboration with the industry ensures that the curriculum developed is relevant to the market’s needs, and more importantly, focuses on soft skills such as project management, team work, and proposals among others, which are essential skills when entering the work force.
Students of INTI benefit not only from the institution’s over 25 years of experience and strong track-record, but also gain from the global synergy and resources that Laureate International Universities provides. Laureate – the world’s largest private education network – has a presence in 29 countries, with more than 60 accredited universities and 130 campuses, serving more than 675,000 students globally.
Autonomy for UTM
JOHOR BARU: The Higher Education Ministry has granted Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) autonomy in four areas, making it the first in the country to receive the status.
Its minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said UTM was capable of handling its affairs independently in these areas.
“The ministry has also identified several other universities but I will only announce their names on Jan 26 (when he delivers his new year address),” he said.
Mohamed Khaled explained that with the autonomy, the university would now take full responsibility for institutional governance, academic governance, financial management and human resource management.
He was speaking to reporters after presenting endowment scholarships to 100 UTM undergraduates at the campus in Skudai here yesterday.
“UTM will also handle its student intake and will no longer have to go through the ministry's Universities Admissions Unit (UPU),” he said.
He added that autonomy for UTM would take effect starting this year but the formal announcement would be made on Jan 26.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Khaled also urged university alumni to play a more active role in developing their respective universities.
“The alumni should not only limit their contributions to financial aid but other areas as well.
“For example, the alumni can help with establishing internship programmes or create business opportunities for students,” he said
MAMPU Gives High Marks to UKM ICT Strategic Plan
By Saiful Bahri Kamaruddin
Pix Shahiddan Saidi
Pix Shahiddan Saidi
BANGI, 11 May 2012 – The Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit, MAMPU has given high marks to The National University of Malaysia (UKM) as an agency leading the charge in research through Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
MAMPU Director-General, Dato' Mohamad Zabidi Zainal said he was impressed with UKM's commitment to working with the agency in raising the stakes of research in the university through its ICT strategic plan.
He took pride with the support and involvement of MAMPU as the consultant to UKM’s ICT experts to come up with an ICT strategic plan for institutions of higher learning in the country.He made the remarks at a brief ceremony for the submission of UKM's 2011–2015 ICT Strategic Plan at Cancellory meeting room today. The document was handed over to UKM Vice-Chancellor, Prof Tan Sri Dato' Wira Dr Sharifah Hapsah with a copy given to Dato’ Zabidi.
The plan takes into account the development, planning and implementation of ICT in UKM's main campus in Bangi as well as at its other campus in Kuala Lumpur and the UKM Hospital in Cheras.
Dato' Mohamad Zabidi said the processes used had helped raise awareness and expertise for all those involved. The UKM ICT Strategic Plan began in August 25 2010 and is all-encompassing.
Prof Sharifah Hapsah said that ICT is the key to the core business of UKM, that is teaching, learning and research saying since ICT became widespread on the main campus, UKM became more efficent and speedier including among students and the teaching staff as can be seen all over the campus in Bangi.
The in-depth development of the ICT Strategic Plan was carried out by a team led by Prof Ir Dr Othman Abdul Karim as the project director.
Consultancy for the project was provided by a team of strategic ICT consultants at MAMPU led by Dato' Dr Zahari Othman.
The plan is a long-term one that determines the direction of planning, strategic development and implementation of ICT projects to support the achievement of UKM's vision and mission.
The plan, which is part of the public sector ICT strategy, details the objectives of the ICT policies. It is aimed at ensuring that ICT management in all agencies are in line with the public sector ICT strategy.
Also present at the ceremony were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic and International Affairs, Prof Datuk Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali; Prof Ir Othman who is also Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs and Alumni and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Inovation, Prof Dato' Dr Rahmah Mohamed.
MAMPU is tasked with taking the lead role in implementing modernisation strategies for the Malaysian Public Service.
In implementing its responsibility, MAMPU says it focuses on initiatives that can upgrade the quality, efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Public Service.
All these initiatives encompass the areas of quality acculturation, organisational development, integrity management, ICT development and enhancing relationships between the public and private sectors.
The modernisation initiatives implemented by MAMPU have to be conveyed widely to all government agencies by all available channels in order ensure accurate and updated information are readily available.
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