Plans for a boutique university for ICT
SHAH ALAM: The Higher Education Ministry hopes to set up a boutique university for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in line with efforts to produce qualified experts in the field.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the ministry had received a number of proposals from the private sector and industries that
are interested in working with the government.
He said the setting of an ICT university would expose students to practical aspects of ICT related industries, especially in engineering, science, technology and arts.
"The main focus of the university will be to provide students with practical knowledge and expertise," he told reporters after presenting prizes to winners in the AutoDesk Malaysia Design Competition (AMDC) 2011 here today.
Mohamed Khaled said starting next year, participation for the AMDC competition would be opened to private higher learning institutions as well.
He said the annual competition held since 2009 was aimed at producing AutoDesk design experts under the theme 'We Care' and highlight issues related to education in the respective fields.
Meanwhile, a team from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia emerged victorious in the AMDC 2011 with their AutoDesk Wheelchair Car, and walked away with the top prize of RM4,500 and a lap top computer. - Bernama
Higher Education Ministry targets more students studying science by 2020
JOHOR BAHARU (April 29, 2012): The Higher Education Ministry has set a target to see more students studying science instead of arts at institutions of higher learning by 2020.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, said the annual number of students studying science would also be increased to 100,000 from the current 30,000 to achieve the target.
He said in a bid to achieve the target, the ministry had also forged a cooperation with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to organise empowerment programme for science and mathematics, as well as for information communication technology (ICT).
"Through this programme, we hope the students will inculcate a more positive and proactive attitude towards science, mathematics and ICT in line with the government's aspiration to produce a more scientific, productive and innovative society."
He said this to reporters after opening the Science, Mathematics and ICT Empowerment Programme for Schools in Pasir Gudang at Sekolah Menengah Taman Johor Jaya 2 here today.
Present was UTM deputy vice-chancellor (Alumni and Student Affairs), Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Tajudin Ninggal.
Khaled, who is also Pasir Gudang member of Parliament, said the pilot project for the programme had been carried out in stages in Pasir Gudang before it was launched at the national level.
He said the first phase of the programme involving 44 projects with an allocation of RM6 million was ongoing, while the second phase involving 140 projects and an allocation of RM14 million would kick off soon. –AFP
Source: written by The Sun Daily http://www.thesundaily.my/news/363142
Varsity organises ICT programme for villagers
UNIVERSITI Utara Malaysia’s (UUM) Student Representatives Council is working together with villagers from Kampung Baru Pokok Sena to set up a website to promote the products from the village.
Programme manager Imran Romlan said the website would introduce the products made by the villagers such as chilli sauce and livestock products.
“We chose the village because it has the potential to be developed. The website will provide the villagers an avenue to promote and sell their products,” he said when contacted on Sunday.
Imran said the council, with the cooperation of the university’s Asia Pacific Centre of Excellence, began conducting ‘An Introduction to Information Technology’ classes for the villagers on Jan 31.
He said the young villagers, aged between seven and 17, attended the classes at the village for three days until Feb 2, while villagers aged between 20 and 40, would attend the classes every Friday next month.
He said the young were taught the applications that they could use to search for websites while the adults would be taught by lecturers from UUM’s Science and Literature College how to create websites.
Imran said the website to promote the village products would be launched in a ceremony at the village on April 5.
ICT research to improve lives
The Youth@Research Competition 2006 encourages youths to participate in national and international level research by finding innovative and practical solutions.
“Youths today are fast learners of information technology and they demonstrate the greatest potential of using ICT to innovate and improve their own lives as well as future generations,” said Youth@Research patron Puan Sri Susan Cheah.
The competition managed to showcase the potential to conduct ICT research on community issues that will improve the lives of the present and the future.
SMK Air Merah students were all smiles when they received the grand prize in the Youth@Research competition from Sunway Education and Healthcare chief executive officer Lee Weng Keng.
Open nationwide to secondary school students aged 15 years and above, teams of three students presented a research paper in English on ICT or applications of ICT in Mathematics or Science.
Thirty-four secondary schools took part in the competition. Six teams were shortlisted for the finals. SMK Air Merah, Kedah, took home the grand prize with their research paper on “Mathematics In Action”.
The team, represented by Lydia Samasundram, Marcella Maisie William, and Hadi Imran Narzart, all 16, was supervised by their teacher Sharifah Rashidah. The team took home RM5,000 as well as a computer.
“It was two weeks of hard work and many late nights but in the end it was worth all the effort,” said Lydia.
Marcella said that as a result of doing research, the level of understanding on the topic showed significant improvements, making the effort worth it.
The runner-up was SMK Seri Mahawangsa from Kedah, who was represented by Suffian Sani Sayuti, Nurul Huda Shafee, and Nurul Hairunnisa Suhaimi, and supervised by their teacher Zamri Abu Bakar.
Second place was awarded to SMK Bandar Bintulu from Sarawak, represented by students Steward Baba Gait, Tie Suk Sien, Mohammad Fidaus Mustapha and their teacher Ting Tin Chung. The schools received RM3,000 and RM2,000 respectively and a computer each.
Meanwhile, over 8,000 people gathered at Sunway Lagoon Theme Park’s Surf Beach on the eve of Merdeka.
They were there as part of the Ambang Kemerdekaan Countdown celebration, organised by Sunway University College (SyUC). Other participating institutions were Taylor’s College, Politeknik Shah Alam, UiTM, Metropolitan College and Help University College.
Prior to the event, 30,000 free tickets were distributed to students from various institutions and the community.
Sunway students showcased dikir barat, a Chinese peacock dance as well as a choir performance. When midnight struck, Higher Education Ministry secretary-general Dr Zulkefli A. Hassan led the other guests and audience in an enthusiastic cheer.
The Ambang Kemerdekaan Countdown was the culmination of the numerous activities organised SyUC to commemorate Malaysia’s independence which included a Merdeka Quiz, patriotic film screenings, and photo exhibitions on past prime ministers and National Day.
Talks with various patriotic themes were also conducted, such as “Nationalism in the Context of Globalisation” by Universiti Tunku Abdul Razak's lecturer Prof Dr Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid, and “Merdeka: What It Means To Me” by Sunway Group’s corporate advisor Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam.
Source: Written by The Star http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2006/9/17/education/20060916112922
Malaysia, Unesco to review education policy
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) experts will jointly review the national education system in line with global changes.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Malaysia’s education policy review was signed yesterday by the Education Ministry and Unesco.
The ministry's secretary-general Datuk Dr Rosli Mohamed said the review would provide a more balanced assessment of the country's education system.
"The collaboration with Unesco is important as the review will help our education policy meet the challenging times and hyper competitive environment ahead," he said in his speech prior to the signing ceremony.
The review will cover the country's education system at all levels from pre-school to higher education.
It is also aimed at preparing the future work force with the required skills in line with the government transformation programmes (GTP) to achieve a developed and high income economy by 2020.
"Among the objectives of the review is to evaluate the policies, strategies and achievements of the country's education system and it is also expected to focus on several priority areas such as curriculum development, technical and vocational training and ICT in education," Dr Rosli said.
The review will be taking into consideration of several dimensions such as planning and management, equity of education opportunities and quality of schooling.
"The signing of the memorandum signifies an important milestone for Malaysia in line with the government's aim to meet the targets of Education for All (EFA)," Dr Rosli said.
Unesco Bangkok deputy director Etienne Clement said the review would involve close collaboration with experts from Unesco and Malaysia.
"The review policy will see what Unesco can suggest to further raise the education standards to a higher level and we are expecting the exercise to take a few months and is dedicated to start as soon as possible," he said.
Present at the signing was Education director-general Datuk Seri Abd Ghafar Mahmud.
