UTAR to offer Journalism in Chinese Media programme

Dr. Hou (centre) presenting the letter of approval to Prof. Chuah as Dr. Carmen Nge looks on.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education YB Dato' Hou Kok Chung handed over the approval letter from the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) for Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) to offer its Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Journalism in Chinese Media at a presentation ceremony held at UTAR Petaling Jaya Campus on 4 April 2011.

With this new addition of Journalism in Chinese Media programme, which will be offered in coming May intake, UTAR now has 101 approved programmes from the MoHE, comprising 11 PhD, 20 Master's, 60 full-time and six part-time Bachelors, and four Foundation programmes.

UTAR started with only eight Bachelor's programmes in 2002 offered by three faculties in a single campus and today these 101 programmes are offered by nine faculties and the Institute of Chinese Studies in four campuses.

The number of students grows from the initial 411 in 2002 to more than 19,000 today. The university has produced more than 22,000 graduates and 97 percent of them were employed within six months after completing their programmes.

"In deciding to launch a new programme, we conduct market surveys to ensure our graduates are absorbed into employment market to continue our trend of 97 percent of our graduates being employed six months after their final exam," said UTAR President Ir. Professor Dato' Dr Chuah Hean Teik.

Professor Chuah added that UTAR had decided to offer the Journalism in Chinese Media programme in view of the growing number of users of Chinese language, the mushrooming of Chinese media in the country and also the emergence of China as a global economic power.

"While it is trivial for an institution to receive approval letters, what is not trivial is that Chinese has been approved as a medium of instruction," said Deputy Minister of Higher Education Dato' Dr. Hou Kok Chung when commenting on the approval of UTAR Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Journalism in Chinese Media to be conducted in two languages: English and Mandarin.

"For the Master of Arts (Chinese Studies) programme [currently conducted in UTAR], it was further approved that its thesis could be written in any of the three languages - English, Bahasa Malaysia or Chinese," continued Dato' Hou, adding that the Ministry of Higher Education had taken on the liberal stand on use of medium of instruction in view of achieving greater academic excellence.

The university anticipated that there are ample employment opportunities for graduates of Chinese Media Journalism in Malaysia . In addition, these graduates could also work in China , Taiwan , Hong Kong , Singapore and other countries with growing Chinese readership.

Dr. Hou while delivering his speech.

Also present at the ceremony was the university's Dean of Faculty of Creative Industries, Assistant Professor Dr . Carmen Nge Siew Mun.

http://www.utar.edu.my/contentPage1.jsp?contentid=2339&catid=16

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY NEWS FROM MONASH UNIVERSITY

Keeping up with IT

Story and pictures by Michelle Kiob

The world today is indeed borderless, thanks to breakthrough discoveries in Information Technology. We can share virtually anything from one end of the world to the other, from lecture notes, to the latest movie reviews, and unfortunately even our personal data.

Experts from academia and MSC Malaysia Status Companies converged at Monash University Sunway campus in conjunction with the MSC Malaysia’s 3rd Research and Development (R&D) Series and IP Connect 2010.

Head of School of Information Technology Prof Chris Messom welcomed the delegates saying: "This was an excellent opportunity for industry and academia to meet and share research that will lead to commercialisation"

The yearly event themed ‘How Vulnerable Are You?’, was organised by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) under its MSC Malaysia R&D initiatives and geared towards fostering closer collaboration between industry and academia.
Ms Pak Mei Yuet the Head of Technology Policy and Research of MDeC, highlighted emerging security issues saying: “As responsible Internet users, we have to be more vigilant with what we share with others, as people with malicious intents are always one step ahead.”

Where social technology used to be impersonal and random, now it is all about relationships and loyalty, which is obtainable by observing communities and how an individual’s choices are heavily influenced by those around them.

“People, not keywords are at the centre of our search strategy,” said Deputy Head of School of Information Technology, Dr Saadat M Alhashmi, during his talk ‘Next Generation Browsing with Personalised Search Engines’.

“We trust what our friends and family like, so once personalised, search engines and advertisers will focus on this influence and customise our searches to include results that were ‘liked’ previously by those close to us,” Dr Saadat explained.

Noting that the ‘one size fits all’ concept of search engines is gone, Dr Saadat believes that understanding individuals and their behaviours will be the way forward.

“By just being in an online community, advertisements and even News sites are also highly customised to match the individual’s needs and status, without being intrusive,” he added.

However, right behind these remarkable advancements, creeps the uncertainty of safety and legal issues that hamper our confidence in these ideal technologies.

Mr Deepak Pillai, lawyer and law expert from Haryati Deepak Advocates & Solicitors, provided new insights to the dark side of Information Technology in his talk ‘New Technologies and the Legal Challenges They Pose’.

“The law will always play catch-up to Information Technology,” Mr Deepak said, of the rapid evolution of Information technology and likewise, the mushrooming of computer crimes.

Computer crimes such as online fraud, identity theft, hacking, phishing, and spamming are a global threat, “so it is a crucial time to call for cooperation between countries, as the perpetrator could be spamming Malaysians from the other side of the world,” Mr Deepak explained.

“Malaysian cyberlaws are revised from time to time, and the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 will also be enforced,” he said.

Users, too, must play their part. Other than not sharing our personal data online, Mr Deepak stressed that “we must also be aware of our personal settings on social sites and know the cyberlaws in whichever country we are in, and how they may serve to protect us.”

http://www.monash.edu.my/advancement/marketing/2010/Keeping-up-with-IT.html

News & Events | Events at INTI

Engineered for Employability | January 27, 2011

If employment rate is the standard of measurement, engineering graduates of INTI International College Penang (IICP) are in a class of their own. 100% of IICP’s engineering degree students who graduated in 2008 and 2009 are gainfully employed, all within six months of graduating.

At IICP, the engineering programmes, specifically in electrical and electronic engineering, are designed to bridge the gap between academics and industry and to deliver today’s engineers for the engineering needs of tomorrow. Providing know-how and resources that ensure its graduates are able to ‘plug and play’ immediately upon graduation, IICP places great emphasis on the importance of hands-on training, internship and industry-led curricula.

“Engineering studies at IICP aim at developing not only a deep understanding of fundamental and advanced technical principles, analytical tools and competence in their application, but also a wide range of management, personal and professional skills,” said Hemalatha Murugiah, Dean of IICP’s School of Engineering and Technology.

Hands-on training and internship are the mainstream of IICP’s industry-led engineering curricula.

The School of Engineering and Technology offers full time and part time degree courses. The Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering offered is in collaboration with the University of Bradford, UK. INTI is the only institution given Associate Institution status by Bradford. In addition to the facilities and resources at IICP, Bradford’s online resources are also available to students. Students who successfully complete their studies will receive dual certifications conferred by INTI and Bradford. Also offered at IICP are the Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and MSc Electrical and Electronic Engineering programmes.

Strong links between INTI and the private sector mean that there are grants for research and development, and students have the opportunity to work on new and cutting-edge developments, including in robotics, while pursuing their course under the E2E programme which also includes internships, work placements and industry dialogue sessions.

The E2E (Enrolment to Employment) initiative 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 at INTI benefit from the on-going initiatives being put in place to help them excel academically and to enhance their employability prospects substantially. By tapping on the resources of the Laureate International Universities network – the world’s largest private education network which it is a part of – INTI is able to ensure that it develops courses that are not only relevant but also in demand.

Laureate is present in 25 countries, and serves more than 600,000 students globally. The network offers more than 130 career-focused undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in fields that include architecture, art, business, the culinary arts, design, education, engineering, health sciences, hospitality, information technology, law and medicine.

For further details on studying Engineering at IICP, log on to the website at www.newinti.edu.my or call 04-6310138.

Government Names SEGi Skills Malaysia INVITE Leader

August 3, 2011
SEG International Berhad was appointed by the Malaysian government as Project Leader for a new initiative to bring in foreign trainees and learners to Malaysia. The initiative is called SkillsMalaysia International Technical Education and Vocational Training Programme; in short, SkillsMalaysia INVITE.

This appointment marks the government’s recognition of SEGi’s quality and expertise in providing skills-based training. SkillsMalaysia INVITE also equips trainees with entrepreneurial and other soft skills to prepare them for employment or self-employment in their own countries or abroad.

SEGi has also tied up with the Malaysian Retail Chains Association (MRCA), which has 6,000 retail outlets nationwide, to provide training opportunities for SkillsMalaysia INVITE participants.

Following is a press release in Bernama:
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=602898
http://www.segi.edu.my/

Taylor's University > Schools > School of Computing and IT > Overview

School of Computing and IT

Taylor's School of Computing and IT was established in 1998 to respond to the strong demand for computing professionals. Our mission is to equip students with relevant skills to excel in the ever-changing computing industry.

The School is proud of its reputation as a friendly learning centre of computing and continues to provide academic leadership in this dynamic field of study. As computing today is very demanding, we collaborate with our excellent academic partner, RMIT University, to groom outstanding IT experts.

Designed based on innovation and industrial relevance, our degrees in Computer Science and Information Technology are highly regarded by employers. Students are encouraged to put theory into practise, develop their abilities to work in teams and communicate effectively.

Excellent industrial links ensure that students have real understanding of the IT world and possess the right skills. With continuous strategic collaborations with industry partners, such as Linux, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP, the School strives to ensure that its curriculum remains relevant and meets the industry’s needs and demands.

http://www.taylors.edu.my/en/university/schools/computing/overview

Sunway University College chooses SAS® for IT skills training and research support

When business executives in Malaysia and the Asia Pacific region seek to hire IT leaders with the latest skills in analytics and information systems, they often find them at Sunway University College, where SAS technology is used in the classroom to prepare students for careers in IT.

Sunway is a world-class higher education institution and leader in private education in Malaysia and the Asia Pacific region. Established in 1987, Sunway provides tertiary education to a total of 10,000 students – with 30 percent coming from 90 foreign countries – enrolled in various academic programs at the diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The School of Computer Technology (SCT) at Sunway has developed a reputation for excellence, offering a high standard of education in information technology, information systems, computer science and networking. SCT advocates unique specializations that not only stress the importance of the academic curriculum, but also promote students' exposure to the IT industry, enabling them to discover their potential and achieve their goals.

Associate Professor Dr. Lim Tong Ming, Head of SCT, said, "To achieve excellence in IT instruction, Sunway is extremely sensitive to the need to expose and educate its technology students with IT skill sets that are relevant and highly sought-after in the real world. This is to ensure that all of our graduates are at the forefront of industry demand, making successful careers in the competitive market."

http://www.sas.com/success/sunu.html

UPNM First Local Varsity To Offer It Security Programme

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) chalked a new milestone by becoming the first local public university to offer Information Technology Security (IT Security) certification for its computer science undergraduates.

The programme is offered in collaboration with International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants (EC-Council), a leading IT Security certification provider.

UPNM Vice-Chancellor Datuk Zulkifli Zainal Abidin said the programme was in line with the government's call to produce local professionals able to handle crimes in information technology (IT).

"Security experts in IT are very important to the nation now, mainly to stop cyber crimes through computer chains that can be a threat to the security of the nation," he told reporters after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with EC-Council at the university here, on Thursday.

EC-Council was represented by its president, Sanjay Bavisi.

-- BERNAMA

http://education.bernama.com/index.php?sid=news_content&id=437926