Tag: Malaysia

On March 15, 2021, the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences (FSKM), Universiti Teknologi MARA, (UiTM), Malaysia, hosted the UiTM-Oracle Academy Day 2021. This marked another UiTM’s smart partnership with industries for IT expertise to share experiences.

The Dean, Prof Ts Dr Haryani Haron, officiated the live-broadcasted event from the Global Learning Space, FSKM, UiTM Shah Alam. Approximately 1000 participants, nationwide and globally, include those from UiTM’s campuses, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Ipoh, Universitas Bhayangkara Jakarta Raya of Indonesia, Universitas Esa Unggul of Indonesia and Bean Search Expert Malaysia. The Dean recapped that “The collaboration between Oracle Corporation Malaysia and UiTM was established since Institut Teknologi MARA days. We have been using the Oracle database in training students to prepare for industry needs, so their training-learning curve is shortened.”

Mr Mohamed Fitri Abdullah, the Managing Director of Oracle Corporation Malaysia presented an overview of Oracle, while Mr Damian Haas, the Regional Director for Oracle Academy Asia Pacific and Japan, provided an insight of Oracle Academy. Mr Jian Li, the Principal Instructor of Oracle Academy for Asia Pacific, talked about data sciences and Java programming.

As the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin emphasized during the launching of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint, that “Mastery of digital technology is essential to elevating Malaysia’s economy”, a series of workshops on big data are organised for the B40 students as a strategy to develop local digital talents.

This collaboration intends to provide awareness and exposure of free access to educational resources from Oracle Academy. They are designed with knowledge and skills as demanded in computing-related jobs. Current technologies include autonomous databases, Oracle Cloud, Java programming and AI. The alliance aimed to strategize synergistic benefits for both UiTM and Oracle.

The Covid-19 outbreak is a 21st-century global crisis for humankind that has led to catastrophic outcomes across the globe. The situation has caused governments worldwide to take on mitigation measures and strategies to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 calamity, the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia (UiTM), organized an outstanding virtual international discourse on “Policy Response to COVID-19 Pandemic: Malaysia & Indonesia experiences”. The program was organized by the Policy Analysis of Executive Master’s in Administrative Science students, led by Muhammad Syahzami bin Badd Saibi, and attended by more than 500 participants comprising UiTM students, academic staff, and members of the public via the Microsoft Teams virtual platform.

This program served two main objectives; to provide exposure to students on both Malaysia and Indonesia governments’ mitigation measures in dealing with the issues and challenges brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare both countries’ policy strategies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event was honoured to receive four distinguished guest speakers to share their experience and wisdom on the issue. The guest speakers consisted of academics and a high-level public officer from Malaysia. They were asked to share their views and experiences on how both governments are managing the ongoing crisis. A notable Professor in Political Science from Airlangga University, Indonesia, Professor Dr Kacung Marijan, also shared his views on the Indonesian government’s COVID-19 pragmatic policy approach in combatting the outbreak. The event was also made more special with the appearance of National University Malaysia’s Associate Prof. Dr Kartini Aboo Talib@ Khalid, the Deputy Director of Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), and Mr Abdul Halim bin Abdul Aziz; the Deputy General (Policy) of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Prime Minister Office, Putrajaya. Also present was Associate Professor Dr Nor Hafizah Mohamed Harith, from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. The session was moderated by Associate Professor Dr Azizan Zainuddin, also from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.

The intellectual discussion focused on the ongoing policy implementation by the Malaysian and Indonesian governments to curb the COVID-19 transmission. Speaking from the lens of academics, the panelists from Airlangga University, National University Malaysia and UiTM drew attention to both governments’ proactive and pragmatic roles in managing the COVID-19 crisis. Interestingly, the main highlight of the webinar was the presentation by the Deputy Director of EPU, Malaysia, on the recent Malaysian Economic Strategic Action plan formulated to cushion the impact of the pandemic. The session was concluded with a question & answer session between the panelist and the audience of the virtual webinar. The webinar was impactful and provided knowledge to the UiTM students and members of the public on the importance of policy response to break the chain of COVID-19.

Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences (FSKM), Universiti Teknologi MARA recently organised an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Final Year Project (FYP) Award on the 9th and 10th of August 2021. The event was sponsored by IEEE Computer Society Malaysia Chapter and National Autism Research Centre (NARC), Universiti Teknologi MARA. Ten (10) Final Year Projects were shortlisted from a total of 405 projects produced by final year students from six different computing programs. The ten finalists were subjected to rigorous rounds of screening and they showcased their projects via a video presentation (available on Youtube) and pitched their ideas to a panel of judges from IEEE Computer Society Malaysia Chapter and FSKM.

Professor Ts. Dr Shukor Abd Razak, the Director of Research Management Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Ts Dr Fakhrul Hazman b Yusoff from UiTM represented IEEE Computer Society Malaysia Chapter. FSKM on the other hand were represented by Professor Dr Nursuriati Jamil, Chairman National Autism Research Centre Universiti Teknologi MARA (also serving as Chief Judge) and Associate Professor Dr Fariza Hanis Abd Razak.

Mohd Zharfan Norzamri received the Grand Award with his project SCABTRE: Supermarket Checkout Apps With Budget Tracker & Recommender Using Content-Based Filtering. Zharfan proposed a self-service technology with convenient checkouts and payment process equipped with budget tracker and options for comparable products. Students’ projects were timely, relevant to current technology and highly diverse, as the projects encompassed problems which involved E-voting system, quarantine monitoring, road safety, upcycling management, environmental awareness, shopping process, and depression assessment. The solutions proposed may contribute towards achieving good health and well being which is Goal 3 of the SDG.

The competition provided a platform to showcase students’ achievements, develop high-level technical skills as well as to develop research interest among students. Importantly, the competition environment promotes the opportunity to produce work of a quality well beyond their qualification level besides developing their confidence skills which are useful for their future careers. Additionally, it serves as a cornerstone to further strengthen the linkages between IEEE Computer Society Malaysia Chapter and FSKM.

On 19th of June 2021, the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies (FSPPP), Universiti Teknologi MARA, students from the Bachelor of Administrative Science (Hons) program, and the Pejabat Undang Luak Rembau and Lembaga Muzium Negeri Sembilan co-organized an International Seminar titled “Adat Perpatih Knowledge Sharing and Book Donation Collaboration With Undang Luak Rembau Community”. The program was part of the Service Learning Malaysia – University for Society (SULAM) initiative, considered one of the High Impact Educational Practices introduced by the Ministry of Higher Learning Education Malaysia. The book donation project, which started a month earlier, managed to collect books worth RM7000.00. The books will be donated to primary and secondary school students around Rembau once the Movement Control Order is lifted. Meanwhile, the webinar consisted of three sessions covering different topics that managed to gather excellent feedback from the viewers. The accumulated number of viewers for the three sessions were almost 12000. One of the comments from the live session stated that this webinar had opened his eyes to know more and sparked his interest in acquiring more knowledge on this unique custom.

Malay customs and traditional culture inherently strive to demonstrate good moral values and guidance to acceptable behaviour and conduct according to the norms of the society. A prominent example of such custom is the Adat Perpatih, which has been practised longer than the Common Law. The custom originated from the Minangkabau ethnic from Sumatra, Indonesia, and was brought and adopted in Negeri Sembilan. Adat Perpatih divides the lineage based on the maternal or matrilineal lineage system. Adat Alam Minangkabau has undergone three main forms of development, namely the Nan Tigo Law, Adat Tarik Baleh and Adat Tuah Disakato arranged by Datuk Perpatih Nan Sebatang. Another concept related to Adat Perpatih is Laras Nan Dua, which consists of Bodi-Cianago and Koto-Piliang. Historically, the concepts exist through the consensus between two community leaders marked with batikam stone and baling stone. Then, the two maternal lineage and paternal lineage systems merge and are known as Adat Tuah Disakato or Adat Alam Minangkabau. In Malaysia, Adat Alam Minangkabau is known as Adat Perpatih. The Adat Perpatih is a dynamic and comprehensive social system as it provides the space, opportunity and rules so it can be changed according to the time, situation and era.

This project was inspired by Dr Muhamad Fuad bin Abdul Karim, a senior lecturer and resource person of the course. The panelists for the first session, “Adat Perpatih dan Kepatuhan Syariah di Malaysia”, were Dr Suhaimi bin Hj. Abd. Samad, Deputy Rector from UiTM Seremban Campus; Dr Mohd Kamel bin Mat Salleh, Senior Lecturer from ACIS UiTM Seremban Campus; and Yang Mulia Dato’ Perba Abdul Razak bin Mohd Yassin, a representative from Balai Undang Luak Rembau. The second topic, “Urbanisasi dan Era Digital serta Kelangsungan Amalan Adat Perpatih” involved Dr Muhamad Fuad bin Abdul Karim, a Senior Lecturer from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Dr Mohd Afendi bin Daud, a Senior Lecturer from Universiti Melaka, Yang Mulia Dato’ Raja DiRaja Haji Bahaman bin Harun, a representative from the Balai Undang Luak Rembau, and Drs Shamsudin bin Ahmad, the Director of Lembaga Muzium Negeri Sembilan as the panelists. For the third and final session, the panellists were Dr Nur Zafifa binti Kamarunzaman, a Senior Lecturer from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies; Dr Mohamad Fauzi bin Sukimi, a Senior Lecturer from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Dr Sulikah Asmorowati, the Vice Dean II from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Airlangga Indonesia with the topic “Budaya dan Hubungan Etnik di Nusantara”. The opening speech was given by Drs Shamsudin bin Ahmad, the Director of Lembaga Muzium Negeri Sembilan and the Yang Teramat Mulia Dato’ Lela Maharaja Dato’ Haji Muhamad Sharip Bin Haji Othman (DTNS, PPT, ANS, PMC, PJK, PKL), Dato’ Undang Luak Rembau officiated the event. Meanwhile, the event concluded with the closing remarks by Yang Berbahagia Prof Madya Dr Abdul Jalil bin Mohamed Ali Dean Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA.

The Faculty of Pharmacy and Research Management Centre, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, are proud to have organised and hosted the prestigious ‘Virtual IBRO-APRC Associate School of Neuroscience UiTM 2021’ for the third time from the 2nd until the 6th of August 2021 via the Webex Cisco online platform. The theme for this year was “Gut Microbiota and the Gut-Brain Connection: There is Science in Gut Feeling After All”. The Associate School of Neuroscience Programme, generously funded by the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO), aimed to provide a holistic learning and research experience on the importance of gut microbiota and the Gut-Brain Axis for young aspiring neuroscientists from the Asia Pacific region.

The associate school, which covered three (3) subthemes: the influence of the Gut-Brain Axis on the CNS, in vivo models for the Gut-Brain Axis research, and the impact of lifestyle changes on the Gut-Brain Axis; provided both fundamental and translational knowledge on neurological disorders related researches to all participants. As one of the strategies to facilitate a holistic learning experience, each subtheme was accompanied by talks, short forums, skill development and workshops (Day 1-3). A mini-symposium was also held on Day 4 for participants to showcase their research outcomes. The symposium culminated with a wonderful sharing from the AGELESS Long Term Grant Scheme (LRGS) researchers and a theme talk presentation. Awards for best oral presenters were also presented to the IBRO-APRC associate schoolers at the end of the symposium. A virtual excursion was held on Day 5.

The associate school was also pleased to feature 22 speakers from local and abroad (i.e., Australia, Canada, Thailand and USA). Altogether, 32 applicants from India, Malaysia and Syria were shortlisted for this year’s associate school, out of which 30 of them registered for the event and 28 successfully completed the programme. The theme talks, which were also open for registration to participants from local and abroad, had also attracted more than 70 attendees on average.

Overall, the virtual IBRO-APRC Associate School of Neuroscience UiTM 2021 was a success. At least 70% of the associate schoolers strongly agreed that the training was relevant to them and the content of the talks/workshops met their expectations. More than 90% of the associate schoolers also strongly agreed to recommend the IBRO-APRC Associate School of Neuroscience to their colleagues.