UPM wins 6 Gold Medals at MTE 2012

27 February 2012

 KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Feb. – The research output of UPM once again received national level recognition as researchers of UPM successfully bagged 6 gold medals, 8 silver medals and 14 bronze medals at the Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2012.

A total of 29 projects were contested at the exhibition, held on the 16-18 February 2012 at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) recently that comprised various clusters including Manufactured Article, Plan, Prototype and Model.

One of the gold medalists was Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vijayaletchumy Subramaniam from the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication with her product - Phonic Tutor Software for Visually Dyslexic Children, the first ever visual software in South East Asia for dyslexic children.

The exhibition this year was different from the previous years as the main goal of the participations was not only to collect high number of medals but also to bring forward research products of researchers in UPM to be commercialised. This is in line with the theme of the exhibition this year – Moving Innovations to Market.

The exhibition also saw enthusiasm from entrepreneurs of UPM’s joint venture companies in promoting and selling off their research products directly to those who came to the exhibition.

Among the products that received encouraging number of sales were UPM B10: Liquid Biofertiliser for everlasting crop production (Biofertiliser), a product of Phyto Gold Sdn. Bhd., Therapeutic Herbal Bath (Putra Aromatic), a product of Etlingera Sdn. Bhd. as well as young trees, fruit juice and fertilisers from the University Agriculture Park (TPU). Besides that, 15 companies were interested to have research collaboration and negotiation with UPM.

As an overall, UPM was awarded second place for the Best Booth Design Bare Scheme Category presented during a dinner ceremony organised by the Malaysian Association Research Scientist (MARS) as the official organiser of MTE 2012.

USM – INDUSTRY COLLABORATION: GATHERING OF ICT EXPERTS FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES

PENANG, 22 September: After successfully organizing the Tech Insights Penang Simposium last year, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has once again been conferred the honour of hosting the Tech Insights Penang Symposium 2010 this year.Apart from the participation of industry partners, the Symposium will also witness a gathering of experts in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) from various countries.

Prof. Rosni Abdullah, the Dean of the School of Computer Sciences, USM said that the participation of foreign industry partners is proof that the symposium as well as the efforts of the government to develop the field of ICT has received recognition in the eyes of the world.

“This year, Tech Insight will not only witness the participation of ICT experts from Singapore and Sri Lanka but also industry representatives from world-renowned companies and ICT experts from Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Programme, which is being used in more than 90 countries world-wide.

“It is the hope of Tech Insight to create a platform where technology and new software can be shared and that this will become a culture in the country. At the same time, it will help the local community, especially the youth in learning about Information Technology, which as we know, is advancing daily,” he said.

Meanwhile, Raymond Chou, Operations Manager for MVP said that MPV is very pleased to be able to organize this programme with USM.

“We chose USM because USM has a proven track record in terms of facilities and sophisticated equipment and is also prepared to lead in the development of ICT in Malaysia,” said Raymond, who is also the Director of Technology, Redynamics Asia Sdn.Bhd, a well-known company providing ICT Training in the country.

The three-day Symposium, commencing on 22 September will be held at the Eureka Complex, USM and will focus on new software that will be introduced into the world market such as SharePoint 2010, Visual Audio 2010, SQL Server 2008 R2 and many others.

More than 200 participants from various well-known companies in the field of computers such as Dell, Intel, Agilent Technologies dan Fairchild will be at the Symposiu

UTAR joins YTL Communications’ Education Partner Program

Petaling Jaya, 27 July 2010 – Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) joined YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Comms)’s Education Partner Program (EPP) today and signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to jointly deploy a campus-wide 4G network at the UTAR flagship campus in Kampar, Perak. Subsequently, similar deployments will be carried out at all UTAR campuses at Setapak, Sungai Long, and Petaling Jaya.

                                                     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.

Lecturer shares knowledge with people through his blog

BERNAMA - Thursday, February 23, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, (Bernama) - While bloggers in the country have been writing on numerous contemporary issues, one blogger derives satisfaction by blogging to impart knowledge.

Khirulnizam Abd Rahman, who has been blogging under Kerul.net, is convinced that blogs are an important medium to disseminate knowledge and expertise. 

The e-commerce lecturer at Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor''s Science and Information Technology faculty has been blogging since 2005, first using the Yahoo 360 domain before moving to the Blogspot domain (Kerul.Blogspot) in 2008.

 Khirulnizam, 36, said he started writing blogs as he had a calling for writing and disseminating knowledge on the internet. "I believe that my role as a lecturer is not limited to disseminating knowledge within the lecture room but also to the wider audience, the society.

"I also observed that the information available on the internet is all in English, and deep inside my heart I had a desire to relay knowledge in Malay," he told this writer when met at the university college in Bangi recently.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 

Khirulnizam, who has a master’s degree in information technology from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, observed that most knowledge-sharing blogs were in English.

"If you look at my blog (Kerul.Net), there are many articles in English, but I have also created a space for articles in the Malay language, such as the guide to create websites using the open Content Management Source (CMS) Joomla.

"After the Malay articles appeared on the internet, there was overwhelmingly positive feedback for them," he said. Khirulnizam, who started lecturing with the same institution in year 2000, is thankful for his employers, who encourage their academic staff to share their knowledge not only with undergraduates but also with society, through mediums like blogs. 

"My observation is that those in our society with knowledge are unwilling to share what they know, and to me this is something not right because knowledge is not exclusive to anyone but something to be shared by all," he said.

The First 4G Outlet Launched in UTM
RESOURCES FROM UNIVERSITY TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

Skudai, March 11 – “YES Campus Store”, the first 4G outlet at an institution of higher learning in the country is launched at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia today.

The UTM Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dato’ Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang said, the initiative to open the said outlet enables the UTM community to get the 4G mobile internet services at an affordable rate.

 The package, Education Partner Program Campus Citizen Plan, facilitates the UTM community to use the 4G network which has been customised with a special package.

The Yes 4G mobile phone is also launched today exclusively for the UTM community.

The YES Campus Store was launched by Dr. Zaini.  Also present was the Executive Director of YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Comms), Yasmin Mahmood.

Although more than 80 percent of the student residential colleges have been provided with internet coverage through the installation of almost 1,000 wireless hot spots, the 4G broad band services will extend the students’ accessibility to the online learning materials and services.

The facilities enable more than 20 thousand students to utilise the advanced communication and information technology as part of their learning process. The initiative is in tandem with UTM teaching and learning policy which emphasizes the use of e-learning while focusing on the development of soft skills among students.

The expansion of the broad band and internet accessibility will give great impact to the students of UTM as it enables them to obtain the information required particularly in research and development speedily and promptly. Such facilities are most appropriate as many of the learning references and materials are made available through the internet.

In addition the technopreneur program will get the advantage of the services provided by YTL Comms through high speed internet.

UTM Launched Mobile Hotspot Bus

From:  NewsHub-UTM News Portal

Johor Bahru, July 2, 2012:  UTM launched its maiden UTM Mobile Hotspot Bus today, a bus that is fully equipped with a modem, also known as WCC Mobile Hotspot, allowing up to 200 passengers connected to the internet simultaneously, and can be used within a radius of up to 100m from the bus. The WCC Mobile Hotspot is a spin off from the internet bridging access and smart antenna technologies previously produced by UTM Wireless Communication Centre (WCC), headed by Prof. Dr.Tharek Abdul Rahman.

The product is one of UTM’s latest technologies managed by the Innovation and Commercialisation Centre (ICC) to be further commercialised by the private sectors. To ensure the quality of the WCC Mobile Hotspot is stable and reliable to users, the WCCspent 3 months of pilot tests with the collaboration of a local bus service provider, Syarikat Bas MARA Liner and Maxis, which sponsored simcards for the proof-of-concept. It is expected that the use of a mobile wifi in public busses will be a major milestone for bus providers in Malaysia to attract more passengers to use their services.

“UTM plans to install the technology on all UTM busses in the near future and further commercialise the technology to other public bus service providers such as MARA Liner, airport limousines and other public transport providers through licensing activities to ensure the technologies can be benefited by most Malaysians,” said UTM Vice Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ir. Dr.ZainiUjang.

Other major technology produced by UTM Wireless Communication Centre is the Smart Antenna Technology, a flat antenna that is able to give up to 80% efficiency rate as compared to 50-60% that of the conventional ones.

Samsung launches projects with UTM

Adam Erb | November 28, 2011 

 

UTM and Samsung will partner on upcoming media projects that bring something new and exciting in social media.

UTM and Samsung embarked on two different projects: “Design Jam” and “Sharing Possibilities for Apps in Research and Knowledge” (SPARK). The aim of these projects is to give students the opportunity to be part of shaping the future of social media and also to create a paradigm shift in the way we think about accessible technology. Samsung provided smart TVs, smartphones, and tablets to the students for each project.

Design Jam set out to redefine and reimagine what it would be like to take a family game night and put it in an electronic media format. Four groups of UTM students brainstormed what that would look like and produced a video daily journal of their day, a multiplayer karaoke game, and a family scavenger hunt called “Augmented Reality”.

“We are excited to work with Samsung Canada on these projects that will benefit our students, our graduates, and, ultimately, our society,” said professor Anthony Wensley, the director of UTM’s Institute of Communication, Culture, and Information Technology. “Through our partnership, we are focussing on the skills our digital design students will need when they enter the workforce and the innovative applications that will best meet the needs of our wired and networked community.”

SPARK, set to begin in 2012, will challenge UTM students to design new concepts for applications that revolve around education, business innovation, and social responsibility.