Students attend ‘Big Day In Sarawak’ at Swinburne University
KUCHING: Secondary and university students within and around Kuching converged at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus for the ‘ Big Day In Sarawak’ event, an information and communication technology ( ICT) careers conference yesterday.
Organised by the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science of the university and in partnership with the Australian Computer Society (ACS) and the ACS Foundation, this was the first time the event was held outside Australia.
The ‘Big Day In Sarawak’ event highlights career choices in the field of ICT, which is the study of developing and using technology to process information and communications.
The event incorporated presentations from industry experts and an exhibition on information and communication technology. It also served as a platform for student participants to discuss their career opportunities in ICT with the experts and industry leaders present.
More than 450 students and teachers from 15 schools in the city had the opportunity to discuss career opportunities in ICT with speakers from industry.
They were lsaac Syaz, the vice president and chief technical officer from SilverLake Group; Samuel Lee, the head, Human Resource of Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd ( Sains); and Churchill Lee, the JavaScript developer of Piktochart Sdn Bhd.
At the presentation session, Syaz spoke on banking software, Lee on the emergence and importance of software industry in Sarawak, while Churchill shared about his personal experience in the ICT industry and the exciting opportunities that await someone who is working in an infographic start-up.
At the event, a memorandum of understanding ( MoU) was signed between Swinburne Sarawak and the Australian Computer Society (ACS), which was witnessed by Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Swinburne was represented by Professor Janet Gregory, its deputy vice chancellor and CEO, while ACS was represented by its president Anthony Wong and acting CEO Daniel Reihana.
The MoU formalised collaborations between the two organisations in the areas of ICT professionalism promotion and development.
According to Professor Janet, Swinburne Sarawak plays an active role in driving the development and adaptation of ICT and its related fields in the state.
“Our students and lecturers continue to contribute to, and continue to enhance, the lives of the community through its many projects.
“One notable project in which the university is working on is the development of a cardiac miner with the Sarawak General Hospital’s Heart Centre,” she said.
She said digital technology is one of the main areas which the university champions, with its students winning numerous awards and prizes at national and international arenas.
“Swinburne students won several top awards in Innovate Malaysia in 2016, and this year, a team made up of computer science students won second place in the Borneo Cyber Security Challenge,” she added.
She also thanked the schools for participating in the event and encouraged the participants to participate actively at the event and to make the most in learning about IT from industry experts.
Also present at the event were State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin, and Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee.
The university is now accepting applications for its Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology, and the Bachelor of Computer Science programmes.
These programmes are accredited by ACS and therefore meet the highest standard of the IT profession and industry. Classes will start on Aug 21.