Following our previous article, CAIRO is on high gear to being recognized as Malaysia’s one-step centre for artificial intelligence and robotics. In conjunction with this, with his relentless effort, our glorious leader, Associate Professor Ts. Ir. Dr Ahmad ‘Athif bin Mohd Faudzi, has ensured the signing of a very important MOU between UTM and MIDA, Malaysian Investment development authority on 1st October 2020. The MOU is in parallel with the national policy Industry4WRD, related to the seven pillars which are Internet of Thing (IoT), Cloud Computing, 3D Printing/ Additive manufacturing, cyber security, big data, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Having a closed professional relationship with MIDA, CAIRO has successfully secured this MOU which involved continuous support from CAIRO to MIDA in terms of collaboration towards the establishment of MIDA Assessment Development Centre or MADC as a centre of hybrid digital skill development. For the past five decades, MIDA has been the principal agency in Malaysia in overseeing and driving foreign and domestic investment into the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia, which provided abundance of high value job opportunities for Malaysians. Therefore, the establishment of MADC has come at a perfect timing.
The MOU signing ceremony, which can be seen as a collaboration between the higher learning institution (HLI) and the industry, was attended by several significant figures from the IPTA which include the vice chancellors of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Prof. Dato’ Ir. Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor, Prof. Datuk. Ts. Dr. Ahmad Fauzi bin Ismail and Prof. Dr. Mohd. Roslan bin Sulaiman respectively. Meanwhile from the industry, was attended by Mr. Adam Yee, the CEO and President of SIEMENS Malaysia, Mr. Liew Choon Lian, the Group Chairman and CEO of MDT Innovations, as well as executive directors of MIDA (Figure 1).
The MOU was signed between the chief executive officer of MIDA, Dato’ Azman bin Mahmud and the Director of CAIRO, Associate Professor, Ir. Ts. Dr. Ahmad ‘Athif bin Mohd Faudzi. The representatives from UTM include Professor Dr. Shamsul Sahibuddin, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of UTM, Professor Datuk Ts. Dr. Ahmad Fauzi bin Ismail, the acting Vice Chancellor of UTM and Professor Dr. Safian bin Sharif, the Dean of Research Alliance in Frontier Materials as well as Associate Professor Ir. Dr Hazlina binti Selamat the Deputy Director of CAIRO (Figure 2).
The main objective of the MOU signing is to unite the collaborators in ensuring the success of MIDA Assessment Development Centre (MADC), which is focused on the implementation of MADC in building an industry-ready talent pool for the future. The MOU signing ceremony was held in MIDA Sentral (Figure 3).
Through MADC, a group of young leaders in various industries will be developed, of course, with the help of the industrial collaborators and the industry themselves. This will create the coveted pool talent the country desperately needs, particularly in IoT, AI, cybersecurity and big data. Hence creating a conducive environment in accelerating the national policy of Industry4WRD. On top of that, MADC will soon be transformed to become the HyTalent Centre of Excellence (CoE), a pioneer in training and development programmes in sharpening these young leaders’ leadership and technical skills, simultaneously. On top of that, the CoE will be a platform for engineering, tests and verification as well as design and fabrication activities towards pilot production and commercialization. With full commitment of the existing collaborators, as well as future collaborators, the CoE is envisioned to be transformed to a Digital Transformation Hub for Malaysia.
Congratulations CAIRO!! Hold on to your seat everyone, CAIRO is about to hit this higher gear, accelerating alongside this prominent agency.
More about CAIRO UTM:
CAIRO UTM (Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics) is one of the leading Centres of Excellence in Malaysia focusing on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Control and Automation. Established in 1997, CAIRO UTM has produced numerous talents and significant research outcomes on AI & Robotics. In 2018, CAIRO UTM was awarded as one of the Competence Cente by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry MITI. UTM has strong linkages and networking with academic institutions, government sectors and industrial sectors, on national and international level.