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Pride Of Asia & Malaysia

 
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
 
As the COVID-19 pandemic brought numerous challenges to our lives, our students have once again proven that excellence has no boundaries and they are still able to shine on the international stage despite the virus outbreak. We are delighted and proud to share that our team, PestKillerBot stood out among global teams from China, Croatia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Senegal, and the United Kingdom as one of the Global Finalists of the global Atos IT Challenge 2020.
 
Since its inception 9 years ago, the Atos IT Challenge has sparked new ideas among university students through different themes, encouraging students to develop world-changing solutions through technologies such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and more. This year, the theme of the challenge is “Cooperative Artificial Intelligence”, in which participants were encouraged to develop innovative prototypes that allowed machines to cooperate in accomplishing given tasks.
 
It was indeed a Malaysian (and Asian) pride as our team was the only Asian & Malaysian team to be qualified in the Grand Finals. Under the guidance of their academic mentor, Ms. Hemalata Vasudavan and Atos mentors, Mr. Andy Wallace and Mr. Tan Chee Wooi, the team developed a prototype that incorporates the swarm intelligence to aid the pest control process in the floriculture industry. In preparation for this competition, the team has worked tirelessly over the last 9 months and have competed with teams globally to reach the Grand Finals. They will now compete with 2 other finalist teams from Croatia and Mexico for the Championship.
 
Team PestKillerBot comprises members as listed below:
  • Loo Chee Hin (Team Leader) - Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) (Intelligent Systems)
  • Yeo Khang Hsein - Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) (Intelligent Systems)
  • Andrew Chung Hui Yue - Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) (Intelligent Systems)
  • Yong Ee Ren - BSc (Hons) in Information Technology with a specialism in Cloud Computing
 
It is also worth to note that this is our second time to emerge as the only Asian & Malaysian team at the Atos IT Challenge Grand Finals; back in 2016, our team, Go & Gone, achieved the 1st Runner Up placing at the Challenge, that was held in Paris, France.
 
KUDOS once again, to team PestKillerBot for the tremendous achievement WE ARE PROUD OF YOU! A Digital Awards Ceremony of the Challenge will be held on the 8th of July. It will be, indeed, a proud moment for all of us! We will continue to provide updates – let’s hope for the best for the team!

Malaysian Champion - Road to Kazan, Russia

Once again, we prove to the nation and to the world that we are global talent hub for computing & technology! 
 
Our final year student of the BSc (Hons) in Information Technology with a specialism in Information Systems Security, Kogilan Krishnansamy, will be carrying the APU and Malaysian flag to Kazan, Russia next month. He was the National Champion of the Worldskills Malaysia 2019 – Cloud Computing Challenge held recently, which was an initiative by the Department of Skills Development under the Ministry of Human Resources.

 
The WorldSkills Competition is a global competition aimed to promote professional education as well as to dedicate youth to technical and technological careers. This year, young professionals from around the world will compete in 56 skills, which include Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Web Technologies and more.
 
At the stage of the WorldSkills Malaysia (Cloud Computing) League, Kogilan made use of the AWS GameDay engine to develop solutions based on the given case scenario, using the AWS resources that are available. Moving forward, Kogilan will be demonstrating his skills in front of judges and over 1,400 participants who come from 63 countries and regions around the world.
 
It will be a truly global experience; we are also proud to note that Kogilan will be the only Malaysian representative to stand on the world stage! Our lecturer, Dr. Kalai Anand Ratnam has been appointed by the Department of Skills Development as the WorldSkills 2019 (Malaysia National Expert for Cloud Computing) – hence, he will be guiding Kogilan in preparing for the WorldSkills Competition, as well as travelling with him to Kazan, Russia in August. He is also an appointed Judge representing Malaysia, who will evaluate the performance of the participants at the Competition.
 
Huge CONGRATULATIONS to Kogilan and Dr. Kalai Anand Ratnam – as they carry the APU & Malaysian flag to Kazan, Russia, we wish them ALL THE BEST!
 

We are now a Premier Digital Tech University!

We are proud to share that APU is now a Premier Digital Tech University in Malaysia!

Today, we received the Premier Digital Tech University status from the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). This recognition was a result of our efforts in providing top-notch technology courses and producing highly-employable graduates within the technology industry.

Our CEO, Datuk Parmjit Singh received the certificate of recognition from the Minister of Higher Education, YB Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh today. Under this status, we will collaborate with key industry players such as IBM and Fusionex to deliver curricula that are up to the industry's expectations, in order to address the needs of technology graduates. Our students will now be accessible to wide range of resources, internship and job opportunities with top technological firms in Malaysia.

Congratulations to all students, lecturers and staff of APU; your excellence is our key to success! May we look forward to achieving greater heights.

Let the Creative Juice Flow - APU Students Showcased their Innovation at 3-Minute Research Competition

We are pleased to share that a 3-minute Avant-Garde research competition took place for the first time at APU recently.  Modelled upon the ‘3 Minute Thesis’ competition format which traditionally involves research students pitching their research to a panel of experts, the competition brief required students to formulate and present innovative, yet viable ideas to a panel of judges strictly within three minutes and using no more than a single slide. A total of 22 students competed at the final round, in which they pitched their ideas to the panel of judges comprising Dr. Lai Nai Shyan, Aida Zamnah Binti Zainal Abidin and Geetha A. Rubasundram who were from the Faculty of Computing, Engineering & Technology (FCET) and Faculty of Business & Management (FBM) respectively.

The competition attracted students from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds and this was reflected in the novel and interesting ideas presented.  That said, three in particular stood out in terms of freshness, technical viability and market appeal.  Third place was awarded to Sofea Wong, whose idea, The Wonderlust App, made effecgive use of augmented reality to address problems encountered by travellers.  The judges awarded the runner up spot to Jaedon Tan Yung for his presentation of WOKO, an all in one educational Event Management app.  The outstanding idea and overall presentation, however belonged to Arvin Rahman, who wowed the judges with his social running app, Run Along. 

 

Overall the competition afforded students the opportunity to not only exercise their creative juices but also gain valuable feedback as to how to pitch an idea effectively within strict parameters.  Much appreciation is given to all those who attended, especially the judges, as well as to the organizing committee, led by Vinothini Kasinathan for organising the competition.