More than 180 participants attended the industry forum entitled “Trends in Artificial Intelligence: What’s in Store for the Engineers and the Community?” in Cyberjaya recently. The forum was jointly organised by the Industrial Linkage Committee of Faculty of Engineering (FOE), the Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), and the MMU-IEM Student Section. It was co-sponsored by SoftSpace and the Centre for Alumni (CfA).
The forum aimed to promote interest and understanding in A.I. and its role in various industries. The forum also was recognised as as a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) activity by the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) for individuals seeking to gather CPD hours for annual renewal of their professional engineering membership. It also provided a platform for booth exhibitions by WISE AI, IEM, IEE Malaysia ComSoc/ VTS Chapter and SoftSpace.
The invited panellists included Dr. Wendy Chin Siew Wen, Marketing Manager of Global IoTG Visual Solution, Intel Corporation; Mr. Sua Chek Hoong, Director of Enterprise Solution, Axiata Enterprise Axiata Group Berhad; Mr. Hazmin Rahim, Director of Business Development (Public Sector) SAP Malaysia; Mr. Reiner Lee, Co-founder & IT Director, WISE AI and Ms. Purnima Wijendra, Dean of School of AI Kuala Lumpur. The event was successfully moderated by Dr. Tan Wooi Haw, Deputy Dean of FOE.
The panellist shared the roles of A.I. and how it will shape the future during the forum. They discussed the pervasive presence of A.I. in our everyday life and activities. The dialogue also covered where Malaysia stands on A.I. technologies and applications, how universities can groom talent in this field, and what skills today’s youth can cultivate to fit into the larger A.I. picture. As with most technologies, A.I. can be a double-edged sword with potential misuses and risks. In conclusion, the panellists agreed that the most pressing task ahead is to build awareness and a sense of urgency to ensure Malaysia does not get left behind in the great A.I. race.
An essay writing competition was organised by the MMU-IEM Student Section, in conjunction with the Forum, to promote interest in A.I. amongst schoolchildren and undergraduates. The essays were judged by experts from FOE and KPMG Malaysia. The winners were awarded cash prizes and certificates. The cash prizes were sponsored by the competition’s main sponsor, KPMG Malaysia. IEEE Malaysia ComSoc/VTS chapter co-sponsored a special track award for the best essay that highlighted the role of A.I. in Telecommunications. The event ended with the audience joined an online quiz to test their general knowledge of A.I. and its applications.
