Great achievements at Premier-Pride Challenge 2019 by MDEC

From left: Head of Internet Engineering & Computer Science Department Ts Dr B. N. Madhavan, Dr Ng, Vice President of R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman, Head of Mechatronics and BioMedical Engineering Department Dr Kwan Ban Hoe, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) Deputy Dean of Academic Development and Undergraduate Programmes Ts Dr Cheng Wai Khuen and Dr Pradeep

UTAR set a new benchmark as a digital talent supplier when it clinched the overall winner title and won four awards at the Premier-Pride Challenge 2019 (PPC) by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). The prize-giving ceremony was held along with an event called “An Evening of Achievements” on 28 November 2019 at the Prism & Spectrum Connexion Bangsar South.

The event was held to appreciate the participation and commitment of lecturers, students and strategic partners in making PPC a success. UTAR’s achievements in PCC are as follows:

Award	Winner
Winner of Premier-Pride Challenge 2019	Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
Microsoft – Top Lecturer for Artificial Intelligence (AI)	UTAR Centre for Computing and Intelligent Systems Chairperson Dr Ng Oon-Ee
Intel – Best University in Curriculum Embedment	Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
AWS – Early Adopters Institute (1st Place)	Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
Top Lecturer for Data Science	UTAR Faculty of Information and Communication Technology Dr Pradeep Isawasan

Prof Faidz (most right) receiving the Winner of Premier-Pride Challenge 2019 award on behalf of UTAR

Prof Faidz (second from left) receiving the AWS – Early Adopters Institute (1st Place) award on behalf of UTAR

Prof Faidz (second from right) receiving the Intel – Best University in Curriculum Embedment award on behalf of UTAR

Dr Pradeep (second from left) receiving the Top Lecturer award for Data Science

Dr Ng receiving the Microsoft – Top Lecturer award for Artificial Intelligence (AI)

UTAR is one of the 16 Premier Digital Tech Institutions under The Premier Digital Tech Institutions initiative which was jointly developed by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and MDEC in 2017. The Premier Digital Tech University’s objective is to recognise selected institutions of higher learning (IHLs) as the preferred institutions for future digital talents and to set a benchmark for other institutions aspiring to be the preferred talent supplier for the digital economy sectors as well as to enhance awareness and confidence in digital tech graduates amongst the industry and the general public.

This initiative is widely supported by the industry, such as Amazon Web Services, CISCO, Intel, JobStreet, Microsoft, Oracle Academy, RunCloud and SAS. Through this initiative, students will be able to gain knowledge and skills which are relevant to the industry directly from leading technology companies which will ensure that students become employable talents upon graduation.