UTAR and Infineon to continue alliance

In 2011, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was established between UTAR and Infineon Technologies (Kulim) Sdn Bhd to explore potential collaborative opportunities. On 27 February 2014, both parties witnessed an exchange of the renewed MoU at Heritage Hall at UTAR Perak Campus.

The ceremony was attended by UTAR Council member Hew Fen Yee, UTAR Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei, Infineon Technologies (Kulim) Sdn Bhd President and Managing Director Dato' Tan Soo Hee, Director of Technology Tan Soon Keong, Frotend Technology Senior Director Diewald Wolfgang, Regensburg University of Applied Sciences Prof Dr Rupert Schreiner, UTAR Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology Dean Dr Yap Vooi Voon, UTAR staff and students.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prof Ir Lee said, "The past three years of our partnership with Infineon have been fruitful. UTAR has achieved a significant number of milestones which included links to universities in Germany and these have benefited the students greatly. UTAR students have gone to Regensburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany for internships and Infineon has provided support and sponsorships for which we are truly grateful." He also added, "The number of students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) has been declining rapidly. At present, only 30 per cent of secondary school students in Malaysia are enrolled in the Science stream, which is below the 60 per cent target the country needs to maintain its robust momentum of growth. UTAR is working with the government to address this worrying trend and would like to appeal to all industry partners, including Infineon, to offer inputs on how to increase interest in STEM among students of all education levels."

In response to Prof Ir Lee's comment on STEM education, Dato' Tan said, "Teachers play an essential role in shaping the students' interest in STEM education." He narrated that he managed to spark his son's interest in Science through photography, by explaining to him how fiber optics work. His son has since aced all his Science examinations. Dato Tan further added that "Kampar has been transformed by the visionary leadership of UTAR who brought growth to the township. Infineon enjoys collaborating with UTAR because it is willing to adapt to feedback from industry partners to moot changes in its curriculum and to meet the demands of the industry. Our industry is extremely competitive and people are key to our progress. By providing the right knowledge and training to students, UTAR graduates will be readily employable and will know more than a typical greenhorn."

After the MoU exchange, Infineon Technologies presented two awards, namely, Infineon Best Electronic Engineering Student Award and Infineon Best Electronic Engineering Final Year Project Award to Choi Ngai Nam and Cheok Choon Hon respectively. Both Choi and Cheok are UTAR electronic engineering graduands and won RM3,000 and RM2,000 respectively for their efforts.

Under this latest MoU, the two parties agreed to join hands to continue collaborative research and development, which include mutual visits by staff members to pursue research, training and to organise and participate in seminars, conferences, workshops and publications; study visits and industrial attachments by UTAR under- and post-graduate students for the purpose of enhancing students' learning experience and R&D; and Infineon staff to undertake training and academic programmes such as PhD studies and research activities at UTAR.

The renewed MoUs are exchanged between Prof Ir Lee (left) and Dato' Tan (right) while UTAR Council member Hew Fen Yee looks on

Posing for a group photo during the mock cheque presentation for Infineon Best Electronic Engineering Student Award and Infineon Best Electronic Engineering Final Year Project Award are, (from left) Dr Rupert, Dr Yap, Prof Ir Lee, Cheok, Choy, Hew, Dato' Tan, Diewald and Tan