UAiTED Asia Industry-Academia Cooperation Exchange Forum

With a shared vision to be the leading global alliance for the development of future-ready talents, the University Alliance in Talent Education Development (UAiTED) and 16 leading research universities from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, China came together to form a strategic inter-and cross-university partnership, built on existing and potential academic collaborations.

UAiTED aimed to prioritise collaborative efforts among strategic network members and provide unique opportunities for international young talents to achieve their potential.

This time UTAR, USM and The Association of Global Industry-Academia Collaboration gathered more than 70 participants at the capital of Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur for the UAITED Asia Industry-Academia Cooperation Exchange Forum, which was held on 9 November 2022 at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur.

Supported by UM, UKM and UPM, the forum aimed to serve as the leading independent Asia-wide membership organisation seeking to provide a platform for international cooperation in practice, research, education, and innovation.

The UAiTED Asia Industry-Academia Cooperation Exchange Forum commenced with opening speeches from UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat, The Association of Global Industry-Academia Collaboration President Kevin Peng and Sayling Wen Cultural & Educational Foundation Executive Director Jeter Her.

Prof Dato’ Ewe, in his recorded opening speech, thanked all the speakers, partners and participants for joining the forum, being willing to share valuable research outcomes and knowledge with one another and taking the opportunity to establish meaningful links between the industry and academia. He said, “I hope that this forum will also be the foundation for a good network that will be a vital mechanism to build and sustain an active community among higher education institutions and the industry to broaden the scope of collaboration and exchanges among UAiTED members.”

On the other hand, Kevin Peng expressed his sincere appreciation to the Sayling Wen Cultural & Educational Foundation for sponsoring all the events and activities of the UAITED alliance. He also thanked UAiTED for linking the Malaysian industrial partners with all the 16 universities and his association— The Association of Global Industry-Academia Collaboration. He mentioned that he and his team feel honoured to be one of the co-organisers for this forum.

Jeter Her said that he and his team were happy to be back in Malaysia after the pandemic. He then mentioned the 30 years of educational collaboration between the Sayling Wen Cultural & Educational Foundation and the local industry partners in Malaysia.  He hopes that the bridge connection between the local industries, Malaysia’s academic institutions and partners from Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, China can be well-maintained.  According to him, these partnerships will create synergy and value for our society in the present and the future.

The forum then moved on with a presentation on “Introduction to UAiTED” by UAiTED Secretariat Tommy Yeoh and “Introduction to Sayling Wen Cultural & Educational Foundation and NEXTFresh Program” by Charlie Yang.

The forum also included a corporate sharing session and a keynote session. The two speakers who were present for the corporate sharing session were Phison Electronics Corporation R&D Manager Lee Hao Zhi and MDT Innovations Sdn Bhd Founder and Chief Executive Officer Liew Choon Lian. They shared their company backgrounds; experiences in the industry; success stories; industry and technological advances; achievements, collaborations with universities, partnerships with UAiTED and many more.

UTAR academic Ir Dr Danny Ng Wee Kiat was also seen sharing his topic on “Robotics in the industry”. He also spoke about UTAR – Industry Collaboration on Robotics. Ar Ong Chin Hoong from Ong CH Architect Malaysia presented on “Building energy efficiency”. He discussed sustainable development goals (SDGs); green building; how green building contributes to SDGs; green building rating tools; energy efficiency in GBI-rated buildings and many more.

Assoc Prof Dr Huang, Chen-Jen from Chengchi University presented on “Smart finance”. He explained Activity Value Management (AVM); the impact of AVM; the theoretical innovation of AVM; the development of Integrative Strategic Value Management System (iSVMS), iSVMS Research Centre; promotion and influence of iSVMS; promotion and benefit of AVM in practice, etc. Last but not least, Prof Dr Chen, Kuan Neng presented on “Smart technology”. He shared the solution to extend Moore’s Law using 3D IC and advanced packaging to realise innovative electronic applications.

 The forum adjourned with a group photography session.