Another milestone was achieved when UTAR and Silverlake Axis collaborated and successfully launched the first Silverlake Lab at UTAR Kampar Campus on 5 April 2023.

Launched with the aim to provide a globally connected digital platform for UTAR students as well as Malaysians, the Silverlake Lab was indeed important because it enabled UTAR students to have a head start on the latest technologies and provided them opportunities to explore the technologies widely.

The launching ceremony was graced by Founder and Executive Chairman of Silverlake Axis Ltd Mr Goh Peng Ooi; President of UTAR Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat; Non-Independent Non-Executive Director of Silverlake Axis Ltd Mr Chee Hin Kooi; CEO of Islamic Banking Silverlake Axis Ltd Ts Othman Abdullah, distinguished members of UTAR Council Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Chuan and Mr Hew Fen Yee; Vice President of UTAR for Internationalisation and Academic Development Ir Prof Dr Goi Bok Min, Dean of UTAR Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) Prof Ts Dr Liew Soung Yue; esteemed guests from Silverlake Axis; UTAR staff and students.

Emphasising the collaborative intelligence between machine and human, Prof Dato’ Ewe in his speech enthused, “In this fast-paced digitalisation era, collaborations with the industry have gained tremendous importance because they enhance our progress in moving forward and adaptability in embracing the digital presence, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, and lately, the world has been greeted with another development of AI, which is the ChatGPT, an AI-powered conversational agent that can understand natural language and thereby enabling users to interact with intelligent agents in a natural and intuitive way – with a more human touch.”

He added, “The progress we see today is world-changing, and we need to be at equal speeds with these technological developments and innovations. Therefore, the collaboration with Silverlake is indeed important because it enables our students to have a head start on the latest technologies, and opportunities to explore them widely. I am positive, that, through the mini projects, final year projects (FYP), lab practical, research activities, and competitions conducted by the lab, our students will be able to acquire knowledge and skills in key technological areas, namely digital twins, internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, cloud and edge-computing, blockchain and extended reality. I am truly looking forward to forging more collaborations with Silverlake Axis Ltd, as it will also augment our efforts to develop the lab into a centre of excellence in research, learning, and collaborations.”

Introducing Silverlake Axis as a leading enterprise technology, software and services company in the high-growth Asia Pacific Region, Mr Goh in his speech impressed the audience with his knowledge of technology innovations. He enthused, “The corporate objective of Silverlake Axis is to deliver long-term value for all stakeholders through technology innovations and business collaborations. Our vision is to be Asia Pacific’s largest digital economy solutions company as well as to be a leading and highly valued Fintech company.” He added, “Through today’s launch of Silverlake Lab at UTAR, I hope Silverlake Axis could infuse AI and smart technologies to accelerate digital transformation not only in UTAR but also Malaysia. I believe through the diffusion of AI; it could amplify the human-machine relationship to establish a foundation for the next generation of problem-solving ecosystems.”

The Silverlake Lab is located in UTAR Faculty of Information and Communication Technology at Kampar Campus. The purpose of the lab is to offer students teaching and research resources in fields such as Artificial Intelligence and Financial Technology. It is expected that the lab will play a crucial role in promoting knowledge development and dissemination at UTAR.