Malaysian university UTP marks 20th anniversary with new stride into cloud transformation

 |   Dashika Gnaneswaran, Communications Lead, Microsoft Malaysia

AvantiKumar from Computerworld Malaysia recently wrote about the MoU signing between Microsoft Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Petronas. The MoU signifies Universiti Teknologi Petronas commitment to equip their students with the most advanced learning tools. Here is the story filed by Avanti on the event.

Malaysia’s Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) said it has adopted an industry partnership to boost its capacity for teaching, learning, research and operational excellence.

The move, which marks UTP’s 20th anniversary in Malaysia, will enable data connectivity across sources, drive intelligent decisions and outcomes, and transform processes from end to end, said UTP vice chancellor Datuk Ir (Dr) Abdul Rahim Haji Hashim.

During the signing of a three-year memorandum of agreement (MoU) with Microsoft Malaysia, Dr Abdul Rahim, explained:  “At UTP, we are mindful of the evolving technology ecosystem that has sprouted new business models and is revolutionizing the data landscape. It is changing the way we look at, solve and commercialise business problems.”

“To ensure our students are best prepared to perform in this setup, we need to equip them with the most advanced learning tools and our partnership with Microsoft is a great first step in this direction,” he added. “We are confident that with their modern solutions and support our University will continue to hone great minds in the field of science and technology.”

UTP is the first University in Malaysia to sign a three-year MoU that covers Microsoft Cortana Intelligence Education Program, which is intended to develop graduates with Data Science skills and help the country achieve the aspirations of 2000 Data Science Professionals and 20, 000 Data Professionals by 2020.

(Second from left) K Raman, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia signing the MoU with Datuk Ir (Dr) Abdul Rahim Haji Hashim, Vice Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Petronas

What this means

K Raman, managing director of Microsoft Malaysia, said that under the MoU, UTP will use Microsoft technologies such as Cortana Analytics, Power BI, Azure and Machine Learning to help the students and faculty members to connect data across sources, drive informed decisions and outcomes and enhance processes.

For example, UTP’s Business Intelligence course will now allow students to apply business analytics to support organisational decision making, said Raman.

Meanwhile, the analytics aspect of Microsoft Azure will help students to perform descriptive analysis, predictive analysis and data visualisation – leading to many better understanding of Big Data Analytics (BDA).

Raman reaffirmed Microsoft’s commitment to promoting 21st century learning in Malaysia.

“We are in the midst of the Fourth Industrial revolution, and a change in curriculum is vital to prepare our students for this digital age,” he continued. “Education is evolving rapidly with technology at the forefront and we’ve been transforming classroom learning to nurture students and equip them with skills to compete globally.”

Summarising some benefits of the partnership, all 8500 students and 900 staff of UTP will have access to various services to help create learning experiences to develop essential life skills. These include:

  • Microsoft Innovation Showcase Centre
  • Advanced Analytics for Student Lifecycle
  • Microsoft Imagine Academy
  • Microsoft Virtual Academy
  • Microsoft Student Partner Program
  • Microsoft Azure Platform as a Service
  • Deep dive on Microsoft Business Application – CRM Dynamics
  • Microsoft Surface device leasing program for lecturers and students

The original article can be read here: Malaysian university UTP marks 20th anniversary with new stride into cloud transformation, August 24 2017, Computerworld Malaysia