The 10th International Conference on Information Technology in Asia 2017 (CITA ’17) organised by the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) on 23rd May 2017 saw 54 papers presented with over 100 participants from the Information technology (IT) field to share and exchange ideas as well as information on the recent development in IT.
With the theme ‘Technology Transforming Lives’, the conference emphasized on the technologies that are making difference in the global communities with the aim of improving livelihood as nowadays, technology has a profound impact on daily activities.
As technology plays a big part in our livelihood, the Deputy Chief Minister YB Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas who represented the Sarawak Chief Minister to officiate the opening ceremony of CITA ‘17 said that Sarawak is on the move to transform traditional based economy to digital economy which is in accord with the state’s digital economy initiative.
In line with the State’s vision on digital economy, Uggah mentioned that among the initiatives taken by the state is by allocating RM30 million to boost the growth of local business in digital economy.
Uggah also noted that as an institution of higher learning, UNIMAS can play an important role in terms of generating competent human capital for the digital economy through innovative curriculum and trainings.
In full support with the State’s digital economy initiative, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni) Prof Mohd Fadzil Abdul Rahman said that UNIMAS is in the process of offering 3U 1I degree program (3 years at university and 1 year at the industry).
According to him, the Bachelor of Computer Science (Software Engineering) will be the first one in Unimas to be offered in this mode.
As of now, the graduate employability for the Faculty of Computer Science and Information technology at UNIMAS is about 80 per cent, indicating a high demand from the industry.
