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Congratulations to all staff & students at APIIT & UCTI. We are very proud to announce that Asia Pacific University College of Technology & Innovation (UCTI) has just been awarded the “Education Excellence Award 2007 (University Category)” by NAPEI (National Association of Private Education Institutions). The prestigious award was presented by Y.B. Ong Tee Keat, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia on 29th November 2007 at the NAPEI Awards Ceremony.

This award is a recognition of our standing among the top higher educational institutions in Malaysia. Once again, Congratulations and well done to all staff & students for this tremendous achievement.

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APIIT & UCTI students with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who was launching the National Higher Education Strtegic Plan at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) on the 27th August 2007.

Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed and Executive Director of APIIT & UCTI, Dr. Parmjit Singh is also present.

After the great effort of every players, APIIT managed to become the 1st runner up in the Chinese Chess tournament and won the 5th place in the Chess tournament. In the addition, one of our players, Looi Ferng Yi also won the board prize in the Chinese Chess event.

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On Sunday 5th November 2006, APIIT/UCTI helped taekwondo to take another step forward in making the sport more popular amongst the colleges in Malaysia but initiating the first MAPCU Taekwondo competition. The event was held at the new APIIT Smart School in Subang and attracted teams from ten colleges and university colleges.

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One of the great things about studying at APIIT is that every once in a while, just out of the blue, for the fun of it, without warning or plan – we just get together.

It allows us to relax, have fun and do what young people really really like to do – chill and party!!

These are group photos taken of a party at Vista Komanwel last weekend that were taken at the end of the party with all of us looking very earnest. The food was great, the ambience was better and just when we thought it was all over, everyone decided to party more at Sharara – a Punjabi Disco until 4.00 AM. Our only regret – NOT ENOUGH GIRLS!!

Dr. Parmjit Singh as the Pro-Chancellor of Staffordshire University and Executive Director of UCTI & APIIT welcoming Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh.

Full event coverage available from Staffordshire's website.

New students at APIIT & UCTI’s Orientation day 2006 were treated to many fun activities such as California Fitness Exercises, Ice Breaker games, and they even received Welcome Packs!

The new students were welcomed by students and staff alike to their new Academic”home”!

UCTI / APIIT Taekwondo Team wins big at event held at the International Islamic University Malaysia, Gombak winning 4 out of the 10 gold medals in the ‘Amateur’ section and 3 out of the 10 gold medals in the ‘Open’ competition.

UCTI / APIIT team won a total of 15 medals.

Mr. Foong Sek Chee, BSc (Hons) Degree in Computing - Internet Technology student won the Top Prize in the 2005 edition of the e-Genting Programming Competition, beating out more than 100 contestants.

The winners were announced at a presentation ceremony held at the Genting Highlands Resort on Saturday, 21st January 2006.

Sek Chee received a cash prize award of RM5,000 and a job offer from eGenting.

Mr. Tu Mun Keong, final year BSc. (Hons) in Computing – Internet Technology student won RM3000 in cash prize and a 3-month internship program with DKSH CSSC. Mun Keong developed an award-winning ‘Infomercial’ that is easy to use, user- friendly design and great use of multimedia skills.

Based in Switzerland, DKSH is the No.1 Services Group in Asia, focusing on Sourcing, Marketing, Logistics and Distribution, employing more than 20,000 specialised staff in 35 countries.

Another achievement has been made by APIIT R&D team when URLChecker, a joint development of APIIT and Internet Services Unit (ISU) of King Abdul Aziz City of Science & Technology (K.A.C.S.T.), Saudi Arabia, was announced "Winner" at the PIKOM (Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry, Malaysia) Computimes ICT Awards 2005 as the ICT Product of the Year 2005.

The PIKOM Computimes ICT Awards 2005 were announced on 14 September 2005 at the Global Public Policy Conference (GPPC) 2005 Gala Dinner, and PIKOM International Night and ICT Awards 2005 at Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. YB Dato' Sri Jamaludin Jarjis, Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation Malaysia presented the awards. This has been the second achievement of PIKOM ICT Product of the Year award by our R&D team, following the same award achieved last year by The ScreenShield Suite.

It was a night of achievement for APIIT at the APICTA (Asia Pacific ICT Awards) 2005 Awards Dinner held on 9 September 2005 at Equatorial Hotel, Penang. Our R&D product, URLChecker, a joint development of APIIT and Internet Services Unit (ISU) of King Abdul Aziz City of Science & Technology (K.A.C.S.T.), Saudi Arabia, achieved the "Winner" award for "Best of Application and Infrastructure Tools" category.

Prime Minister YAB Dato' Seri Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi accompanied by YAB Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Chief Minister of Penang, and Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation, were also there to grace the function.

In addition, two of our students projects, Blocking Pornographic Email Attachments and 3D Environment Chat System (J-Reunion), were finalists for the Tertiary Student Project in Software/Hardware category.

Subsequent to this achievement, APIIT will represent Malaysia for the International APICTA 2005 held in Bali, Indonesia, on 30 November to 3 December 2005

Promoting fun and healthy lifestyle through sports, games, competitions and scouting for future talents has been the objective of the APIIT-UCTI Sports Carnival. Organised by the Student Activities and Recreation Council (SARC) of 2004/2005, this successful event was held at Bukit Jalil Sports Village on Saturday, 23 July 2005.

The Sports Carnival had kicked-off several weeks earlier with the Badminton and Bowling Tournaments held at the Golf and Country Resort in Bukit Jalil.

During the Sports Carnival, lively music from the DJ filled the atmosphere on a sunny and cheerful day. A number of sports tournaments and fun-fair games were held. The table tennis tournament saw competition amongst male and female students in the singles, doubles and mix doubles matches. Futsal and basketball matches were fast-paced and intense and there were a large number of participants from staff and students.

There was overwhelming support for the netball match where both student and staff teams showed tremendous eagerness and endurance and in the end, the students came out victorious.

Within the covered Sports Village arena, delicious food and drinks were already well prepared by staff and students.

Amongst the popular indoor games was the Dunk-In which successfully pulled in Mr. Anthony, the Operations Manager of APIIT KL, who found himself soaked to the skin after being gleefully dunked by his own students.

Other games such as the Gladiator, Mount-Ashley and Hit-Me also drew the crowd's attention and participation.

Winners of the various events and tournaments were presented with their well-deserved medals and prizes at the end of the day. In the end, there were no losers - only competitors, camaraderie, and fun time.

The Corporate Training unit of APIIT, in collaboration with eACT Technologies Sdn Bhd, held a 2-day Linux Technology Solutions Workshop on 31 May and 1 June 2005 at APIIT TPM campus.

The objective of the workshop was to raise awareness on the use of Linux as a development environment within all platforms ranging from small-scale embedded systems to large-scale enterprise systems.

Speakers from several companies such as IBM, Windriver and Redhat presented papers about technologies that support development of solutions on Linux platforms. In addition, the vendors showcased their products during the workshop, where a hands-on programme entitled "Linux Kernel Internals and Device Drivers" was launched.

Dr. Nor Aliah Bt Mohd Zahri, Project Director of The Malaysian Public Sector Open Source Competency Center (OSCC), gave a talk about Malaysian Government's Open Source initiatives, and Prof. David Hacken from Indiana University presented his paper on Open Source platforms.

This workshop focused on the latest trend and development in the Open Source and Linux arena as well as tools, projects, and related research areas in enterprise and embedded space. Industry leaders who are dedicated to Open Source and Linux marketplace also shared valuable market research, hands-on experience and knowledge to help attendees identify how Open Source computing can be applied to achieve organisational objectives.

Topics that were covered during the presentations included:

• Linux transformation - Workbench for Linux projects

• Developing GUI for Linux

• Creating powerful Thin Client systems

• Linux training and device driver internals

• RedHat Linux for enterprise projects

• Linux technology sessions

The event attracted more than 150 participants who represented multinationals, local conglomerates, government agencies, public universities and institutions of higher learning. With the excellent feedback from participants, APIIT and eACT are looking at more activities in Wireless/ZIGBEE/WiMax and Automation Segment areas in Malaysia, and will be expanding these activities to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Started in 2002 under the watchful eyes of Mr. Tony Lee, a practitioner of Taekwondo for 23 years, the APIIT/UCTI Taekwondo Club had since made a commitment to not only practice Taekwondo moves weekly, but also to aim for championship heights.

In 2004, Dr. Andy Seddon joined and became an active member of the club rightaway. Andy has been involved in Taekwondo for 12 years and has had his 2nd Dan black belt. Having assisted at International Taekwondo events in the United Kingdom, Andy is also a senior committee member of the United Taekwondo Association in the UK, and he now trains and mentors the APIIT/UCTI Taekwondo Club.

Under the guidance of Tony and Andy, the club grew from a couple of student members to now a sizable group. Their commitment to championship heights was fulfilled when on 26 June 2005, the first UCTI Taekwondo Intercollegiate Cup Competition was held at UCTI campus in Technology Park Malaysia.

On the morning of the competition, excitement amongst competitors were evident, with teams practicing in corners of the room, getting ready for the proceedings to begin. The event began with a demonstration of some slick moves. One of them leapt over two others and gave a quick kick that broke a board. Another kicked an apple to pieces and this was suspended at the end of a sword!

Teams from six colleges participated in this competition which saw proponents from beginners to black belts demonstrating their punching and kicking skills. When all was tallied, APIIT/UCTI emerged the inaugural championship with 9 Gold, 10 Silver, and 15 Bronze medals.

In October 2004, Lee Ting Rui, a Foundation level student of APIIT, won the prestigious "Anugerah Tangan Emas Perdana Menteri 2004" award in the Network and PC Maintenance category. Competing against 36 other contestants from around Malaysia, Ting Rui was awarded 1st prize by the Prime Minister YAB Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Consequently, he represented Malaysia at the 38th WorldSkills Competition 2005 in Finland in May 2005, where his skills on an international platform were tested.

Recognising the stiff competition and being nervous about his first 'world' competition, Ting Rui nevertheless attained a Top-15 placement in the IT/PC Network Support category.

The 4-day competition drew over 650 young people from 39 member countries who pitted themselves against each other in 39 key trades and technologies categories. There were about 700 experts, associate delegates, and training VIPs from industrial, government, and vocational education organisations. Almost 120,000 visitors attended this spectacular event held at the Fair Centre in Helsinki.

About WorldSkills

WorldSkills is a non-profit membership association open to agencies or bodies with a national responsibility of promoting vocational education and training in their respective countries. WorldSkills provides a unique means of global exchange and comparison of world-class competency standards in the industrial trades and service sectors.

Graduates, together with their families and friends, celebrated success in APIIT May graduation ceremony. The event, held on 29 May 2005 at the Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, saw more than 1,000 people including the Guest of Honour, Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato Seri Shamsuddin Abdul Kadir, Chairman and Founder of Sapura Group, who joined to grace the occasion. Professor Paul Richards, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of External Developments, Staffordshire University, delivered the Graduation Address while Prof. Les Trustrum, Director of Academic Development, APIIT, addressed graduates and guests.

Our graduates received their Staffordshire University Bachelor of Science (Hons) Degrees and Masters Degrees with a sense of excitement, triumph and satisfaction. Most telling of all was the expression of joy on the faces of these graduates as they shared the moment with their parents, families and friends.

Special Awards

Individual awards were given to students who had received outstanding performance in their course of study.

The School of Computing Prizes for Outstanding Student on the Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Computing for 2004/2005 were awarded to Lao Pek Ghee and Sachpal Singh Sandhu.

The School of Computing Prizes for Outstanding Project on the Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Computing for 2004/2005 were awarded to Theswinder Kaur for project Voting System, and to Chin Cae Re for project 3D Environment Chat System.

The School of Computing Prize for Outstanding Project on the Modular Masters Programme for 2004/2005 was awarded to Wee Shang Li.

Professionals with positive values

For the graduates, this occasion marked the beginning of their career and a milestone in their professional growth. For Masters Degree graduates, this occasion was a stepping stone to lifelong learning and career progression. For APIIT, it signalled the successful culmination of its mission to provide students with quality education.

Upon receiving their awards, the graduates now belong to an international community of APIIT Graduates, including graduates from the Institute's overseas centres in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and Australia.

With more than a decade of academic excellence and experience under our belt and thousands of graduates who have gained valuable education, we stand proud of our achievements and ability to make a difference.

APIIT student, Suriadi Lim, has completed his Bachelor of Information Technology degree at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia.

Suriadi was then enrolled as a member of the Golden Key International Honours Society. This is an opportunity by invitation and is awarded to students who are amongst the top 15% in their academic performances. It opens up many opportunities for future employment, networking and scholarships. (Visit www.goldenkey.org)

Suriadi commenced his honours degree study on a scholarship awarded by IBM. His project will be closely linked to researching federated identity management within IBM and he will thus be visiting IBM in Australia's Gold Coast frequently, giving him the opportunity to work with and learn from leading-edge professionals in a world renowned organisation. He also stands high chance for a permanent job offer at the end of the project.

Suriadi certainly is a good example of APIIT's philosophy, "Gets you started, keeps you going, takes you further".

When Kris Uttraphan graduated from APIIT in 2002, he had a vision for his future and had already laid the foundation to turn that vision into reality. He started his company as early as January that year and by September, the company was officially registered as Stampede Solutions Sdn Bhd.

Kris tells us something of the ethos and evolution of his company:

"Stampede Solutions started as a small software development company developing ad-hoc applications to clients' requests. As time passed, the workforce grew and we decided that developing software the way we did was not the right strategy for growth. We did research on potential market for our product lines and narrowed the original list from over 20 products to just 3 - Volare 2005 Debt Collection Management, Gymbo.NET, and Minerva Scheduler System. With this generic classification, we were able to provide value-added services for our clients of knowledge and consultancy industries in a more effective way ".

The success of the 3 products took Stampede Solutions to the international market in early 2004. They have since opened new offices in Thailand and Australia, providing marketing and development support. Its young and dynamic team, good products, and exceptional customer service attribute to Stampede Solutions' success.

"We believe in healthy competition and do not compete with other software companies simply to dominate a bigger market share. Otherwise, we would be too preoccupied keeping pace with competitors and losing sight of our original vision. We set our own pace, and with that, we always keep the customer's best interest in mind in whatever we do. When we started working on Volare 2005 Debt Collection Management System, there were already 3 other key players in the market. Today, we are among the top in the industry with recognition from telcos and banks."

Commenting on his experience while studying at APIIT, Kris adds,

"APIIT provided me with a very strong foundation on the industry. In fact, over 70% of our current work force is APIIT graduates. Discipline and professionalism are vital if we want to pursue further into the IT industry. APIIT's project-based curriculum approach and scenario-based projects give us a head start in the industry."

"As an individual, running this company has given me a better business perspective. Many lessons were learnt the hard way over the years as an entrepreneur myself, and I believe with this, my perspective could be of benefit to new graduates and other young entrepreneurs."

APIIT alumnus, Lee San Cheong, who graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Computing and Information Systems in 1999, is making waves not only at work but also as a volunteer in Malaysian and British community conservation and environmental programmes. Currently with Time Quantum Technologies (TQT), Cheong's responsibilities include administering and customising SharePoint portals based on clients' needs, as well as adding features like Human Resource Management System and web-based financial systems.

Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, she carries with her job a lot of responsibilities, as TQT sells SharePoint portals to both subsidiaries within the UEM Group and external clients. "The real-life experience that I gained through projects during my study at APIIT had enlightened me on how organisations work, thus I had a shorter learning curve at work", quotes Cheong.

Beyond work, Cheong is very active in conservation and environmental activities. Her first calling was in September 2002, when she was selected for a 3-month Raleigh International project in the wilds of Borneo, during which she was involved in high quality and sustainable community and environmental projects, spending several weeks exploring and experiencing one of the most spectacular and remote areas of the world.

Based in the United Kingdom, Raleigh International is a youth development charity which encourages people from various backgrounds and nationalities to discover their full potential by working together on challenging environmental and community projects around the world.

The zest for adventure and the environment continued over to Pulau Redang in September 2004 for the SEATRU (Sea Turtle Research Unit) Volunteer programme of Kustem (www.kustem.edu.my/seatru) to monitor and protect endangered sea turtles of Malaysia.

Cheong says, "Turtles are wonderful creatures and they are a protected wildlife species. Observing, monitoring, tagging, and seeing turtles laying eggs, all within the perfect, laid-back and serene settings of Pulau Redang is an experience in itself. More importantly, being involved in protecting an endangered species brings personal satisfaction". Cheong is looking forward to another SEATRU programme in July.

Did you know that of the seven species of sea turtles present in the world's oceans, four species nest in Malaysia? The Leatherback turtle, the Green turtle, the Hawksbill turtle, and the Olive-Ridley turtle, are all listed as endangered species in the IUCN Red Data Book.

APIIT's Women Futsal team made history by becoming the first to capture the Women's Futsal Trophy at the MAPCU Sports Carnival on 12 June 2005 at the Sports Village, Bukit Jalil.

Teams from eight colleges - KLIUC, HELP, IMU A, IMU B, APIIT, METROPOLITAN, KDU, and TAYLORS, participated in the tournament. Coach Dennis Warren was delighted with the outstanding performance and achievement of the entire team as his target was only to make it to the semi-finals.

The tournament started at 9.30 in the morning following team registration and briefing on the rules of the game. Teams were then divided into two groups.

The preliminary rounds, which were based on round-robin rule, saw some easy wins for the team, but this got tougher towards the semi-final and final rounds. In the first match of group A against KLIUC, APIIT won with a score of 5-0. Aruna, a tough defender, scored 2 goals including a header from a corner kick whilst APIIT's captain, Christine, scored a hat-trick. The second game against Taylor's College saw Christine scoring another hat-trick with the scoreline reading 3-1. APIIT went on to top Group A after beating IMU a 2-0, with a header goal by Aruna and the other goal by the captain.

In the semi-finals, APIIT played IMU B and their teamwork saw them beating the future doctors with a 2-0. Goals were scored by Christine. The final match between IMU A and APIIT was an intense and tough one, but APIIT made it by a 2-1. Goals were again scored by the captain.

This was a sterling performance indeed for the APIIT Women Futsal team. They now look forward to success in forthcoming tournaments.