Inter College Cyber Games was held on the 23rd and 24th of April 2005. This event, the first of its kind at APIIT, was a computer gaming tournament whereby participants from various colleges pit their skills, teamwork and sheer determination against each other for attractive prizes. The event took place at APIIT TPM campus for the duration of it.

Students from APIIT, HELP Institute, International Medical University (IMU), Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU) and Taylor's College were invited to participate. They were encouraged to bring along their friends and college mates to support them and to be involved in the various activities.

'Dare to be digital' competition application is now open for all APIIT students and recent graduates. Established by University of Abertay, Dundee, the competition is for final year university and college students to develop ground breaking games for all platforms, including flash and mobile phone games. Winners will receive a 'Dare' scholarship which includes a 10-week funded placement in Scotland, return flights and accommodation and 500 Pounds pocket money. The closing date for the application is 31 March 2005.

APIIT welcomes Ankit Fadia at APIIT TPM for a 'meet and greet' session on Friday, 5 February 2005.

Ankit Fadia, 19 years old, is an independent computer security and digital intelligence consultant with definitive experience in the field of Internet security. He has authored five internationally best-selling books on numerous topics related to Computer Security that have been widely appreciated by both professionals and industry leaders the world over. His books have sold a record 100,000 copies across the globe, have been translated into Korean, Portuguese and Polish, and are also being used as reference textbooks in some of the most prestigious academic institutions in Asia. Fadia is also a widely recognised Cyber terrorism expert.

Fadia is however, more well known for his significant work in the fields of digital intelligence, security consultancy and training. In November 2001, Fadia was asked by a classified intelligence agency to break an encrypted message sent by one of Osama Bin Laden's men. Since then, Fadia has been involved in numerous classified projects relating to International Security and Computer Networks.

The Open Source Community (OSC) in Malaysia ran a membership drive amongst our students from 16 to18 February at APIIT TPM.

This was managed by ELX Sdn Bhd, a company run by a former APIIT student, which is very much involved in Open Source developments in Malaysia. They had, since December 2004, they have set up a number OSC clubs in other institutions, and were keen to extend this network to our own students to enhance awareness and involvement of students in Open Source activities in Malaysia.

Grief dwelled in the hearts of our entire nation towards the end of the year. Instead of cherishing the holiday season, we were all shaken by the impact of the tsunami, which took thousands of lives as well as belongings.

With this in mind, the Student Services in APIIT put their hands together to raise fund in the form of cash as well as other deliverables. Fund-raising began on 30 December 2004, and continued successfully, eventually collecting a total of RM29,000, and numerous items from food to clothing and blankets. Apart from the overall collection, APIIT management donated a heart-felt contribution of RM25,000 to the Ministry of Higher Education, and on 17 January 2005 the students contributed a further RM4,000. Collecting only took about a week, thanks entirely to the dedicated cooperation of the APIIT students and management.

The duration for the collection took about a week through sheer cooperation from APIIT students as well as the management.

APIIT's finest attended the most memorable event of their lives. A time to rejoice and celebrate, a time to reflect upon fond friendships and all the hard work put in by the graduates, lecturers and parents, and a time to share their success and achievements with parents, friends and relatives. This was the memorable scene at the recent graduation held on Sunday, 12 December 2004 at the Renaissance Hotel KL. A total of 1,247 graduates and guests attended the graduation ceremony. This was the second graduation ceremony for the year, following a similar event in May 2004.

The joyous ceremony witnessed 380 graduates (Degrees and Masters) out of a total of 488 graduates who graduated, receiving their scrolls in the presence of more then 900 guests and family members. Gracing the occasion was Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dato Shamsuddin Abdul Kadir, Chairman and Founder of Sapura Group. Staffordshire University's delegation comprised of Professor Peter Reynolds - Director of the International Office, Staffordshire University, Mrs Liz Hathaway  - Faculty Head of Partnerships, Faculty of Computing Engineering and Technology, Staffordshire University, Mr Glyn James - Faculty Partnerships Administrator, Faculty of Computing Engineering and Technology, Staffordshire University. Also present at the graduation ceremony were senior members of Sapura Group who graced the occasion.

It was indeed a night of triple achievement to be proud of for the Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT) at the APICTA (Asia Pacific ICT Awards) 2004 Night held at the Marriott Putrajaya. APIIT's technology solutions, 'Screenshield Suite' and 'iSMART' achieved the Top Awards respectively while 'CARPET' received a Merit Award. In addition, 2 student projects, System.Election.Gov and Personalised e-Book Creator/Editor, were finalists in the Best of Student Projects category. Overall, it was an outstanding achievement amongst all institutions of higher learning - private or public. The successful technology solutions were the outputs of the Research and Development team and the Commercialisation unit. The two Top Award winners will now represent Malaysia at the international level APICTA awards in Hong Kong from December 8-10, 2004.

Guest of Honour, Deputy Prime Minister YAB Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak, presented the Awards to Dr Parmjit Singh, Managing Director of APIIT. Gracing the event was YB Dato' Dr Jamaludin Mohd Jarjis, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Senior Officers of the MDC and captains of industry.

Elated by the overall success, Dr. Parmjit said, "We are indeed honoured by the recognition from industry. We are equally proud to support the call by the Government to institutions of higher learning to increase efforts on R&D and Innovation. This triple achievement is testimony of APIIT's commitment to R & D, which have focused on technologies with wide application potential and social impact. The Screenshield Suite (Screenshield & iSHIELD), an anti-pornography software solution, is a fine example of this commitment. Another solution, iSMART, was the outcome of APIIT's own intellectual capital and extensive expertise in the education and training industry. iSMART is a resource planning and scheduling solution which enhances efficiency in educational institutions".

For APIIT, developing these applications was a challenge, but from the keen response for its technology solutions in Malaysia, the Middle East countries, Pakistan and Thailand to date, the Institute has every reason to hold its head high for taking ideas and innovations from research and development to commercialisation.

Award Winning - Technology Solutions

The MSC-APICTA Awards represent the initiative of the MDC to showcase Malaysia's best and most innovative ICT products. It also recognises outstanding achievements in ICT, of individuals, technopreneurs, students, SMEs and organisations with operations in Malaysia.

The MSC-APICTA Awards represent the initiative of the MDC to showcase Malaysia's best and most innovative ICT products. It also provides recognition to outstanding achievements in ICT, of individuals, technopreneurs, students, SMEs and organisations with operations in Malaysia.

APIIT has participated and supported this event since the inaugural event in 1999 and has achieved success in various award categories each year since.

In October 2004, APIIT was officially invited to be upgraded to a University College by the Ministry of Higher Education. After submitting the necessary documentation to the Ministry, APIIT TPM was officially renamed in January 2005 as Asia Pacific University College of Technology and Innovation, or "UCTI" for short.

This is a very exciting development for all APIIT staff, students and Alumni. It signifies the Government's recognition of APIIT's excellent track record in getting thousands of technology and business professionals all over the world started on their careers ever since its establishment in 1993.

All courses which are currently offered by APIIT will continue to be offered by UCTI. So the status of any student enrolled to APIIT's programmes is not affected. In addition, KL City campus will continue to operate as it currently does until UCTI starts to operate from its permanent campus in Subang in a couple of years time.

Let's celebrate this momentous occasion together by looking forward to taking APIIT's legacy of excellence in higher education to even greater heights!

An honourable achievement was made by Lee Ting Rui who received the prestigious 'Anugerah Tangan Emas Perdana Menteri 2004' award from the Prime Minister YAB Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at a prize giving ceremony held at the Sheraton Imperial on 11th October 2004. He contested under the category of network and PC maintenance, which saw 36 other contestants from Malaysia.

Ting Rui is no stranger to the competition and had secured 3rd placing in 2003. This time he was provided additional support by his mentors - Ms. Thanaletchumi, who is a Networking lecturer, and Mr. Nicholas S., a Corporate Trainer.

Before entering the finals, which lasted 3 days, Ting Rui had to endure a series of preliminary competitions. According to the competition specifications, contestants had to set up and troubleshoot a network system based on the Windows and Linux platforms. Ting Rui obviously impressed the judges, and for his winning efforts he received a cheque for RM5,000 together with a Certificate and a Trophy Award. Ting Rui now has the privilege of representing Malaysia at the World Skills Competition 2005 in Finland and the ASEAN Skills Competition 2006 in Brunei.

About the "Pertandingan Kemahiran Malaysia"

The Ministry of Works organised the competition known as 'Pertandingan Kemahiran Malaysia' to tap the skills of Malaysians in various vocational areas. There were 29 different categories, which included ICT, electrical and electronics, mechatronics and others. The objective of this competition and is to encourage and recognise the importance of vocational and technical skills in the development of Malaysia as a repository of world-class vocational skills.

The PIKOM Computimes ICT Awards 2004 were announced on Friday 17th December 2004 at the awards dinner at Istana Hotel where Datuk Kong Cho Ha, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology & Innovations presented the awards. The ScreenShield won the product of the year2004 award at the ceremony.

PIKOM, the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry, Malaysia is the association representing the information and communications technology (ICT) industry in Malaysia. Its membership currently stands at 450 comprising companies involved in a whole spectrum of ICT products and services, which commands 80 per cent of the total ICT trade in Malaysia.

This prestigious award was initiated in 1989 by PIKOM and Computimes, the bi-weekly ICT section of the New Straits Times to show utmost appreciation and to give due credit and recognition to ICT companies, ICT users as well as local hardware, software and content developers who excel in their respective field.

The PIKOM Computimes ICT Awards 2004 were announced on Friday, 17 December 2004 at the awards dinner at Istana Hotel where Datuk Kong Cho Ha, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovations, presented the awards. 'ScreenShield' won The Product of the Year 2004 award at the ceremony.

PIKOM, the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry, Malaysia, is the association representing the information and communications technology (ICT) industry in Malaysia. Its membership currently stands at 450, and comprise companies involved in a whole spectrum of ICT products and services, which together command 80 percent of the total ICT trade in Malaysia.

This prestigious award was initiated in 1989 by PIKOM and Computimes, the bi-weekly ICT section of the New Straits Times, to show the utmost appreciation of, and to give due credit and recognition to, ICT companies, ICT users, and local hardware, software and content developers who excel in their respective fields.

APIIT's entry, 'Screenshield', an anti-pornography software solution, made it to the final 12 of the regional Asian Innovation Awards (AIA). The Awards, organised by the Far Eastern Economic Review and the Singapore Economic Development Board, drew competitive and innovative entries from around the region. Guest of Honour for the occasion was Singapore's President, S R Nathan. For APIIT, recognition was all the more significant as it was the only Malaysian finalist.

The Asian Innovation Awards

The Asian Innovation Awards, now in their seventh year, is Asia's premier honour for individuals and companies who come up with new ideas, methods or technologies, or apply existing knowledge to create new ways to improve the quality of life or enhance productivity. The Awards attract world-changing ideas from the backyard to the laboratory that can potentially improve the quality of life. Entries can come from anywhere, from business and academic institutions to science and agriculture.

Friday, 27 August 2005 proved to be a splendid evening of entertainment and celebration as APIITians and their families joined together to celebrate in a spirit of multi-cultural harmony.

An undercurrent of excitement was bubbling away all day in the atrium of APIIT TPM as preparations got underway for the evening celebration to mark the 47th anniversary of Merdeka.

The informal atmosphere gave everyone the opportunity to admire each other's National Dress. Some even chose to wear the costumes of another culture. Not only were all the National groups well represented, but our International students and staff and their guests, representing around 20 other countries, entered fully into the spirit of things. The diversity of costumes and sumptuous fabrics was a stunning spectacle.

The delightful night began with some mesmerising tricks by a magician followed by the launch of the new SARC Logo.

Then it was show time! We were entertained to a very professional presentation, which commenced with a fashion parade, showcasing a wide range of traditional costumes and modern dress with a cultural twist, elegantly modelled by students from KL City and TPM campus. The architectural features of the atrium were used as the catwalk, to very imaginative effect.

The fast-paced show included superb singing voices, marvellous musicians, delightful dances and dancers, and surprising extras from some sporting staff and students, and much, much more. The pace, planning, special lighting effects, sound, colours, surprising extras, all made for a great production.

For the finale, the organisers distributed the Jalur Gemilang to the crowd. A sea of flags waved exuberantly to the tune of "Heal the World". Everyone sang along with great gusto to express the feeling of pride in being part of the melting pot of APIIT and of Malaysia.

Everyone involved with the event did a superb job in the spirit of national and multicultural pride. This was the first major event for the new SARC committee and they are to be congratulated wholeheartedly.