SEGi secures quality IT links in partnership with Abertay Dundee

SEGi University College has further strengthened the worth and international recognition of its homegrown programmes through an academic arrangement with the University of Abertay Dundee (UAD), one of United Kingdom's leading universities.
Under the arrangement, students graduating from SEGi University College Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons) programme will also receive a separate degree parchment issued by UAD, apart from their SEGi degree parchment.
UAD has a long history as one of Scotland's leading universities. Being among Scotland's top three institutions for research funding, UAD has an entrenched reputation for professionalism in offering career-driven higher education. It received top ranking by UK's Quality Assurance Agency when 79 per cent of graduates gave the "thumbs up" for the university's teaching methodologies and learning approaches.
All of the university's researchers are also involved in teaching and developing courses, giving students the chance to learn from world leaders every day.
Combine this with the fact that the university has an average of one lecturer for every 17 students and you have one of the best dedicated universities in Scotland.
In addition, the degree was recently boosted with IT Security components of the Certified Ethical Hacker programme through a collaboration with the EC-Council Academy.
"Cyber attacks are frequent and efficient. There are financial frauds, data breaches, cyber threats and attack news reported daily. Cyber attacks towards organisations increases steadily over the years, even with increased IT infrastructure investment every year.
"Organisations today are taking note on the importance of well- trained IT Security professionals on maintaining and securing the business and reputation of an organisation.

Skills, Usage and Perception of ICT and Their Impact on E-Learning in an Open and Distance Learning Institution (Open Universiy malaysia)

Today’s diverse learners demand that education be delivered in a flexible mode to suit their learning needs. To meet these needs, higher education institutions (HEIs) are turning to information and communication technology (ICT) as an enabling factor to allow for greater flexibility and accessibility to learners, particularly working adults who have multiple commitments. ICT has the potential to provide choices, cater for learner diversity and stimulate and engage learners. In this regard, HEIs are spending huge sums of money on ICT hardware, software and Netware to ensure that learners are provided the best e-learning facilities possible. Despite the best of intentions and efforts and educators’ belief about the value of ICT, the issue of learners’ perceptions, skills and use of ICT in learning need to be investigated to ensure that HEIs’ technology expectations are met. Learners differ in their basic learning styles and individual preferences and this has a significant effect on their willingness to embrace ICT in their learning.
A majority of today’s learners are technology savvy but they are not necessarily information savvy. For example, they can text messages and download music but are often at a loss when selecting appropriate websites and creating persuasive digital presentations. To function in an information society, learners need ICT literacy. It includes ability to use technology as a tool to research, evaluate, organize and communicate information. Learners need good ICT literacy skills to succeed in their academic course, when they have to carry out (on their own) tasks such as checking their financial, administrative and academic status. They also need the skills to produce documents with word processors, to present project papers or short talks using a software application such as PowerPoint or through a personal website, to retrieve information from the digital library and Internet, to communicate electronically with staff and peers and to download and upload files. Upon their graduation, the skills have to be a part of them in order to compete in today’s technology-driven and information-rich work environment.
On average, Open University Malaysia (OUM) spends 15% of its annual budget (operating as well capital expenditure) on ICT-related departments, namely, ICT Services, Centre for Instructional Design and Technology (CIDT) and Digital or Online Library. These expenditures are intended to provide the highest quality ICT infrastructure to deliver its academic programmes effectively and efficiently. Being an open and distance learning (ODL) institution utilizing a blended mode of delivery, OUM relies heavily on the capability of its ICT infrastructure to effectively provide quality education to its learners at any time and in any place. An excellent ICT infrastructure will most likely enhance learners’ interest and motivation to use ICT in their learning.
This paper aims to create a substantial baseline of data about ICT skills, usage and attitudes of learners at OUM. This data and the instrument used were intended to provide a basis for benchmarking between HEIs and track changes over a period of time. This paper also seeks to determine the factors influencing the use of e-learning at Skills, Usage and Perception of ICT and ASEAN Journal of Open and Distance Learning
Their Impact on E-Learning in an ODL Institution OUM. An understanding of these factors will enable OUM to identify the necessary initiatives to enhance learners’ skills and use of ICT in learning.

Students, come ICT cruise with Mobile Raider (HELP university College)

UNIVERSITY and college students in the Klang Valley will be the first to experience Mobile Raider, an interactive infotainment campaign aimed at encouraging the youth to embrace the latest in mobile and information technology.
Conducted by Maxis Communications Berhad and PC.com, the campaign's highlight will be the Mobile Raider four-wheel drive cruiser, which has been designed to showcase consumer devices, solutions and services available in the market today.
With an initial target to make stops in 50 educational institutions nationwide, the Mobile Raider crew will host games with prizes such as MP3 players, thumb drives, mobile passes, computer speakers and modems to be won. The campaign will be enhanced with information booths to showcase Maxis' new third-generation products and demonstrate the latest mobile services as well.
Besides that, Maxis will be conducting career development talks on job opportunities in the telecommunications sector. It will also work with PC.com to host a series of talks on the fundamentals of information and communications technology.
The Mobile Raider's first stops at Sunway University College, Help University College and SEGi College Malaysia last week saw participation from both students and faculty members.

KEM PENINGKATAN ICT PERINGKAT NEGERI MELAKA 2011 (MMU)

25-27/2/2011 – University Multimedia (MMU) dengan kerjasama  Jabatan Pelajaran Melaka telah menganjurkan kem peningkatan ICT. Sebanyak 500 pelajar dari pelbagai sekolah terlibat dalam menjayakan kem ini. SMKDARY telah menghantar sebanyak 10 orang wakil terdiri dari pelajar ICT dari Tingkatan 5. Kem yang berlangsung selama 3 hari ini memberi  telah banyak pendedahan tentang ilmu ICT kepada para pelajar yang terlibat. Pelajar  SMKDARY telah berjaya merangkul gelaran sebagai peserta terbaik sepanjang kem tersebut.

Tahniah dan syabas diucapkan kepada peserta yang berjaya…

I-City has what it takes to attract foreign investments (Monash University sunway Campus Malaysia)

By THE STAR
I-CITY, a RM2bil knowledge-community project initiated by I-Bhd has the potential of attracting a lot of foreign investments as well as tourists. As such its status as Selangor’s first Cybercentre with MSC-status should be further promoted.
This was the consensus of several delegates and fund managers at the recent 2nd International Symposium on Knowledge Cities held in Shah Alam last week. About 250 delegates, half of whom were from Arab countries attended the three-day symposium opened by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on July 16.
A special investors’ dialogue organised by the Selangor State Investment Centre was also held in conjunction with the symposium. Selangor state executive councillor Datuk Tang See Hang who is also chairman of investment, industry and trade chaired the dialogue.
Representatives of international foreign investment companies such as UBS AG, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Goldman Sachs and FPD Savills International attended the dialogue.
The delegates and fund managers were impressed with the project (a model of i-City was exhibited at the symposium’s venue at the Concorde Hotel in Shah Alam), as they felt it was truly unique.
JP Morgan Chase’s managing director David G. Fernandez said as an MSC-status development, companies would be able to bring in skilled foreign workers as well as hire local knowledge workers.
He is also pleased with i-City’s strategic location and that I-Bhd was able to differentiate its development from other special zones, such as the Iskandar Development Region and the Northern Corridor Economic Region, all of which would help the nation’s economic growth.
UBS AG executive director Paul Stefansson said i-City was well located and near universities with access to highways.
On the feasibility of relaxing current restrictions on entertainment, he felt that it would help but was not a critical issue.
Regroup & Associates Sdn Bhd executive chairman Christopher Boyd said, as i-City would have an expatriate community, it would be helpful if these foreigners could have a bit of night life such as karaoke, wine bars and some entertainment.
“This is part of the expatriate culture. For that to happen, the current licensing for this type of entertainment should be loosen up,” he said, adding that it would also add greater value to i-City and help put Malaysia on the world ICT map.
A foreign delegate who declined to be named said i-City’s 72 acres were small in relation to the state of Selangor but its economic contribution could be significant.
The fact that a special dialogue was held to brief and “woo” the fund managers showed that the Selangor state government is serious in promoting i-City which according to Tang would create jobs for 50,000 knowledge workers.
“There will also be a multiplier effect for both the business and residential community in Shah Alam. Many businesses will be set up to support the tenants and residents at i-City,” he said, adding that a number of international investors had shown keen interest to participate in this development.
“These ventures vary from providing managed services to the whole site to being co-developers for the shopping mall,” he added.
Tang also announced that all purchases of leasehold properties in Shah Alam would now be handled by the land office instead of having to go through the state exco.
He also said the Selangor state government would study a suggestion that priority be given to ICT companies located in i-City when it came to government projects.
Meanwhile it is also felt that these foreign ICT companies should be able to enjoy all the incentives under the MSC Bill of Guarantee, as i-City is a MSC area.
As such i-City will have to offer both financial incentives and a cosmopolitan lifestyle.
Thus Shah Alam can enjoy the economic benefits of i-City while limiting the socio-cultural influences to a small area.
A case in point is China whose special zones in Shenzhen and Pudong have proven to be very successful in attracting foreign direct investments. These zones have been the catalyst in China’s economic development and it has also allowed the government to control the socio-cultural influences of these foreign investments.
Professor Mahendhiran Nair, director of research at the Monash University, Sunway Campus in Petaling Jaya, said people today wanted broadband connectivity not only in their homes and offices but also in shopping centres and this was what i-City could offer.
Meanwhile, Shah Alam mayor Haji Mazalan Mohd Nor is currently in China, leading a delegation to visit several cities including Shanghai to learn about such economic zones. City officials would then decide on the proposed Shah Alam ICT Zone where the i-City project is sited.

Use of information and communication technology by medical students:a survey of VSS Medical College, Burla, India

Introduction New technology has brought significant changes in education (Bates, 2005). Medical education has also undergone profound changes due torecent technological advancements (Harden, 2002; Davis and Harden, 2001). Medical schools, particularly in the developed countries, have invested heavily in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT),not only to deliver education, but also to improve the quality of services that health professionals provide. Developing countries like India, where a scarcity of human resources in the health sector is a serious problem, can be a particular beneficiary of ICT-mediated education. Lack of educational institutions and qualified medical educators, poor distribution of facilities and poor access to the latest educational infrastructure are some of the issues to be addressed to improve the quality of medical education in developing countries. Advanced technology can address at least some of these problems. In fact, international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have acknowledged ICT as a useful tool to address education in health care sector in developing countries (WHO, 2005; Drury, 2005). United Nations Millennium Development Goals have articulated the significance of the use of ICT to address education and health issues (UN Millennium Development Goal, 2004).

Aims and Objectives The primary purpose of the present study is to investigate use of the state-of-the-art ICT in library of VSS Medical College, Burla. Inaddition, the study also aims to achieve the following objectives: * To explore the role of ICT in medical education and research; * To assess the use of electronic information resources by medicalstudents; * To identify and analyze specific factors that have hindered the use of electronic information resources by medical students; * To examine students' attitudes towards use of ICT in medical education and research; * To suggest measures for improvement of existing ICT-based resources and services in the medical library. Methodology The study used a questionnaire, with 32 questions spread over eight sections: (A) General profile of the respondent, (B) Attitude towards ICT, (C) Use of ICT, (D) ICT enabled teaching and research, (E) ICT training provision, (F) ICT skill of medical students,(G) Access toMedical Information on the Web, and (H) Constraints. To facilitate quantification and analysis of data, mainly close-ended questions wereused along with checklists and rating scales. To capture a response and to have fewer missing responses, options such as "no opinion", "don't know", and "don't know about it" are also included. A random sample of 150 (25%) of 600 medical students of VSS Medical College, Burla, was selected and questionnaires were distributed among them. Of those, 128 (85.33%) questionnaires were returned completed. Literature Review Asqari and Haywood (1997) assessed the attitude of Edinburgh University medical students toward computers and found that 86 percent agreed that computer skills will be beneficial to them in their future career, and that 62 percent wanted a structured course in computer use. Another study by Nurjahan and others (2002) was undertaken to obtain a self-reported assessment of the use of ICT by medical students atthe International Medical University, Malaysia. The survey revealed that 27 students (5.7 percemt) did not use a computer either in the university or at home. Most students surveyed reported adequate skillsat word processing (55 percent), email (78 percent) and web searching (67 percent). The study suggested formal inclusion of ICT instruction in the teaching of undergraduate medicine, to enhance medical students' ability to acquire, appraise, and use information to solve clinical and other problems. Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) Medical College and the Library In Orissa, there are three government medical colleges situated inthree different regions of the state. In the east, the "Sriram Chandra Bhanja (SCB)" Medical College at Cuttack started in 1944; in the south, "Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati (MKCG)" Medical College at Berhampur started in 1962, and in the west the "Veer Surendra Sai" (VSS) Medical College at Burla began in July 1959. The VSS Medical College primarily serves the health care needs of western Orissa. At present, the college has 7,020 square feet, with 27 departments and 635 MBBS students, 137 post-graduate students, 220 doctors, and 200 other employees. This college is affiliated with Sambalpur University and isfinanced by the State Government. It also receives occasional grantsfrom WHO for its overall development. Data Analysis and Discussion Attitude of Medical Students towards ICT The survey found that a majority of respondents believe that ICT is essential for medical education. In order to assess the attitude ofmedical students towards ICT, they were asked whether they felt thatmedical education would not be effective without ICT. Nearly 80 percent of respondents agree that medical education and research will not be effective unless ICT tools and techniques are used in the educational process. Further, it is evident from this data that the students realize that ICT tools and techniques should becomea part of medical education. Need for ICT enabled library facilities Students were asked to put forth their recommendations about ICT facilities. Three quarters of respondents recommend a library website for remote access to library resources and services. More than 60 percent recommend e-resources and an equal number recommend networking with other libraries and information system. Use of ICT by Medical students The state of computer use by students is not encouraging. Nearly half use a computer at least monthly, with another quarter weekly and only about 20 percent using a computer daily. Nearly 10 percent neveruse a computer, which is quite discouraging. Although the students consider computers an integral part of medical education, their overall use is infrequent. Use of Internet More than 80 percent of respondents use the Internet. The table summarizes the purpose and frequency. Most students use the Internet weekly to send and receive email and chat with friends online. More than one quarter, however, use the Internet for accessing reading material recommended by their teachers. [GRAPHIC 4 OMITTED] ICT Literacy of Medical Students Of the 128 students who responded to this survey, nearly all are at least "somewhat confident" about using the mouse and keyboard. Surprisingly, there are still 3 (2.34%) medical students who are not confident either in handling the mouse or the keyboard of a computer. About one third of the students are not confident in using any word processing program. Nearly all are confident about web searching, and a majority are able to deal with computerized patient records. Constraints in use of ICT More than half of respondents stated that application of ICT not present in their course syllabus, with a nearly equal number who saw alack of support from IT staff. Half indicated lack of time, and significant numbers also mentioned the lack of computer labs and a campusnetwork, with a smaller number mentioning a lack of availability of e-resources in the library.

ICT centres to lift African poverty (LIMKOKWING)

Limkokwing Institute for Tomorrow (LIFT) is investing RM50 million to set up ICT training centres across Africa over the next 10 years.
Funded by the Limkokwing Foundation for Creative Excellence, LIFT will work with local communities and political leaders to manage the centres that would provide free training.
LIFT president Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing said it planned to train a million Africans.
He said there were also plans to build more Limkokwing University campuses in Africa following the successful setting up of the Malaysian-brand private university in Botswana.
Lim, who is the founder of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, was a panelist at the Langkawi International Dialogue’s session on Poverty Eradication through Capacity Building.