Pusat Pengajian Sains Komputer merakamkan ucapan tahniah kepada Ts. Dr. Mohd Heikal Husin di atas pengiktirafan sebagai Teknologis Profesional oleh Lembaga Teknologis Malaysia (MBOT) berkuatkuasa 19 Februari 2021. Dengan pengiktirafan ini, beliau kini membawa gelaran Ts. Dr. Mohd Heikal Husin dalam bidang teknologi Information & Computing Technology (IT).

8 December 2020 – Naib Canselor USM, Profesor Dr. Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan telah mengadakan lawatan ke Pusat Pengajian Sains Komputer pada hari ini. Lawatan selama sejam ini meliputi bilik-bilik pengajaran yang telah siap proses pengubahsuaian. Mengiringi Naib Canselor adalah Dekan Pusat Pengajian Sains Komputer, Profesor Bahari Belaton.

Teks: Ahmad Anas Ismail
Gambar: Jasmi Che Isa

03 December 2020 - On behalf of the School of Computer Sciences, we would like to welcome our new academic member, Ts.Dr. Anusha a/p Achuthan. Her specializations are Computer Vision, Image Processing, Medical Image Analysis and Artificial Intelligence. She can be reached by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Welcome to the team, Ts. Dr. Anusha.

02 Oktober 2020 - Pusat Pengajian Sains Komputer ingin mengucapkan syabas dan tahniah kepada Dr. Jasy Liew Suet Yan di atas penerimaan Skim Geran Penyelidikan Transdisiplinari (TRGS) . Semoga kejayaan ini memberi inspirasi kepada penyeleidik lain dalam memartabatkan penyelidikan Pusat Pengajian Sains Komputer dan USM.

PENANG, 24 November 2020 - Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) researchers once again showed their research prowess when they bagged 7 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Special Awards in the recently concluded International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) 2020, held online for the first time due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 outbreak.

According to the Director of USM Centre for Innovation and Consultation, Professor Ts. Dr. Hanafi Ismail, this feat means that USM maintained a 100% victory, repeating last year’s achievement when all of its innovations/research products entered for the competition was awarded a medal.

“The victory this time is even sweeter as a majority of them won gold medals and two received special recognition awards, despite being under unfamiliar territory where the entire competition was conducted online for the first time.

"For this edition, participants were required to submit a video to demonstrate and explain their innovations, and this is enough to pose a challenge to our researchers, especially the younger researchers to deliver the best possible in terms of understanding and impact for online judging," said Hanafi.

He added that the videos will be made available on ITEX Online until March 2021, and the organiser will provide the platform for easy access and browsing to any potential industry player.

Online pre-judging of the ITEX Competition took place from 12 - 16 November, followed by the final judging session on 20 November by a selected panel of judges and the winners were announced in a virtual ceremony on 21 November on this platform.

Credit: USM News Portal

Judges came from various fields including industry partners, universities, research institutes, inventors, and the corporate sector.

It was reported that the online edition of ITEX this year became a new option in view of the worldwide travel restrictions due to the pandemic, and it has garnered a very good response from budding inventors from all over the world.

Inventors from 21 institutions of higher learning, 5 research institutions and one corporate organisation spanning 15 countries such as Australia, Canada, Croatia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam and Malaysia have gathered online to showcase close to 500 inventions on this platform.

The list of USM researchers and their innovations:

GOLD

1. Dr. Jong Hui Ying (School of Humanities) - Psycholinguistics Software Tool

2. Dr. Manmeet Kaur A/P Mahinderjit Singh (School of Computer Sciences) - App-Sensors Mobile Data Collector (AMoDAC)

3. Prof. Ir. Dr. Mariatti Jaafar (School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering) - Eco-CNT Ink

4. Prof. Ir. Dr. Srimala Sreekantan (School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering) - Microbuster

5. Prof. Dr. Wan Faisham Nu'man Wan Ismail (School of Medical Sciences) - Mobile USM Custom Fit Wrist Brace

6. Dr. Muhammad Hafiz Hanafi (School of Medical Sciences) - S-Lock

7. Dr. Mohd Hazwan Hussin (School of Chemical Sciences) - Ligno-X2: An Oil Palm Biomass Based Industrial Coolant

SILVER

1. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Salman Abu Mansor (School of Mechanical Engineering) - i-Test CAD

2. Dr. Zuraida Zainun (School of Health Sciences) - Bal Ex Quick Balance Skeleton Tracking

3. Dr. Mohd Sharizal Abdul Aziz (School of Mechanical Engineering) - i-Clever Smart Hand-Controlled for Disabled Driver

SPECIAL AWARDS

1. Homedec - Prof. Ir. Dr. Srimala Sreekantan: Microbuster

2. Best Women Invention - Dr. Muhammad Hafiz Hanafi: S-Lock

The International Invention, Innovation & Technology Exhibition (ITEX) is an annual exhibition which features the best innovations from Asia and beyond.

Initiated by the Malaysian Invention and Design Society (MINDS) in 1989 as MINDEX, today ITEX is the region’s leading exhibition to showcase new inventions, technologies and products, targeted at aspiring inventors from all walks of life to get recognised and to present their creations with the aim of securing investment, manufacturing and commercialisation prospects, and partners.

The exhibition features inventions across more than twenty categories relating to innovation or technology.

For the record, ITEX is Malaysia’s longest-running invention, innovation and technology exhibition.

PENANG, 24 October 2020 - Two undergraduates from the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Computer Sciences were among the first batch of 14 students shortlisted to undergo the Artificial Intelligence Graduate Employability Training (Ai-GET) at the Skymind City Campus, here in Georgetown. PENANG, 24 October 2020 - Two undergraduates from the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Computer Sciences were among the first batch of 14 students shortlisted to undergo the Artificial Intelligence Graduate Employability Training (Ai-GET) at the Skymind City Campus, here in Georgetown. 

Both students, Muhammad Amal Syahmi Sabudin, 24, and Siti Farah Haida Raklan Alhadad, 24, are fully sponsored by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) and are currently following the 20-day training programme specifically designed by Skymind Holdings Berhad which started on 12 October 2020.  

According to Skymind Holdings Berhad content specialist, Yu Yuen Hern, Ai-GET is conducted for the first time with the aim of upskilling graduates from all over the nation into AI-ready talent, hence ensuring a continuous supply of highly-skilled AI talents for the ever demanding job market. 
“Essentially, the programme is separated into three phases: 15-day face-to-face training (12-26 October), 4-day intensive tutoring (30 October, 2-4 November) and 1-day certification examination (12 November).

“Throughout the 15-day face-to-face training, all trainees are exposed to the following topics: Machine Learning and Deep Learning; Deep Learning 4java; Hyperparameter Tuning; Convolutional Neural Networks and Recurrent Neural Networks; Image Processing and Image Classification; Object Detection, Segmentation and Facial Recognition with Deep Learning,” he explained.  

Yu added that at the end of the training, the trainees will be required to complete a capstone project related to computer vision in order to demonstrate their ability to apply the knowledge and skills learned throughout the training. 
“The post-training intensive tutoring is geared to prepare the candidates towards a certification exam at the end of the programme,” he said.  

The USM Media and Public Relations Centre (MPRC) caught up with Muhammad Amal Syahmi and Siti Farah Haida recently to ask how each of them are coping with the training programme so far, what are some of their expectations, and so forth. 

The following are excerpts from the email interview: 

MPRC: How did it feel when you came to know that you have been selected as one of the trainees in the Ai-GET programme?  

Amal Syahmi: It was a mix of excitement, joy and relief all rolled into one to have been selected as one of the fourteen finalists to join this Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme. The selection process was very competitive, and I am thankful that I managed to get through it. A big thank you to Skymind and MARA for providing me this opportunity to join this awesome programme.

Siti Farah: I am very grateful to be selected as one of the participants in this training programme. I would like to thank USM and my School (School of Computer Sciences) for providing me the initial information about the programme. 

MPRC: What are some new skills or knowledge that you have picked up during the 15-day face-to-face training?  

Amal Syahmi: All the knowledge and skills that I learnt in the training are new to me. I majored in Distributed System and Security and did some part-time jobs on mobile app development. It never crossed my mind before to learn AI, Deep Learning and Computer Vision, but I am beginning to fall in love with these fields.

Siti Farah: Originally my major is in Distributed System and Security. Thus, this training programme in AI is an entirely new field to me. In those 15 days, I learned a lot about the fundamentals of Machine Learning and Deep Learning. We were also taught the basics on how to create and evaluate models for Image Classification, Object Detection and Image Segmentation. I also did a group project on Object Detection during this programme. It was pretty exciting. 

MPRC: What do you expect to gain from the training? How far do you think the training programme will give you an edge in the job market?   

Amal Syahmi: No doubt the knowledge and skills that I learnt in this programme will improve my employability as they are very useful and have high demands in the current industries. It has given me some added-value knowledge to what I have learnt in my degree programme. Deep Learning enables a machine to learn by itself with minimum human intervention. It will give a lot of benefits for doing predictions and analytics.

Siti Farah: I hope to apply what I had learnt when I start working. Currently, AI technology is a very new field in Malaysia. So, this training programme does provide a lot of opportunities for graduates, especially those specialising in computer sciences to be employed as AI engineers. As it is a very new and highly advanced technology, I am sure there is a high demand for AI experts in Malaysia.  

MPRC: Now that you have graduated, what is your future plan? Do you intend to further your studies or find a job first?  

Amal Syahmi: I would prefer to gain some real-world experiences from a working environment first for several years before I go back to my studies. 

Siti Sarah: I plan to work first to gain some working experience and widen my knowledge especially on the realities of work. It would also allow me to pursue my ambition as a computer science specialist.

Text: Tan Ewe Hoe/Photo: Courtesy of Skymind 

Credit : USM News Portal