SCKL Principal Sri Jaiandran Munusamy (fifth from right), Lee Mun Loong, SAS Head of Education Malaysia, AEC and Indonesia (centre) and David Foo (eight from left) with the winners of the DataIntelligence Challenge.

SEGi College Kuala Lumpur (SCKL) in collaboration with SAS Institute Inc. (SAS), the US multinational analysis software developer, is the first higher education institute to adopt and offer CodeSnaps app to code an Artificial Intelligence programme in Southeast Asia. 

If you have the ambition to ride the wave of the Fourth Industry Revolution (IR4.0), you will know that Big Data and Artificial Intelligence are some of the new technologies you need to master to be an expert of Data Science. Malaysia has launched its own National Policy on IR4.0 known as Industry4FWD to prepare Malaysia for the next phase of the industrial revolution that is heavily shaped by evolving and converging technologies. One of the national strategies outlined in the policy is Upskilling Existing Talent and Producing Future Talent which can be implemented through skills development programmes that support reskilling and upskilling and equipping graduates with necessary skills set to thrive in the Industry 4.0 environment.

In line with the National Policy, SEGi has developed a partnership with SAS to offer skills certification programmes to train talents for IR4.0, integrating theory and practice of Industry 4.0 applications into the tertiary education system to raise industry standards and create industry placement opportunities, as well as enhancing and increasing the capacity and capabilities of our educators, trainers and instructors, creating a pool of subject matter experts in the field of data science.

One of the programmes offered at SCKL is CodeSnaps. It is a coding programme that requires only one tablet and one robot. It is an initiative to prepare prospective professional data scientists to acquire the skills and means to manage block-less devices and provide employees with Industry 4.0 knowledge. 

Aiming to create awareness in the younger generation of the coding programme, as well as generate interest of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, SCKL and SAS recently organised a training workshop on Big Data Management and CodeSnaps for 30 school students comprising of Form 5 and 6 students from 4 schools, SMK Pandan Mewah, SMK Seri Mutiara, Victoria Institution and CBC Learning Centre. The training workshop was held on 19 July 2019 at SCKL.

The students then had the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned at their training workshop at the DataIntelligence Challenge – Big Data & Artificial Intelligence: A Powerful Combination for the Future Growth that was held at SCKL on 26 July 2019.

Lee Huan Yang (left) enjoys exploring the coding application to control machine movement. And Tasigen Visvanathan (right) believes coding knowledge will help him in the future.

At the Data Intelligence Challenge, students were grouped into a team of five where they were required to use CodeSnaps to write an Artificial Intelligence (AI) program code to activate and mobilise a robot. There were challenged to apply Big Data concepts, analytical and creative skills to store, analyse, manage and predict as well as report data to make decisions. All participants received RM2,500 worth of training vouchers from SAS and certificate of attendance from SCKL.

CBC Learning Centre, a private education institution emerged as the overall champion of the Challenge, while Victoria Institution and SMK Seri Mutiara came in second and third, respectively. The winners of the challenge received RM5,000 worth training voucher each and SCKL Scholarships worth RM90,000.

“Data scientists sounds like a really cool job. It was fun to explore and analyse coding and have it control a machine. Apart from that, we also learned a lot from this training workshop, especially patience to manage the challenges we were facing and teamwork,” said Lee Huan Yang, the team captain of CBC Learning Centre. 

Tasigen Visvanathan, a Form 6 participant from Victoria Institution said he was elated that his team won second place at the Dataintelligence Challenge and they benefited a great deal from this experience. 

“I personally wanted to gain some experience in data intelligence because I want to become an actuarial scientist. The basic knowledge of coding will certainly help me in the future. As a team, we all benefited from the lessons learned at the workshop and the competition,” said Tasigen. 

According to Mr Daniel Teng, Group Senior Executive Director, SEGi University & Colleges, as a tertiary institution with over four decades of excellence, it is important for SEGi to prepare and equip students with awareness, understanding and practical knowledge through innovative study programmes in fields like artificial intelligence, data analytics and data management because globally, economies are getting disrupted thanks to the introduction of new innovation, machine intelligence, and data-driven business environment.

“At SEGi, we have always had our students’ interest at heart and we have dedicated ourselves towards enabling promising minds, which is one of our main Pillars of Action. I believe the collaboration with SAS and the introduction of the Diploma in Computer Science programme with specialisation in data science is a step in that direction. Both parties are committed to upscaling existing talent pool via training in the field of data science and producing future-proof graduates who will be equipped for Industry 4.0.”

SCKL’s new Diploma in Computer Science study programme includes 5 main subjects, namely Data Technology and Management, Data Visualisation, Data Science Methodology, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Introduction to Machine Learning. These subjects, particularly data technology, AI and machine learning correlate to the technologies identified in the national policy to transform and drive Malaysia forward and we are excited at the prospect of producing skilled professionals who will accelerate our nation’s growth. 

So be the FIRST in Southeast Asia to master CodeSnaps App, be a Big Data Guru, or be one of the Best Data Scientist in the region!