THE STAR, TUESDAY 14 AUGUST 2018

COURSE FOCUS
ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE
Designing automated minds
WHEN you study artificial
intelligence (AI), you will come
across terms such as machine
learning, deep learning and
Internet of Things, among others.
As part of a rapidly evolving
industry, it is important for you to modules listed below.
understand each aspect of AI and l Human-computer interaction Your potential future
determine which area you want to l Machine learning
specialise in. Your options are l Autonomous robotic systems
As someone with
limitless, as AI graduates can l Image and language
further their studies in wider areas processing qualifications in AI technologies
such as e-commerce, psychology l Pattern recognition and its applications, it is likely
and marketing. l Expert systems that you will be eligible for
In Malaysia, there exist spaces to many jobs in the same field.
create tangible impact with AI. You may want to focus Someone with a background
Below are several fields in which on developing certain skills in AI is also suited to advocate
AI can bring or has brought about and exploring relevant areas for ethical measures regarding
improvements. of study to increase your its growth and management.
l In transportation – how we communicate on an on preprogrammed rules. employability as a fresh While jobs in the field of
Autonomous cars are already a interpersonal level and would While still based on these rules, graduate. ethics do not yet exist, it is only
reality. Though we are still in the be especially useful for these detection systems employ Several in-demand skills in a matter of time before the
early stages, these cars have the leaders. machine learning to identify the current job market are: industry needs them as calls for
potential to reduce accidents, l In education – AI irregularities in a database and l Python “robo-ethics” have been around
global fuel consumption and traffic development has contributed to alert security teams to the possible l R (programme for statistical since 2004. In the meantime,
congestions. new applications that are changing threat. computing) here are some commonly listed
We could also see remote- the way schools are run. l Data science
jobs that you can aim for:
controlled ships and trucks in There are programmes that help AI-major courses used to be few l Hadoop
l Knowledge engineer
future, which will redefine automate and speed up tedious and far between, but you now have l Big data
multiple industries and trade administrative tasks, allowing more diverse options. l Apache Spark l Machine learning engineer
routes. educators to spend more time on For now, if you are unable l SAS analytics l Data scientist
l In communication – Think teaching and less on filling out to find a suitable course that l Data warehouse design l Business intelligence
about the movie The King’s Speech, paperwork. focuses solely on AI, you can l Data mining developer
but imagine King George VI’s l In finance – Modern explore programmes in computer l Knowledge of business l Internet of Things
speech therapist to be a robot financial fraud detection engineering or computer science intelligence technologies architect
helper that knows exactly how an systems can, thanks to AI, that include AI studies as a l SQL queries l Robotics designer
audience reacts to certain words, learn and adapt to potential minor. l SQL Server Reporting Services l Blockchain engineer
tones and gestures. and current security threats No matter what you choose, l SQL Server Integration l AI ethics researcher
A machine like this can improve instead of depending heavily make sure your options cover the Services
2 Course Focus THE STAR, TUESDAY 14 AUGUST 2018

Good returns on studying economics

CHOOSING to pursue a degree in Dr Teo Wing Leong, head of School areas in economics are investment Worldwide Economics Schools
economics from the University of of Economics at University of banking, management consulting Research Ranking, thanks to The most
popular job areas
Nottingham gives you three key Nottingham Malaysia, this perk is and commercial banking. NSE’s performance from 2013 to
advantages – access to some of the true for many of the university’s Some graduates may prefer 2017.
highest-paying jobs, a wide range
of career options, and a chance to
graduates.
A 2018 research report titled The
jobs with greater impact on the
economic agenda of a region
As a University of Nottingham
student, you may be studying with in economics are
study at a global top 100
economics department.
relative labour market returns to
different degrees published by the
such as in humanitarian causes
(World Bank, International
Nobel Prize winners. Nottingham investment banking,
management
graduate Clive Granger, who also
Who does not Institute for Fiscal Studies, which Monetary Fund or United Nations) worked at NSE, won the 2003
want a job that
pays well,
collected data from more than
463,000 individuals in the United
or government agencies (Bank
Negara Malaysia, Finance Ministry
Nobel Prize in Economics.
All staff members of NSE consulting and
especially after
spending
Kingdom, ranks economics degree
returns as the second highest after
or Securities Commission).
In the QS World University
Malaysia hold doctorates from
renowned universities worldwide
commercial
years pursuing medicine and dentistry. Rankings 2019, University of including from University of banking.
challenging Economics graduates earn a Nottingham was placed among the Nottingham, and have taught
study median annual income of £40,000 top 100 universities in the world. in universities around the world.
programmes? (RM211,464.83) five years after The Nottingham School of NSE Malaysia offers the BSc
According to graduation. Economics (NSE) contributed to the (Hons) Economics and BSc (Hons)
The Hamilton Project, which university’s placement among the Economics and International Business, MSc Business and
collected data from more than top 100 economics subject Economics. Management and MSc Professional
three million individuals providers globally, according to the NSE Malaysia will be hosting an Accountancy will be held on Sept 5
in the United States, also QS World University Rankings by MBA preview on Aug 16 from 7pm from 7.30pm to 8.30pm.
ranks economics as one Subject 2018. to 8.30pm and its Information Day
of the highest-paid Other than that, the university on Aug 18 from 10am to 4pm. n For more information,
degrees. is ranked 34th globally in The Introduction to MSc Finance e-mail [email protected]
Dr Teo Wing Leong. The most popular job Tilburg University Top 100 and Investment, MSc International or visit www.nottingham.edu.my

Meeting demand
in construction
CURTIN University Malaysia main campus in Perth, and we
is introducing a new course in expect it to be equally popular
construction management. here in Malaysia.
The course is management- “Graduates will be able to find
orientated and prepares students employment as quantity
for a wide range of professional surveyors, building surveyors,
roles in the building and building contractors, contract
construction industry. administrators, project
The four-year Bachelor of managers, construction
Applied Science (Hons) in managers, estimators and
Construction Management is property developers,” says Assoc
expected to meet a growing Prof Muhammad Ekhlasur
demand for a comprehensive Rahman, head of Curtin
construction management Malaysia’s Department of Civil
course. It was designed in and Construction Engineering
collaboration with industry under its Faculty of Engineering
professionals and goes well and Science.
beyond the scope of quantity According to JobStreet.com’s
surveying. 2018 Salary Report, construction
Taught by a dedicated team of ranks among the top five sectors
professionals, the course focuses in Malaysia for highest
on a broad range of interrelated maximum entry-level salary.
disciplines including domestic, The course is recognised by
commercial and civil the Higher Education Ministry
construction. Its core subjects and professionally accredited by
include construction technology, Australian Institute of Quantity
quantity measurement and cost Surveyors, Royal Institution of
estimating, project planning and Chartered Surveyors and Board
management, contract of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia.
administration, and building It is currently being considered
law. by the Australian Institute of
As communication is Building.
fundamental to construction, Two more new courses that
students will be taught critical have been introduced at Curtin
communication and computer Malaysia are Bachelor of
skills (Building Information Science (Computing)
Modeling). (Software Engineering)
Students are required to and Bachelor of
complete 80 days of work Science (Computing)
experience before (Cyber Security).
graduation. They will Enrolment for
undertake supervised Curtin Malaysia’s July/
research projects in their August semester is
fourth year and complete now open.
assignments throughout
the course. In n To learn
addition, they more, e-mail
will have the enquiries@
opportunity to curtin.edu.my
participate in or visit
supervised courses.
visits to curtin.edu.
construction my
sites and
international
study trips. Assoc Prof
“The Muhammad
course is Ekhlasur
one of the Rahman.
most
popular
ones at our
THE STAR, TUESDAY 14 AUGUST 2018 Course Focus 3

Innovation crucial to success

LAST year, tech experts at the
Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers revealed
what they believe will be the
biggest trends in technology for
this year. Among them are talent pool in information and
machine learning, cybersecurity, communication technology.
artificial intelligence and additive In line with its motto, “Driving
manufacturing. Innovation through Technology”,
It is without a doubt that the the school aims to provide students
fields of computing and with ample opportunities to
engineering have become a huge influence the future of the modern
part of society – think mobile world as well as push the frontiers
gadgets, anti-lock brakes and the of computing and information
software on your devices. technology.
As the world enters the Fourth New specialisations that have
Industrial Revolution and been introduced include data
undergoes technological science, blockchain, cloud
disruptions, it is no wonder that computing, mobile computing and
the aforementioned technology cybersecurity. Students are
trends will require a merging of encouraged to form their own
professions from computing and start-up companies before
engineering. How, then, can we graduating from Taylor’s
help shape the future with the University.
combining of these gargantuan The industry-relevant
fields? curriculum is a result of
Most would be inclined to start implementing comprehensive
with education. Accordingly, practical content using relevant
Taylor’s University has engineered learning technologies and
its curriculum to provide a broad- providing an environment
based education that allows Janice Chau, a recent graduate from Taylor’s University School of Computing & IT, builds, programmes and prepares a conducive to forming strong
students to pursue robot with her team to fight its opponents at the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship Retreat in Shanghai, collaborations with the industry,
multidisciplinary studies. China. professional bodies, government
The newly launched Taylor’s agencies and academia.
Curriculum Framework lets sciences, Taylor’s University education and served as a role university outside the United States These valuable partnerships
students choose minors outside recognises the need to empower model for other institutions within to be accepted into the NAE Grand helped place Taylor’s University
their field of study. For instance, today’s students with the ability to the region. Challenges Scholars Program. among the top 1% of institutions
business students can choose to meet the needs of tomorrow’s It is the first engineering Students enrolled in this globally in the QS World University
minor in information technology society. school in South-East Asia to programme will receive similar Rankings 2019 for employer
while engineering students can In its quest for ultimate adopt the CDIO initiative. Short opportunities as students of top reputation.
pursue a business or marketing excellence, the institution has for “conceiving, designing, engineering schools in the US such The schools aim to continue
minor. propelled its School of Engineering implementing and operating” as Massachusetts Institute of encouraging and enabling students
Programme pairings such as and School of Computing & IT to real-world systems and products, Technology, Duke University and to undertake innovative projects in
these make for powerful adopt a holistic approach in the CDIO curriculum combines Stanford University. line with the university’s quest to
combinations that can enhance grooming students to become conventional and modern Taylor’s School of Computing nurture budding technopreneurs.
graduate employability as the leaders, innovators and techniques that provide students & IT was established in 1998 and
demand for graduates with technopreneurs. with valuable real-world offers a range of career-focused n For more information,
multidisciplinary skills continues Since its establishment in 1996, experiences by undertaking programmes through which call 03-5629 5000, e-mail
to grow. By offering courses in Taylor’s School of Engineering has actual engineering projects. graduates continue to meet [email protected]
engineering and computer set the benchmark for engineering Taylor’s is also the first industry standards, filling out the or visit www.taylors.edu.my
4 Course Focus THE STAR, TUESDAY 14 AUGUST 2018

Master the world of mechatronics

INDUSTRY 4.0 is a popular concept
today. With the attention the new
industrial revolution is gaining, the
mechatronics industry is growing
rapidly.
The innovative area of
mechatronics is facilitating huge
advancements in technology to
drive Industry 4.0.
Tunku Abdul Rahman University
College (TAR UC) is a leading,
industry-relevant education
provider that offers programmes in
mechatronics at diploma and Mechatronics students and lecturers during their visit to the Sony Malaysia
degree levels. factory as part of TAR UC’s immersive learning experience.
Relevant programmes at TAR UC (From left) Dr Madhavan, Dr Kamal and Dr Alpha are playing their parts
aim to equip students with assignment. The task was gained from them were not only in pushing AI research and applications forward.

Creating
knowledge to solve real-world challenging but I enjoyed informative but exciting as well,”
problems in the field with proper configuring and troubleshooting says Lim.
application of mechatronics processes with my team,” he says. The TAR UC Mechatronic Society
principles. Lim Hui Yan, who is a Bachelor is an academic club every mecha-
Furthermore, TAR UC’s priority is of Engineering (Hons) Mechatronic tronics student at the institution is

intelligent
to teach students to design and graduate, shares that her study automatically enrolled in.
develop solutions for the future. experience at TAR UC was not only “Besides picking up a thing or
Students learn to apply their interesting but kept her abreast of two about event management and
technical expertise through technological developments. fundraising, I befriended many
laboratory, project and research “What I studied in the Diploma students over common interests,

workers
activities. in Technology (Mechatronics) especially other girls, as not many
Shawn Daren, who is in his third helped me tremendously in my girls study mechatronics,” adds Lim.
year of the Bachelor of Engineering degree. My degree programme Attractive scholarships such as
(Hons) Mechatronic, shares his kept me up-to-date with academic merit and sibling
experience studying mechatronics advancements in the mechatronics discounts are available to eligible
at TAR UC. field. students.
“Mechatronics is a challenging “I especially enjoyed assignments Find out more about TAR UC’s
but fun field. What I studied at with problem-solving requirements mechatronics programmes from
diploma level strengthened my such as when my group built a TAR UC representatives at major TODAY, data are no longer mere designing a smart shoe that is
understanding of the degree-level drone. I also completed two education fairs. information – they can be used aimed at reducing injuries by
subjects I am taking now. research assignments on the by artificial intelligence (AI) to monitoring human walking
“On top of that, I got to build a relationship between Industry 4.0 n For more information, visit make large-scale decisions that patterns.
robotic arm for my diploma and mechatronics. The findings I www.tarc.edu.my the human mind cannot. “We want to predict injuries/
As one of Malaysia’s premier abnormalities in walking at an
centres of higher education, AI is early stage. When a person is
at the forefront of Monash seen to limp, the injury could be
University Malaysia’s research at an advanced stage. However,
efforts. when an injury is just beginning
Dr Abdus Samad Kamal, to set in, the human body
senior lecturer at Monash compensates by altering its
University Malaysia’s School of walking pattern.
Engineering who is currently “By using artificial intelligence
working on the use of AI in the to recognise these subtleties, we
production of corrugated boxes, will be able to detect injuries
sheds light on the challenges and abnormalities early on,”
faced by the box-making explains Dr Alpha.
industry and the solutions that Fears that AI will result in loss
he and his team are working on. of jobs are often expressed by its
The complexity of the process detractors. Industry leaders,
is due to the size of the boxes, however, stress that AI is crucial
mass-manufacturing process in developing a more skilled
and labelling that involves inks. workforce.
“Some of the sheets are two or “As we strive towards
three metres in size. The becoming a developed nation,
problem we face in the process we must seek to equip our
is that you need the perfect workforce with skill sets to
temperature to ensure adequate handle their jobs efficiently and
levels of moisture in the intelligently.
production line, which ranges “The aim is to mitigate the
from 50 to 100 metres. exposure of our workforce to
“Instead of using a human, we the 3Ds (dangerous, dull and
propose installing a system that dirty jobs). These measures
is able to detect minor changes improve the workplace
in colour and alert us so that we environment and subsequently
can adjust the density of the employees’ quality of life,” he
ink,” says Dr Kamal. adds.
These subtle changes are The school’s discipline head
nearly impossible for humans to (mechatronics) Assoc Prof Edwin
spot, yet a tiny slip-up comes at a Tan Chee Pin acknowledges that
great cost for the manufacturer. while there will be loss of jobs, a
The role of AI in the rise of myriad of new jobs will be
automation is highly publicised. created as well – to create,
In western countries, driverless implement, monitor and
cars are being rolled out in troubleshoot these intelligent
droves and put to use in systems.
e-hailing services. Echoing Dr Alpha’s sentiment,
Dr Madhavan Shanmugavel, Assoc Prof Tan believes that AI
lecturer at the School of will only work to the advantage
Engineering, has been involved of workers as they will learn
in a long-standing working new skills that prepare them for
relationship with Recogine the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Technology Sdn Bhd, which AI is offered as an elective for
specialises in intelligent fourth-year students of the
transportation systems. Bachelor of Mechatronics
They are jointly developing a Engineering and Bachelor of
traffic system to monitor, count Electrical and Computer Systems
and classify vehicles based on Engineering programmes at
make, size and shape for various Monash University Malaysia.
weather conditions where
visibility may be affected. n For more information
Meanwhile, Dr Alpha Agape on the programmes, visit
Gopalai, another senior lecturer www.monash.edu.my/
at the School of Engineering, is engineering