development of a software for the healthcare

 

KUCHING – The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation recently awarded Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus a grant of RM300,000 for research into the development of a software for the healthcare industry.

Called Novel Medical Knowledge Discovery System, the software will be developed by Swinburne Sarawak Campus in collaboration with the Sarawak Clinical Research Centre (CRC).

The CRC is the national clinical research arm of the Ministry of Health and is responsible for conducting clinical trials, clinical epidemiology and economic research, and for managing complex medical databases.

The research project started in April this year and will be completed in September 2010.

“The resulting software that will be developed is intended to help policy makers, departmental managers and finance officers in the healthcare industry to forecast and plan various resources including human capital, budget, drugs, equipment and clinical activities,” says Dr Patrick Then, a senior lecturer at the School of Computing and Design at Swinburne Sarawak Campus.

Dr Then, who heads the research project, said that there is a need to develop the software because the software currently being used by the healthcare industry is mostly for statistical analysis, clinical trials, daily operation and repository and it lacks the capability for higher-level analysis such as forecasting, budgeting, and quality control.

The University of California in Irvine and Purdue University in the United States will also provide technical expertise in the project via video conferencing and visits to the university.

Dr Then also said that the collaboration with the CRC and the two US universities is a milestone for Swinburne Sarawak Campus, adding that it will give undergraduate and postgraduate students involved an opportunity to experience working on an actual project.

An auspicious first

 

 

HELP University College s Department of Information

Technology and The University of Queensland s UQ
School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
ITEE is jointly organising the Inaugural HELP International
Computer Science Research Symposium HICSRS in August this
year
The symposium which aims To showcase leading edge compu
ter science research undertaken in Malaysia and overseas will also
provide a forum for practitioners and researchers to share their
ideas
It is expected to attract 100 participants and is designed to ben
efit computer science post graduate students potential computer
science post graduate students and those with a stake or interest
in computer science
HELP University College s IT Department has had a relationship
with the University of Queensland s School of ITEE for 14 years
For a university research is a core part of its mission One of
the reasons we identified HELP as a distinguished partner is
because we recognise that HELP has the values of academic
excellence and leadership which we share We re particularly
pleased to be able to play a role in HELP S development and matu
rity into a university As HELP develops it will become more self
sufficient in its undergraduate programmes therefore The
University of Queensland will play an increasing role in developing
HELP S research potential and place a greater emphasis on post
graduate studies says UQ s School of ITEE director of
International Development and Professor of Computer Science
Prof Paul Bailes
This symposium reflects a new level of maturity and academic
sophistication between HELP and the UQ says Prof Bailes who
was in Kuala Lumpur recently
Many HELP students have transferred to UQ to complete their
studies as well as a handful of academic staff who were gener
ously awarded scholarships to pursue their PhDs in Australia
One of them is no other than HELP University College head of
the department of Information Technology Dr Sien Ven Yu who
completed her MPhil and PhD in 2010 at UQ s School of ITEE
Prof Paul Strooper who is a Professor of Software Engineering
and the new head at UQ s School of ITEE will be the keynote
speaker at the symposium Prof Strooper s main interest is in soft
ware engineering especially software verification and testing and
model based approaches to software development and verifica
tion
He will be presenting his research paper entitled Test
Generation with Grammars and Covering Arrays
Other topics that will be discussed at the symposium are on the
transfer of learning to hand held mobile devices online collabora
tive teaching of software engineering in an international multi
campus environment leveraging on information technology to
achieve improvements in a firm and the development of a ground
based radar system able to track low flying aircraft and the devel
opment of a visualisation system to optimally display information

for operators of unmanned aircraft

MMU Eyes Future in Nanotechnology

SCOUTING for a degree programme after leaving school may be a daunting experience for most school leavers.

There are many considerations that need weighing, including the growth potential of the industry chosen and cost of the programme pursued as decisions made can make or break one's career path in events of economic downturn or business uncertainties.

But there is one industry that is on the rise in Malaysia. It is none other than nanotechnology. School leavers or any candidates considering engineering programme can the nanotechnology alternative.

Although the field is still in its infancy, there is growing interest and expenditure in it.

Multimedia University (MMU) vice-president of academic, Associate Professor Wong Eng Kiong says: "We are seeing a slow but steady increase in enrolment in our nanotechnology programme because of the government's emphasis under the 9th Malaysia Plan."

Under 9MP, RM124.3 million has been allocated for the nanotechnology industry. The inauguration of the Malaysia Nanotechnology Association (MNA), governmental support for nanotechnology is at an all-time high as the technology can revolutionise the entire manufacturing industry.

One way this is achieved is by generating new types of nanomaterials, applicable in the metal, chemical and nanoelectronics industries. Other industries that can benefit are automotive, pharmaceuticals and health sciences, as well as information technology.

Realising the huge potential in store for the industry, MMU recently launched its Bachelor of Engineering Electronics (hons) majoring in nanotechnology. It is among the first of nanotechnology courses to be offered in the country.

"This nanotechnology programme is a true landmark offering," says Wong.

He said previously, those who wished to pursue a career on nanotechnology must go overseas.

"Now, you can join as an undergraduate and be part of a growth industry."

He adds that the career prospect for a nanotechnologist is quite healthy and promising.

He adds that the past few years have seen an increase in mechanical engineering enrolment, due to the manufacturing industry in the country. Telecommunications engineering also remains a popular choice.

MMU is one of the very few institutions in the country offering an undergraduate programme in nanotechnology

Intakes are open this month in the fields of engineering, IT, management and creative multimedia.

How Manage Its IT System

KUCHING – Staff from Politeknik Kuching Sarawak recently visited Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus to learn how the university provides IT support to staff and students as well as the management of its information technology assets.

The group of 12 visitors was led by Shamsuria Binti Mohd Ariffin, Deputy Director (Academic Support) of the polytechnic.

They were welcomed on arrival and briefed on the university’s IT structure and policies by Caroline Hon, Director of Administration, and Jonathan Ng, Manager of Information Technology Services Department (ITS).

“We are very impressed with the efficient structure that has been implemented at Swinburne Sarawak with regards to ITS. A total of 12 ITS staff is able to provide quality service to the whole of Swinburne Sarawak due to proper implementation of ICT policies,” said Layam Anak Engkasan, who heads the ICT Unit at the polytechnic in Matang.

Swinburne Sarawak currently has a staff of about 250 including part-time lecturers and about 3,000 students. In addition to the support services its ITS provides to staff, access to the internet and a wide range of software, such as the Blackboard learning system, that supports a wide range of courses are also made available to students.

Layam said the visit was also an opportunity to exchange knowledge on the latest ICT technologies and to build closer cooperation between the two institutions.

“We have a lot to learn (from Swinburne Sarawak) with regards to setting up a proper helpdesk or service desk to ensure that the second-line ICT personnel have more free time to attend to requests or problems.

“We also learned of some new technologies that have not been introduced in the local polytechnics as yet, such as the use of FM-200 in your data centre and BlackBoard course management system,” she said.

Layam said that some of the hardware and software at the university may be available in some government institutions of higher learning but it is also imperative that these resources be well-managed with the help of policies that define and determine how an ICT unit operates: proper procurement specifications, customer support, response-time policies, acceptable usage policies and so forth.

She said that Swinburne Sarawak was chosen for the study tour as “we wanted to visit a private institution of higher learning in order to broaden our horizons as we have mostly been communicating and exchanging knowledge only with other government institutions of higher learning”.

The delegation also stopped by at the university’s 700-capacity library to look at its self-checkout system where students and staff may borrow books without involving library staff. Biotechnology labs and the IT data centre were the other places visited.