Drop by Drop, We Save Life
A special blood donation campaign themed ‘Drop by Drop, We Save Life’ was held at the lobby of i-CATS University College, Jalan Stampin Timur, 93350, Kuching on Saturday, 17 May 2025, on Saturday, starting from 9:00 a.m. This corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative by the university was jointly organized by Faculty of Computing and Software Engineering, Centre for Information Technology Management and the Blood Bank of Sarawak General Hospital. The campaign successfully exceeded its target 50 donors by having 51 successful donors, comprising of members of public, university staff and students. All donors received meals and bag of goodies courtesy of sponsors from ARx Media Sdn Bhd, Softworld Software Sdn Bhd, SPHERENET COMPUTING SERVICES, Liansin Trading Sdn Bhd, PC Image and other individual sponsors.
Minggu Sains Negara Zon Sarawak
[Kuching, 3rd May 2025] – The Faculty of Computing and Software Engineering led by Ts Nurlaila Binti Rosli, who is also the Director of CITM (Centre for Information Technology Management) led the initiative for Minggu Sains Negara Zon Sarawak held at Dewan Jubli, UiTM Cawangan Sarawak, Kampus Samarahan from 3- 5 May 2025. Together with other faculties at i-CATS University College, the faculty decided to showcase bachelor degree final year projects amongst others: EmoCounsel: Emotion Based Counselling System for Counsellors to Assess the Emotional State by Joycelyn Tan (an AI based system to detect emotion through text), Jawi Script Game by Mohammad Khairuddin Bin Mushadad (An educational learning game for Primary School student ) and ‘Count On Me’ by Muhammad Kamaruddin Bin Ahit – A Math learning game for Primary School Student. All these projects are supervised by Ts. Nurlaila Binti Rosli. The first project EmoCounsel was copyrighted by the faculty, while the remaining games are an on going. The young visitors were excited and enthused by the games developed by the undergraduate students. It is hoped the past 3 days showcase of IT Projects would spur young minds to pursue studies in STEM. Also assisting were the undergraduate students of Bachelor of Software Engineering (Honours): Mohammad Khairuddin Bin Mushadad & Muhammad Kamaruddin Bin Ahit, as well as Ain Nazihah (lecturer) and Maricha (lab assistant).
The Expert Insights: Cybersecurity & Risk Management From Industry and Beyond
[Kuching, 30th April 2025] – The Faculty of Computing and Software Engineering invited experts to share their insights to staff and students on the topics of cybersecurity and risk management featuring Mr. Hairishahril Bin Harudin (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist & PSMB Accredited Trainer) and Mdm. Dayang Zuliana Bt Abang Abdul Rahman (Risk Management Certified & Professional Certified in Quality Assurance). Mr Hairishahril , who presented via Zoom, began by highlighting security incidents in Malaysia. Apparently, fraud topped the list. He went into some length on password authentication precautions. The climax of his sharing was when he demonstrated how he created a phishing website for one of i-CATS UC websites on the spot. In this way, the cybersecurity expert underscored the gravity of cybersecurity related risk. This transitioned well to the second sharing by Mdm. Dayang Zuliana on risk management, which according to her now an overarching concern in the latest ISO certification. She shared her personal experiences in guiding others in her institution namely UNIMAS to adopt risk management culture. She explained how risk identification can be systematically tracked, monitored and controlled through the use of a system. She also pointed out the role of management and department level risk committee to ensure successful adoption of risk management. Also in attendance in this event was Professor Ts Dr. Leo Sing Lim, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Industry & Community, Engagement), who kindly graced the event with his welcoming address, alumni from SAINS (Mr. Jason Lee & Mr. Max Law), alumni and industry representative from ARx Media Sdn Bhd (Andy Choo, our alumnus and Mr. Jismley, Director), representative of SDEC in the person of our intern Mr Jacky Jong, as well as other university members and friends. After the official talks, all presents were treated to a feast themed “Terlajak Raya” in view of post faculty level celebration of the just concluded Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The Dean, Asst. Prof Dr Ting Kung Chuang, hoped that more such similar event would be held in future.
From Code to Confidence: GitHub and Public Speaking for Career Readiness
[Kuching, 27th February 2025] – A peer led clinic focusing on equipping final year software engineering students with GitHub essentials, resume preparation and public speaking was conducted on 20 February 2025 at SE 1 Lab Level 3A. The clinic, entitled From Code to Confidence: GitHub and Public Speaking, was conducted by Ronan Kuek Joo Pern and Esmat Danyal Bin Es Zulkarnaen. Both of them have graduated from Diploma in Software Engineering and now pursing their study in Bachelor of Software Engineering (Honours). Ronan shared with 22 final year students on the importance of GitHub, which is widely used by the IT industry for maintaining collaborative online repository for source code and other configuration management tasks. Based on his personal experience during his internship in diploma, Ronan hoped that his sharing would help his juniors to be better prepared in meeting employers’ expectations. On the same note, Esmat, a champion in various public speaking contests last year, shared tips on pitching ideas and how to properly converse with employers as well as other stakeholders in the workplace. It is hoped that the clinic would afford the prospective interns a competitive edge when they join the workforce later.
The Faculty of Computing and Software Engineering hopes that the peer-led clinic will promote leadership and lifelong learning culture among students. As such, this clinic will be made a regular feature in the Faculty’s student activities.
Prepared by Tay Chung Ang
Faculty of Computing and Software Engineering
NASA SPACE APPS SARAWAK ROADSHOW
NASA SPACE APPS SARAWAK gave a talk cum activities to promote its 48-hour global hackathon event from 7-8 October. The speaker highlighted past Sarawak team, Change Maker from SMK Bintulu. It is a part of a group of winners who visited Washing DC, USA in March this year as part of their reward for winning 2021 NASA Space Apps Challenge. Cash prizes, NASA Space Apps Sarawak Merchandise, ipad mini airpods and others, await participants who earn points by joining workshops, completing surveys to submitting the hackathon project.( https://spaceappssarawak.com/win-merch/).
Murni No. 427, Lot 6459, Lorong Kepayang 9A, Taman Lian Kwong, last Saturday. The
children at the centre were treated to aerobics session, small groups origami activity (named
“paper plane activity’) and light refreshment. The activities were organized by faculty
members comprising of academic staff, non-academic staff and software engineering
students. Several Diploma of Early Childhood Care and Education (DEC) students were also
invited to be part of the i-CATS University College’s entourage in this CSR event. The
climax of the event was handing over of RM 2000 cash to Pusat Jagaan Nur Murni for the
upkeep of its activities and welfare of those under its care. Asst. Prof. Dr Ting Kung Chuang,
the Dean of FCSE, in his speech thanked Pusat Jagaan Nur Murni for welcoming the
university and explained such event, was the manifestation of the university’s community and sustainability conscious vision. The cash contribution was made possible through
sponsorship by Kelab Rekreasi Pusaka of Sarawak Timber Industry Corporation. The
participating students from DEC are: 1) Nur Amira Maisara Binti Wahab 2) Shyamina Sara
CSR AT PUSAT JAGAAN NUR MURNI
i-CATS University College through the Faculty of Computing and Software Engineering (FCSE), called upon the residents of Pusat Jagaan Nur
Murni No. 427, Lot 6459, Lorong Kepayang 9A, Taman Lian Kwong, last Saturday. The
children at the centre were treated to aerobics session, small groups origami activity (named
“paper plane activity’) and light refreshment. The activities were organized by faculty
members comprising of academic staff, non-academic staff and software engineering
students. Several Diploma of Early Childhood Care and Education (DEC) students were also
invited to be part of the i-CATS University College’s entourage in this CSR event. The
climax of the event was handing over of RM 2000 cash to Pusat Jagaan Nur Murni for the
upkeep of its activities and welfare of those under its care. Asst. Prof. Dr Ting Kung Chuang,
the Dean of FCSE, in his speech thanked Pusat Jagaan Nur Murni for welcoming the
university and explained such event, was the manifestation of the university’s community and sustainability conscious vision. The cash contribution was made possible through
sponsorship by Kelab Rekreasi Pusaka of Sarawak Timber Industry Corporation. The
participating students from DEC are: 1) Nur Amira Maisara Binti Wahab 2) Shyamina Sara
INDUSTRIAL VISIT TO LINX PET HOTEL
On 14 July 2023, a group of students (Bachelor of Software Engineering (Honours)) and lecturers of Faculty of Computing and Software Engineering, led by Md. Norahima Annuar, the Industry and Community Engagement Coordinator, had called on Linxpet, a luxurious pet hotel situated at LOT 374, BLOCK, 10, Lorong Palm, 93400 Kuching, Sarawak. The purpose of the industrial visit was to enable students and lecturers to observe closely the application of Internet of Things (IoT) in this unique hotel designed primarily for cats. Usually associated with smart home or factory applications, Mr Raymond, the owner of Linxpet, awed the faculty members with interesting use cases like: allowing pet owners to video call their beloved cats residing in their private rooms equipped with web cams, smart lighting and temperature control to ensure utmost comfort for the cats, as well as a paperless registration, check-in and other administrative tasks like securing entrance and round the hour monitoring, all available at the ease of a tap on the mobile phone. As a result, Linxpet has earned the trust of pet lovers in Kuching and it is franchising its business with its ingenious application of IoT.
MASISWA 2024 (7-10 November 2024)
In the recent MASISWA (Majlis Sukan IPTS Malaysia organized by the Ministry of Higher Education) Sarawak Zone, hosted by i-CATS Universtity College and co-hosted by Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, as well as, SIDMA College Sarawak, saw the i-CATS University College’s contingent winning one Silver in eSports mixed team category and two Bronze in Chess for both men team and women team categories. The athletes from a total of 15 institutions competed from 7 to 9 November 2024 in a variety of sports.
FCSE participated STEM Exhibition at SMK St. Mary
[Kuching, 7th August 2024] –FCSE participated in SMK St Mary’s STEM exhibition, themed “Unleashing the Power of Technology,” in conjunction with the Marian Mini STEM Carnival recently. The exhibition served as a platform to showcase innovative STEM-related products and technologies. The faculty sent TWO (2) entries namely: The Artificial Intelligence Project called the Invisible Piano (by Kobe Chua Jin Loong, Alex Chong Hon Yong, Bong Zak Heng and Lee Bin Wei) and Smart Sneaker (by Elysian team featuring Jacky Jong Jun Ming, Ts Nurlaila Rosli, Sam Liu Wen Kai, Kenneth Fong Chong Sien and Liew Chien Siong). The features of Invisible Piana were as follows: 1) The laptop camera will capture the hand movements and mimic the fingers striking piano keys as visualized on the screen. 2) The relevant audio note would be played, depending on the key being pressed even though in reality the fingers were touching the air. Meanwhile, “ElectroSteps” was a smart sneaker, embedded with GPS tracking and fall detection, as smart features for protecting its users in event of mishaps. It was also equipped with self-charging capabilities. In this way, the faculty played its role in inspiring the young learners to be interested in Artificial Intelligence (through image recognition as used in Invisible Piano) and Internet of Things (through the use of embedded sensors in smart sneaker).
Smart Innovation Competition 2024: i-CATS UC winning Gold and Silver Awards
[Kuching, 29th September 2024] –The Faculty of Computing and Software Engineering (FCSE) in collaboration with Invention and Innovation Club (which advisors comprise of Ts. Nurlaila Binti Rosli, Nur Suryani Binti Rosli and Mohamad Faizal Mahsen), had sent two teams for this year’s Smart Innovation Competition 2024 (SIC 2024). Both teams won Gold and Silver awards under the Senior Innovator category, as announced during SIC 2024 closing ceremony. The STEM based competition spanned from 11 March 2024 to 28 September 2024.