EMBRACING THE GLOBAL NEEDS OF BIG DATA SPECIALISTS

Kuala Lumpur, 6 October 2016: The Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Fusionex, global software solutions provider specializing in big data analytics (BDA) and internet of things (IoT), in conjunction with the University’s Data Science Week that was held in its campus in Technology Park Malaysia, Bukit Jalil.

Through the MoA with APU, Fusionex-developed BDA platform GIANT will be incorporated into the syllabus at APU to give students real-world experience using full-fledged BDA software. With access to GIANT, students will be able to deepen their knowledge in big data, in order to be able to enter the industry with better understanding of the emerging field.

Besides, Fusionex will also be offering internship and industrial training opportunities for APU students, in which they are able to be exposed to real-life data processing environments, to gain first-hand experience within the industry.

As part of the MoA, APU lecturers and students will also gain access to real-world case studies by Fusionex to be used in their research activities, to gain experience in tackling real-world problems.

“While the Big Data Analytics industry is growing rapidly, there’s a serious lack of talent available in the data industry. Through the MoA, Fusionex is committed to sharing knowledge with the students, in our efforts to help increase the talent pool of data professionals in Malaysia,” said Chen Keat Ming, Vice President of Fusionex International.

Professor Ron Edwards, Vice Chancellor of APU said, “There is a great shortage of talent in the field of data analytics. To address the talent shortage, APU has developed Diploma, Degree, Masters and Doctoral programmes in data analytics. This strategy is designed to create a substantial pipeline of talent for Malaysia in the years to come. We are glad to have begun this collaboration with Fusionex which will accelerate the development of quality data analytics graduates.”

The collaboration is in line with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation’s (MDEC) aim to increase the number of Malaysian data scientist by 2000 and data professionals to 16,000 by 2020.