final-mmu-n-gage_may2012 by MMU CCU

ISSUE 04 - MAY 2012

N-GAGE e Bulletin

OUR JOURNEY HAS BEGUN At the heart of MMU 2.0 is the goal: To become a Top 100 university in Asia

contents

N-GAGE

Behind the Scenes ADVISORY PANEL Prof. Dato’ Dr. Muhamad Rasat b. Muhamad Datin Sri Sharifah Aamenah bt. Sheikh Al Junid COORDINATORS Shamsuddin b. Jamaluddin Mahathir b. Malek EDITORIAL ADVISOR Abdul Lazi b. Nordin

Prof. Rasat announces six strategic objectives

9 Farewell Mdm. Lela, Welcome Mdm. Laila

Why the MMU 2.0 Transformation is Necessary

9 Visits

LEAD EDITOR Hefni Izzat Abdul Rahim EDITORS Sy. Nurleyana Wafa Darian Henry Megat Adzwan Shah b. Shamsul Anwar Nur Rabikha Zainudin DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY Razeelan Saaidan Kadri Mohamad Syafiq Azhar SPECIAL THANKS: Mr. Senthilathiban Veeriah, MMU Board of Directors, MMU Management Committee, Faizal So’od, Ku Muhamad Nizam, Rahayu Harun and all contributors.

Minister Pledges RM 50,000 MMU collaborates with KRU Academy Hot Zone frenzy hits MMU A Day of Celebrations MMU Awards 2012 MMU wins Special Award at MURoC 2012 The Pacific-Asia Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (PAKDD)

TM GCEO Turun Padang

MMU Academics in the Media

9 Sekolah @ MMU Perdana Iskandar 2012 10 MMU FC in MOHE Futsal League 2012 (2nd Circuit) 10 MMU Cyberjaya Female Futsal Team bagged 3rd Place in TM Selangor Futsal Tournament 2012 11 MMU FC in Division 1 of MOHE League 2012 12 Lose more; Win more 12 MMU Open Volleyball Tournament 2012 12 “Kuda Padi” is the Champion of the MMU Staff F.A Cup 2012 13 400 participants from Asian countries take part in Fourth Malaysia Debate Open 2012 13

MMU Journal Publications

14 Teh Tarik Sessions with the President

When the only constant is change, dare we sit still?

nce upon a time, employment at a university meant complete predictability and stability. Whether you were a tenured academic who lectured and researched, or you provided support to the university, there was little rocking of the boat. You learned long ago what was expected of you, and that was what you did, come what may, until it was time to retire.

examples of industry incumbents who were outperformed by younger rivals who made better use of information technology to deliver better results for cheaper.

Needless to say, hardly any of this applies to us in MMU. The current environment for private higher education in Malaysia is very dynamic, to say the least. There are too many competitors, many of whom have deep pockets and the courage to invest heavily. It’s not difficult to spot them; turn the page in any newspaper and you’re bound to see their advertisements. Some of these are huge, some very stylish, but all are competing for students from the same pool that MMU is tapping from.

Also, as we have seen in recent years, economic uncertainty is all the rage nowadays. Currently, our region is quite insulated from the ill-effects of the Eurozone fallout, but no one questions that, due to economic cycles, our turn is just a matter of time. Dare we allow MMU to face such volatile economic conditions with anything less than a robust cash balance and healthy revenue streams?

Not only are we competing for the same students, but our returns for doing so are also diminishing. Operating expenses are climbing – due to both a reflection of the market as well as to our aging infrastructure – yet the solution does not lie in a simple fee hike, for two reasons. Firstly, fee hikes would make us less attractive to our target audience. Although they might understand our position, they, just like us, cannot escape the economic reality before them. Even scholarship providers who have strong ties with MMU feel the pinch; the more we raise our fees, the less students they can send our way. We could argue that other institutions are also becoming dearer. But, living in this age of information, it is easy for us to find

Secondly, there is only so much that we could achieve with fee hikes. How much could we raise the fees? And how often? Furthermore, fee hikes do not address the fact that we are still confined to only one source of revenue.

Clearly, MMU needs more than just a fee hike. We need to be more than we are currently. We need to be stronger, better. Yet, we must not stray from our path as a university. The MMU 2.0 transformation addresses the problem in its entirety. By setting a higher goal – to become a top 100 university in Asia with global recognition by 2022 – we are not only addressing our intermediate-term financial concerns, but we are also making sure that we have the elements that would translate into long-term success. So we have the plan. But are we ready to for this transformation? See our interview with MMU’s Senior Director of Operations, Mr. Senthilathiban Veeriah, for his take on MMU’s readiness.

Editors

15 New direction; new look… better functionality

Prof. Rasat announces six strategic objectives to support the

transformation framework

Having presented MMU’s new direction, Prof. Rasat called upon the Senior Director of Operations, Mr. Senthilathiban Veeriah, to give the details through which the Transformation Plan would be realized.

sues that were especially relevant to a university, such as improved R&D support, an intellectual property reward system, improved customer services, and better recruitment and retention of good staff for MMU.

Mr. Senthilathiban presented 40 initiatives – 25 new and 15 current – that would be implemented. Each initiative was assigned a Financial

To ensure that the Transformation Plan will succeed, a new unit – the Performance Management Office (PMO) – was launched. The PMO is

On 7th March 2012, Professor Dato’ Dr. Muhamad Rasat Muhamad, President of Multimedia University, finally announced the details of the MMU 2.0 Transformation Plan. The Plan was announced during the 2012 Presidential Address on 12 January. After waiting for about 2 months, MMU citizens were finally shown what the future holds. Before 1,500 MMU staffs gathered in Dewan Tun Canselor – and via tele-conferencing from Melaka campus – Prof. Rasat announced a bold new plan that not only addressed MMU’s intermediate-term financial situation, but also set a lofty goal for the university. At the heart of MMU 2.0 is the goal: To become a Top 100 university in Asia with global recognition by 2022, by way of its high quality students and staffs who are continuously engaged in innovative academic programmes and research, driven by its academic and commercial revenue streams.

Prof. Rasat also announced six strategic objectives which would support the transformation framework. These objectives addressed growth of revenue, academic and R&D excellence, operational excellence, nurturing of a performance culture, the cultivation of a strong alumni and foundation body, and alignment of the university with TMGroup to achieve synergy.

Impact Rating (FIR), which is a measurement of how much revenue or cost savings the initiative is expected to bring in. For expenses, the FIR is a projection of how much money would have to be spent. Overall, the framework gave a good description of an improved cash flow. While many of the initiatives were focused on increasing MMU’s revenue, quite a number of them addressed is-

headed by Mr. Senthilathiban, and is tasked with supporting and facilitating each champion’s initiatives. To mark the official beginning of the MMU 2.0 Transformation Plan, Prof. Rasat and the members of the Management Committee, together with the members of the PMO, gathered on stage to lead the audience in singing the MMU 2.0 song.

Why the MMU 2.0 Transformation is Necessary? MMU is officially on the path for implement major changes via the MMU 2.0 Transformation Plan. We catch up with our Senior Director of Operations and Head of the Performance Management Office (PMO), Mr. Senthilatiban Veeriah, and asked him for his perspective on the whole matter. Are MMU citizens ready for change? It is human nature to resist change. If we wait until people are ready, then we will forever stay the same. Ultimately, the institution will have to proceed and progress with the kind of progress that it wants to make. People will resist at first, because it is how we humans respond. People are resistant to change because of a lack of information. They do not know what the change involves, how it will impact them. Once they do know and see how they stand to benefit, more and more people will accept the change. Will the change be disruptive? One of the psychological aspects in carrying out transformation, if you do not do something differently, then it becomes a day-today routine. This is why when we launch something new, we have all the bells and whistles. You’re signalling that you’re doing something something different.

How far down the organization chart will people feel the change? Most likely down to the cleaner lady. That is how a transformation process should be.

How transformational can teaching actually be? The same with evaluation. The process might be the same, but the methods of evaluation would differ.

Everyone should feel the transformation. We don’t want it to be felt only by the managers, the deans, and then it fizzles down and dies. Our transformation must be felt by the non-executives, by the executives, by everybody.

Transformation need not be about complete changes. Transformation can be about improving. And improvement is also a transformation process.

It will take some time for it to permeate down to various levels. Unfortunately, in every change process, there are some parties who will take a longer time before the change finally seeps into their level. Much of this depends on how this campaign will go down to the various parts of the university. Everybody has got a role to play.

What are the key changes? Increasing our revenue and number of revenue streams are our top priority. The fee hike will help with the former, and for the latter we’re looking a several projects. One involves expanding our franchise. We’ve launched one franchise in Kenya, and Pekan is coming soon. We also have launched the Graduate School of Management to pull in more postgraduate students with our MBA and DBA programmes. Another stream, FOM is in collaboration with TM’s HCM to train their staff. Also, Cnergy is also taking a look at how it will offer its services. We also have the Cinematic Arts programme in Iskandar. We are also looking at things like endowments, which is actually a major component of the transformation process. What are our chances of success?

However, when we say transformation, it doesn’t always mean that everything that we do is brand new. Transformation is also about doing the same thing, but in a more effective manner, a more efficient manner. So transformation is not about everything that is new.

If we just announced the transformation and remained as we are, then chances of success is at best 50-50. But, we have one ace up our sleeve in the form of the Performance Management Office (PMO). It is a key differentiating element unlike any processes we have had before.

It is not logical or possible for a university to switch entirely from one mode and transform into a completely different mode. There are some things that we just have got to do.

The idea behind the PMO is that if you are responsible for an initiative, you most likely will come against an obstacle. There probably needs to be some negotiation to remove

Any special message for MMU staff on the MMU 2.0 Transformation? Mr. Senthilatiban Veeriah Head of the Performance Management Office (PMO)

the obstacle, or some resources would have to be pumped in. So the PMO will come in to facilitate that. The PMO is the answer of how do you help the champions achieve their objectives. In other words, the PMO clears obstacles, negotiates, and facilitate whatever is required with various stakeholders as necessary. They will be working with the champions and the teams.

We are not changing just for the sake of changing. This is about doing something right, about building a legacy that will not only ensure we will have a job 2 years from now, but will shape our university into an institution that our great grandchildren would be proud of. We realise that our goals are not easy to achieve, but therein lies the value of our toil. I hope each and every MMU citizen will join me in doing their best to make this transformation a successful reality.

Personally, I view the establishment of the PMO as a clear indication of the President’s approach in how we want the university to progress and develop in the next 10 years.

Minister Pledges RM 50,000 9th March 2012, YB Senator Datuk Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development has pledged RM 50,000 to Multimedia University during her speech at the International Women’s Day 2012 (IWD 2012) celebrations at the University’s Cyberjaya campus. Speaking at the ceremony, the minister honoured the strength of women and reminded all women that gender equality is not the only plight for women. She also stressed on the importance of education among young women and at the same time to take time in being young, vibrant and youthful. Speaking before the minister was MMU’s own student, Syarifah Nurizni Wafa Syed Naguib Wafa shared what it was like being a young Malaysian woman in the midst of over 5000 international students on campus echoing the minister’s on the achievements of women.

University’s Cyberjaya campus to participate in a forum titled: Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures, which was also the theme of this year’s IWD 2012 celebrations worldwide. The crowd took their time in cheering on Malaysia’s very first Masterchef, Ezani Farhana Md Monoto as one of the panel members as well as Ms Ras Adibah Radzi among others. Some even shed tears as Prof Madya Dr Lim Swee Tin delivered his inspiring poem titled: Wanita Inspirasi Hari Esok. The celebrations lasted throughout the day with many performances on stage as well as a mini bazaar inside the Universiti’s Dewan Tun Canselor.

Also present at the ceremony were YBhg Prof Dato’ Dr Muhamad Rasat Muhamad, President of Multimedia University, Pn Noor Lela Baba, the Chief Financial Officer and Mr Senthilathiban Veeriah, Senior Director of Operations and Head of the newly assembled Performance Management Office. Despite the rain, the IWD 2012 celebrations started as women – young and old from near and far made their way to the

YB Senator Datuk Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil

Minister of Women, Family and Community Development

MMU collaborates with KRU Academy

e n o Z t o H y z n fre MMU s t i h

Over 10 public locations across both MMU campuses are now ready for students, staff and guests to surf the web via the TM Hot Zone service. In a nutshell, each TM Hot Zone emits radio frequencies that will be picked up by the Wireless LAN card installed in a laptop, smartphone or tablet PC. The TM Hot Zone is accessible at these areas:

Cyberjaya campus:

KRU Academy was officially launched by Datuk Badlisham Ghazalli, CEO of MDec on 16 April 2012 at the MSC Malaysia K-Workers Development Centre (KDC) in Cyberjaya. This academy, in collaboration with MMU, Ministry of Human Resource and MDec addresses a growing need for skilled workers in the areas of animation. As KRU Academy will be offering certificate programmes in Visual Effects, 2D Animation and 3D Animation, MMU will serve as an advisor on

their curriculum development to ensure that the syllabus offered are of high quality academically. This collaboration is important as the academy can act as a feeder of skilled students to MMU or *MMC. *Multimedia College (MMC) is a subsidiary of MMU that offers diploma programmes.

1) Hostel Blocks 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4 2) Faculty of Engineering (FOE) 3) Faculty of Creative Multimedia (FCM) 4) Central Food Court (CFC) 5) Dewan Tun Canselor

Melaka campus:

1) Administration Building 2) Concourse Lecture Complex (CLC) 3) Exam Hall 4) Student Excellence Centre 5) Student Centre

To connect to the TM Hot Zone, just login and start browsing with either a TM WiFi ID or by subscribing to TM WiFi postpaid or prepaid packages, which gives unlimited access at attractive rates. Alternatively, there is another service. TM WiFi service provides indoor coverage up to 30 meters from the Access Point. In comparison, TM Hot Zone provides a larger scaled indoor and outdoor coverage, where the WiFI signal goes beyond 100 meters from a single access point which can support more than 50 concurrent users at one time.

A Day of Celebrations MMU Awards 2012

The MMU Awards 2012 is an annual event that is always highly-anticipated by MMU students. It is the time when students who have shown spectacular performance – to their clubs or the university – are recognized for their contributions throughout the academic year. Since the university has about 20,000 students and 120 clubs and societies, the MMU Awards 2012 is understandably an exciting affair. With 21 categories up for grabs, the MMU Awards is an opportunity for each nominee to shine bright before his or her peers. Just like last year’s, this year’s event was organized by the Student’s Representative Council, in collaboration with the Student Affairs and Sports Division. This year, the event was held on 21st April 2012 at the prestigious Dewan Seri Negeri in Ayer Keroh, Melaka. It was at-

tended by 800 participants, who were joined by members of the press and media, namely from Nanyang Siang Pao, Sinchew Daily, Berita Harian, Bernama, RTM, Melaka Hari ini and NST. The event was made all the more special with the attendance of YABhg Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Hj. Mohd Ali, our beloved Chancellor, YB Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam, Chief Minister of Melaka together with his wife, YABhg Datin Seri Datuk Wira Asmah Abdul Rahman, Ybhg Datuk Dr. Halim Shafie, Chairman of MMU and TM, and Ybhg. Prof. Dato’ Dr. Muhamad Rasat Muhamad, President of MMU. Filled with lively performances, the MMU Awards 2012 began at 10.00 a.m. and lasted until 3.30 p.m.

MMU wins Special Award at MURoC 2012

MMU students bagged the Special Award at the recent Malaysia University Robotics Competition (MURoC) 2012 held in Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UNIMAP) recently. Microchip Technology (M) Sdn Bhd presented a Special Award to the MMU team in the category “Fire Fighting Robot.” The robotics team comprise project members Sayid Nasanul Awwalin, Saw Kyaw Thura Aye, Tshiamo Rakgowa and Leong Kok Yew. There were led by their lecturers, Mr. Yong Yik Seng (Project Manager) and Mr. Lim Chee Siong (Project Supervisor). The project, a 2-D Mapping Robot for Maze Solving Algorithm is a robot that is capable to navigate in a controlled environment while updating the binary map stored in the microcontroller’s memory. This is the 3rd MURoC with the 1st and 2nd instalments held in 2010 and 2011 and MMU’s maiden participation in the competition. MMU competed against 79 teams, 37 of which are from public and private universities, polytechnics, community colleges and other technical institutions. MURoC 2012 is organised specifically to enhance the innovation talents among students. The categories contested in the competition are Paintball robot, Rope Climbing Robot and Fire Fighting Robot.

GCEO TURUN PADANG

16th Pacific-Asia Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (PAKDD 2012) From 29 May 2012 to 1 June 2012 at the Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur, MMU & UTAR will jointly organize an international conference entitled 'THE 2012 PACIFIC-ASIA CONFERENCE ON KNOWLEDGE DISCOVERY AND DATA MINING (PAKDD 2012)'. The conference provides an international platform for researchers and industry practitioners to share new ideas, original research results and practical development experiences from all KDD related areas, including data mining, data warehousing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, databases, statistics, knowledge engineering, visualization, and decision-making systems. In promoting this event, Prof. Dato’ Dr. Muhamad Rasat, Prof. Dr. Tou Teck Yong and Dr. Ho Chin Kuan of MMU was featured in Selamat Pagi 1Malaysia and Hello on Two talk shows at the end of March.

MMU Cyberjaya Female Futsal Team gged 3rd Place in TM Selangor Futsal Tournament 2012!

The conference calls for research papers reporting original investigation results and industrial papers reporting real data mining applications and system development experience. A data mining competition is also organized during this conference. For those who are interested to participate, log on to : e ;us proud when they managed to secure third place in the tournament which

March 2012 at the Shah Alam Section 16’s Sports Planet. Although this team ogether, it did not stop them from performing their best and obtained a satistournament attracted more than 40 male and female teams from other TM http://pakdd2012.pakdd.org/ ies around Selangor to The-Pacific-Asiacompete for the Champion title. From this event, few Conference-onwill be trained intensively to represent TM Selangor to compete at the Knowledge-Discoveryand-Data-Mininghich is scheduled to take place on 20-21 April 2012 in Kelantan. Although PAKDD @PAKDD2012 id not manage to get through the group level this year, we hope that next year

13 March 2012 – TM organized a town hall session called 'Group CEO Turun Padang', where Dato' Seri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa came to MMU to meet selected MMU and TM staff in Cyberjaya. This session, which was held at FCM Theatre was packed with enthusiastic staff who were eager to meet our GCEO. 7

From CPA Australia’s website: Date issued: 13 April 2012 Where do you currently work and what is your role? Currently I am the Dean of the Faculty of Management at Multimedia University, Cyberjaya campus. My role involves planning strategic initiatives and taking proactive actions within the faculty, making sure it aligns with the vision and mission of the university. In addition, I take an active leadership role in the administration and supervision of staff and students within the faculty. How did you get into this role? I was appointed Dean of Faculty in 2011. Prior to that, I was the Head of Department (Accounting) for almost seven years and the Deputy Dean of Research. During the time that I was the Head of Department and Deputy Dean, I successfully drove a few key initiatives including professional and industrial recognition by professional accounting bodies, providing support for faculty staff in securing huge external research grants from the Ministry of Higher Education and other government agencies. In addition, I am also actively involved in the synergistic collaborations with various industrial and professional partners including Telekom Malaysia, CPA Australia, The Malaysia Institute of Accountants and The Institute of Internal Auditors Malaysia. What is the best aspect of your role? To date, the best aspect of my role is to harness the collective experience of my fellow faculty members in undertaking excellent quality research and also maintaining high levels of teaching standards. In my personal view, this gives significant

MMU Academics in the Media Dr Mazlina Norzila Mat Zain On 13th April 2012, our very own Associate Professor Dr. Mazlina Norzila Mat Zain, Dean of the Faculty of Management, was featured in the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) Australia’s profile pages. On the website, Dr. Mazlina is in good company, as she is featured in a group of esteemed professionals from a broad range of sectors. Other featured individuals include CPAs

from petroleum giants, telecommunications providers, banks and other institutions. Overall, the individuals featured on the website hold senior and respected ranks in their organizations.

Congratulations Dr. Mazlina. Here is the interview between her and CPA Australia. enhancement to the students’ learning experience. This is clearly echoed by our industry partners who have consistently viewed graduates from the Faculty of Management as being immediately employable. What are the biggest challenges you face? Dealing with people issues, including managing more than 100 faculty members and students, is always the biggest challenge. This is more so when undertaking new changes and carrying out transformation initiatives. In many instances, I have difficulty in making sure that all the relevant information is cascaded downward effectively and that the faculty members are receptive enough to support the faculty

and overall University initiatives. Nonetheless, the outcome of the hard work is always very intrinsically rewarding especially to observe the achievement of the University, faculty and students being accorded due recognition both locally and internationally. What are the three most important lessons you have learnt during your career? The three most important lessons I have learnt throughout my career is the need to be an optimist, continued persistence and being trustworthy. It is very important to be optimistic in the initiatives that we embark and/or in everything that we do. This includes having faith that we can “do” it and

that we can be the best. Having continued persistence in life helps over come challenges and to some extent helps manage disappointments that are bound to occur. Being a trustworthy person is important especially when dealing with people around us including our students, faculty and industry partners, as our actions will always be driven by our conscience. What would you consider as your greatest career achievement? Drive initiatives with faculty members, securing fee paying consulting work for the Faculty. Encourage faculty staff to embark in research. The Faculty of Management has secured substantial amounts of external grants from the Ministry of Higher Education. Fellow faculty members have published more than 150 publications in both the international and local leading academic journals in 2011. In addition, the Faculty has started to offer Master of Accountancy early this year. These are some of the key initiatives that I have undertaken as Dean. Where would you like to go next? I would like to continue my steady progression in the realms of academia and in the research space specifically in my area of interest in corporate governance and capital market research. I like to continue exploring in these areas with aim of contributing not only to world of research and academically but also to offer my students the depth of knowledge as well as to provide some recommendations to statutory bodies, regulators and practitioners. In addition, I would also like to continue providing support to the university and making contribution to higher education in Malaysia to ensure that present and coming generation of students will be recipients of world class quality education.

400 participants from Asian countries take part in Fourth Malaysia Debate Open 2012 19 March 2012 by Leo Arrokkiasammy - The Star Newspaper Malacca, 9 March Teams from 10 countries participated in an international debate tournament organised by the Voices Malacca Debating Society of the Malacca Multimedia University (MMU). The teams comprising a total of 400 participants were from China, Japan, India, Thailand, Philippines, Pakistan, Singapore, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. They participated in the Fourth Malaysia Debate Open 2012 which began from March 2 to 5. The final round of the tournament was held at Dewan Syahbandar Seri Negeri, Ayer Keroh, Malacca. Tournament Director, Sandeep Nair Sivadasan reckoned that organising

such an event was a big challenge for his team.

Suresh Gnasegaran took the runner-up title.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the dedication of the organising committee, and the support of event sponsors, MMU and the Malacca government, we turned it into an intriguing event,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Voices Malacca Debating Society began seven years ago as a new society within the debating circuit with around 10 first year students.

The debating sessions began as a war of words and ended with the participants hugging each other in the spirit of camaraderie. Independent teams HP and the Nanyang Technological University Team from Singapore made it into the finals. The NTU team comprising of Swetha Balachandran, Rohan Jain, and Rohid Gadie emerged as the champions in the finals and team HP comprising Muhammad Faiz Arshad, Tariq Azfar Maketab and

Over the years, the society participated in numerous do-mestic and international tournaments. The society has attained several prestigious achievements including emerging as Champion in Malacca Invitational Debate Tournament in 2008. It was also involved in organising an internationalstandard tournament such as the Malaysia Debate Open (MDO) in 2008.

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Johor Bharu, 24 Febuary 2012-Sekretariat Sekolah@MMU is a charity organisation that conducts an IT programmes for high school students throughout Malaysia to expose them to information technology and multimedia. This programme has been organised 23 times throughout Malaysia such as Sabah, Penang, Johor, Malacca, Terengganu and Selangor. This time around, the Secretariat decided to organise their 24th programme, the Sekolah@MMU Perdana Iskandar at Johor.

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Lasting for 3 days 2 nights started from 24 Feb 2012 - 26 Feb 2012, the programme brought by other 400 students from all over Johor. Four schools in Johor Bahru were selected as the centre schools where the programme was held. Apart from exposing the students to IT and multimedia, this programme is also in link with the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal in realising the dream of developing the country with IT as the core compentency. This will help Malaysia to enhance its ability to compete with foreign countries in the era of globalisation. The opening ceremony of Sekolah@MMU programme was officiated by the respective principals of the selected schools, which are Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar, Sekolah Tun Fatimah, SMK (P) Sultan Ibrahim, and SM Vokasional (ERT) Azizah while the closing ceremony was attended by Encik Mohd. Nor bin Abdul Ghani, Director of The State Education Department Johor. The ceremonies took place at Dewan Ibu Azizah, SM Vokasional (ERT) Azizah.

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MMU FC in MOHE Futsal League 2012 (2nd Circuit)

Besides football, most of MMU FC players also participate in MOHE Futsal League 2012. They need to play in three different circuits and collect points to the advance to the Grand Finale. Although their schedules are packed with MOHE League matches every week, they managed to join the 2nd Circuit (Central Zone) organized by UKM in Ferro Futsal, Subang on 26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 29 April. MMU FC reached the quarter finals as Group A champion after beating UPNM (11-4) and UPM (7-5). In the quarter finals, they played against KK Kelantan and won 5-0. During the semifinal match, after a controversial red card given by the referee to Captain of MMU FC, Mohamed Hassen, our boys who were leading 3-1 at the first place lost to KK Selangor 7-6. For the 3rd and 4th placing, they lost to UMTech 5-4 to claim the 4th place and secure 4 points in that circuit. UiTM emerged as champion, 2nd place went to KK Selangor and to UMTech went 3rd place. MMU FC will try to collect their next point in the 4th Circuit (Sabah) this 24-27 May 2012. Only 10 players will have the opportunity to try and reach for to strive for excellence and secure a position in the Grand Finale.

MMU Cyberjaya Female Futsal Team bagged 3rd Place in TM Selangor Futsal Tournament 2012 Our dedicated staff made us proud when they managed to secure third place in the tournament which was held on 24 March 2012 at the Shah Alam Section 16â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sports Planet. Although this team was only recently put together, it did not stop them from performing their best and obtaining a satisfying result. The tournament attracted more than 40 male and female teams from other TM group of companies around Selangor to compete for the Champion title. From this event, a few selected players were trained intensively to represent TM Selangor at the national level which took place on 20-21 April 2012 in Kelantan and the Selangor team managed to obtain 2nd place! Although our male team did not manage to get through the group level this year, we hope that next year will bring them better luck and we can together aim to be the champion. GO MMU!! 10

MMU FC will continue to perform well in MOHE Cup 2012 (Piala KPT 2012) in June. As all MMU community, lets give support to our team and pray for their success.

MMU FC in Division 1 of MOHE League 2012 Playing in Division 1 of MOHE League 2012(Liga KPT) is a tough job for MMU FC players and also management. After securing the title as Division 2 champion last year, MMU FC start this year campaign with quite a performance. After the first round, they claimed the 3rd place in Division 1 after UiTM Shah Alam and UKM. But without any reason, they failed to find the finishing touch in the second round of the league, causing their team to throw away some points in important matchs. Coach Mohd Faizal Md Soâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;od is however satisfied with their performance so far. As a team that has players from both campuses Cyberjaya and Malacca, it is a challenge for MMU FC team to gather as a full team during training or friendly matches. The management understands the situations when students have classes to attend, assignments, presentation and also examinations to do. Compare dto other universities that have their own sport programme and a very systematic training program, remaining in Division 1 is a good achievement

for MMU FC. With just 2 games left, MMU FC now secure their position in Division 1 after the last 2 teamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; point is not enough to overtake them although they won the remaining games.

MMU OPEN VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT ‘12

On 31st March and 1st April 2012, MMU Volleyball Club organized their MMU Open Volleyball Tournament which held at Multimedia University, Cyberjaya Campus for IPT Category and at Dewan Sri Andalas, Klang for Open Category.

Lose more; Win more

After intense and vigorous selecThe search for the fittest MMU CyApart exposing the students to IT and multimedia, is also in berjaya stafffrom kicked off recently at the tions, the finalthis 29 programme will now undergo with theComplex government’s goal in dream developing the country with athe series ofoffitness training, nutrition IndoorlinkSports recently inrealising a IT as the core compentency. This will help Malaysia to enhance its ability to compete plans as well as motivational talks programme by the Occupational Safety, with foreign countries in the era of globalisation. Health and Environment (OSHE) Unit as they fight to be crowned the 1st MMU Quarter Depounder ChamwhichThe is under the purview of Human opening ceremony of Sekolah@MMU programme was officiated by the pion. Capital Management Division (HCM). respective principals of the selected schools, which are Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar, Sekolah Tun Fatimah, SMK (P) Sultan Ibrahim, and SM Vokasional (ERT) Azizah while the closing was attendedThe by Champion, Encik Mohd. Norwill binbe Abdul Ghani, who crowned The programme calledceremony MMU Quarter Director of The State Education Department Johor. The ceremonies took place Depounder 2012 was officiated by Mr in May will receive a grand total of at Dewan Ibu Azizah, SM Vokasional (ERT) Azizah.

Shamsuddin Jamaluddin, HCM Assistant General Manager. The launch revealed the 29 finalists out of over 50 applicants.

RM500 worth of fitness equipment while the 1st and 2nd runners-up will receive RM 300 and RM 100 worth of fitness equipment.

There were 26 teams from all around public and private universities registered under the IPT category while another 29 team battle under the open category. The champion for IPT category is Universiti Malaysia Pahang, and for the open category is from Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA).

“KUDA PADI” CHAMPION OF THE MMU STAFF F.A CUP “Kuda Padi” team has been named as the Champion of MMU Staff F.A Cup 2011/2012. The final game between Kuda Padi and Kuda Laut end with the score 2-0. Meanwhile, the champion of MMU Staff League is “Kuda Tua”. Followed by “Kuda Api” at the second place and “Kuda Jinak” at the third place. Prof. Dato’ Dr Muhamad Rasat attended the prize giving ceremony at MMU’s Mini Stadium, in Cyberjaya.

MMU Journal Publications Recent Publications (March â&#x20AC;&#x201C; June 2012) Here are the names of MMU Academics, together with their collaborators, who had their papers published recently, according to Web of Science. Thank you Mr. Kamal Sujak from Siti Hasmah Digital Library for the information.

Author(s): Shahabuddin N. S.; Mohamad H.; Mahdi M. A.; et al. Journal: MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS Volume: 54 Issue: 6 Published: JUNE 2012 Author(s): Shahabuddin N. S.; Awang N. A.; Ahmad H.; et al. Journal: OPTICS AND LASER TECHNOLOGY Volume: 44 Issue: 4 Published: JUNE 2012 Author(s): Tan Choo-Kim Journal: COMPUTERS & EDUCATION Volume: 58 Issue: 4 Published: MAY 2012 Author(s): Jin Zhe; Teoh Andrew Beng Jin; Ong Thian Song; et al. Journal: EXPERT SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATIONS Volume: 39 Issue: 6 Published: MAY 2012 Author(s): Eab Chai Hok; Lim S. C. Journal: JOURNAL OF PHYSICS A-MATHEMATICAL AND THEORETICAL Volume: 45 Issue: 14 Published: APR 13 2012 Author(s): Pang W. L.; Chieng David; Ahmad Nurul Nadia Journal: WIRELESS PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS Volume: 63 Published: APR 2012

Issue: 3

Author(s): Muhammad N. A.; Rahim S. K. A.; Jizat N. M.; et al. Journal: WIRELESS PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS Volume: 63 Published: APR 2012

Issue: 4

Author(s): Chin J. W. C.; Kok C. K.; Rajmohan M. M.; et al. Journal: JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS Volume: 41 Issue: 4 Published: APR 2012 Author(s): Nirmal Umar; Hashim Jamil; Low K. O. Journal: TRIBOLOGY INTERNATIONAL Volume: 47 Published: MAR 2012 Author(s): Khor Kok-Chin; Ting Choo-Yee; Phon-Amnuaisuk Somnuk Journal: APPLIED INTELLIGENCE Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Published: MAR 2012 Author(s): Ting Choo-Yee; Phon-Amnuaisuk Somnuk Journal: APPLIED INTELLIGENCE Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Published: MAR 2012 Author(s): Subramaniam Samini; Haw Su-Cheng; Hoong Poo Kuan Journal: KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEMS Volume: 27 Published: MAR 2012 Author(s): Ooi Keng-Boon; Cheah Weng-Choong; Lin Binshan; et al. Journal: ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT Volume: 29 Published: MAR 2012

Issue: 1

Author(s): Lee Gin Chong; Loo Chu Kiong; Chockalingam Letchumanan Journal: APPLIED SOFT COMPUTING Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Published: MAR 2012 Author(s): Athab Hussain S.; Lu Dylan Dah-Chuan; Ramar Krishnathevar Journal: IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS Volume: 59 Issue: 3 Published: MAR 2012

Visits

Teh Tarik Sessions with the President

Visit from Republic of Kenya

@ Cyberjaya Campus 5 April 2012 Visit by Minister of Khazakhtan

@ Melaka Campus 27 April 2012

Farewell Mdm. Lela, Welcome Mdm. Laila

April 15th 2012 was the last day for Madam Nor Lela Baba at MMU as she will be transferred to Kedah leading the TM state office there. In 3 years of her tenure (2009-2012), she significantly con-

tributed towards many positive changes and development in MMU, especially in Finance Division. She is always regarded as mother for many students at this university for her loving and concern towards studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities. She also rendered lots of guidance and advice to the students. N-gage wishes Puan Lela all the best for her future endeavor.

N-gage would like to welcome Mdm. Laila Hanim Che Omar as MMU new CFO commencing on 16 April 2012. She has served TM for more than 16 years and prior joining MMU, she was attached with the Group Strategy of TM. Her vast experience and technical knowledge in finance will make her a great asset to the Chief Finance portfolio and to MMU as a whole. Welcome on board!

@ Cyberjaya Campus 7 May 2012

New direction; new lookâ&#x20AC;Ś better functionality

Taking another step according to the MMU 2.0 Transformation Plan, the University launched its spanking new-look, new-feel website on 9 March 2012. The website now offers easier accessibility as well as a neater and more concise way of viewing information while giving users two options on the background colour scheme. If you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t visited the new site, please do and send us your comments: ccu@mmu.edu.my

We want YOUR contributions! Kindly share with us any good news, articles, announcements or just about anything that makes us proud to be MMU Citizens! Send your contributions to ccu@mmu.edu.my .