MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY CLOSES RM4 MILLION R&D CONTRACT

Grants from TMR&D to Help Develop Malaysian-Grown Futuristic ICT, Advanced

Nanomaterials and Devices

CYBERJAYA, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- Multimedia University (MMU) today ( 19 December

2011) reached two milestones in research and development (R&D), namely being

awarded an RM4 million research grant and the launching of seven new University

Centres of Excellence (CoE).

The grant is provided by TM Research & Development (TMR&D), and is meant to

finance five research programmes: Next Generation Optical-Wireless Access

Networks; Digital Home Technologies and Applications; Next Generation

Human-Computer Interactions ICT Technologies and Applications; Photonic

Nanowires; and Nanoelectronic Materials and Devices for Emerging

Multimedia-Telecommunication-Based ICT Applications.

These projects will enable the development of new technologies in the

application optical and wireless communication, development of revolutionary

fibres as well as nanotechnology. More importantly, it will pave the way for

more Malaysian firms to gain a foot-hold in the production of multimedia and

engineering solutions that are currently dominated by foreign companies such as

Apple, Microsoft and Samsung.

The decision by TMR&D to award the grant to MMU is not simply because the

university is a subsidiary of TM. Chairman of TM Berhad and MMU, Datuk Halim

Shafie, pointed out in his speech that the Ministry of Science, Technology and

Innovation (MOSTI), through its 2010 “Malaysian Science & Technology Indicators”

report used to attract foreign investments to Malaysia, rated MMU as the Top

Private University for the 2000 – 2009 period. Furthermore, the Ministry of

Higher Education (MOHE) has given MMU a 3-Star rating out of a possible 5 Stars

in their Malaysian Research Assessment (MyRA) instrument. Halim said that MMU’s

rank on the MyRA gauge has been increasing steadily, an indication of excellent

current research capabilities as well as superb future potential.

MMU is also perfectly equipped to conduct the necessary research. Its current

research centres are being transformed into seven University CoE, in accordance

with MOHE guidelines. The COEs are focused in the areas of Information and

Communication Technologies (ICT), and Creative Multimedia, to strengthen the

research identity of MMU. They are the i-knowmedia Centre; Centre for

Information Security and Cyber Laws; Centre for Remote Sensing and Surveillance

Technologies; Centre for Photonic and Electronic Devices; Centre for

Communication and Signal Processing; Centre for Advanced Materials and Green

Technologies; and Centre for Visual Computing.

The event also saw the CEO for TMR&D, Dr. Gopi Kurup, being appointed as an

Adjunct Professor to MMU. The purpose of the Adjunct Professorship is to enhance

the collaboration between MMU and TM R&D, as well as to enable better

supervision of MMU postgraduate students.

Also in attendance was MMU President, Professor Dato’ Dr. Muhamad Rasat Muhamad.

About Multimedia University

Multimedia University (MMU) is Malaysia’s first private university, incorporated

in 1997. To date, MMU has produced 29,776 graduates. The university currently

has about 21,000 students across both its campuses in Cyberjaya and Bukit

Beruang, Melaka. Of this student population, more than 4,100 are international

students. MMU has hosted students from 90 countries, and is focused in the

fields of Engineering, Information Technology, Business and Management, Creative

Multimedia, Accounting, Law and Life Sciences. Its tracer studies have found

that more than 90 per cent of MMU graduates secure employment within six months

of completing their studies.

SOURCE : Multimedia University (MMU)

--BERNAMA