Kuala Lumpur, Oct 16, 2013 – Being a proponent of industry mentoring, Rototype International’s group company HT Consulting recently partnered with the IT faculty of one of the leading universities in Malaysia to provide a platform for final year IT students to apply their knowledge in real industry-related scenarios.
It was an exhibition that closely mirrored a national ITexposition as 10 teams comprising 30 final year students at HELP’s Departmentof IT presented their graduation projects recently.
Automated Mini Train System
Among the projects that created a buzz among the spectators were the Automated Mini Train System, a web-based application that locates the best and most efficient route to get from one point to another on a railway track using algorithm – with time and costs being the primary factors in determining the best route.
Built using the Roco train model, the project titled“Constructing a Universal Controller and Scheduling System to a Physical Simulation”, is part of the final year assessment for students of HELP University’s Bachelor of Information Technology.
The two teams behind this application which comprise Raymond Chai Yung Seng, Chong Seng Fong, Lim Chung Hooi and Loo Kheng Hao spent seven months on this project, transforming a remote-operated train system, a web-based system that can control functions of the train, such as its speed,lights and doors.
Condominium Management System
Other projects being exhibited were a Condominium Management System developed on the Joget Workflow platform that allows residents of a condominium to make reservations for the services and facilities available in the condominium, Go Campus, a mobile application to locate offices and classrooms at HELP University, and a “fail” detection app designed specifically for elderly users. All projects display a high potential for commercial viability.
Such level of savviness and creativity were made possible by the industry mentoring programme, embedded in the IT curriculum. Over the last two years, the Department of Information Technology at HELP University has been successfully working with its Industry Advisory Board (IAB) members and industry partners to prepare its graduates for the challenges of IT employment.
Industry Advisory Board
The IAB is an initiative spearheaded by the Head of the Department of Information Technology, Dr Sien Ven Yu, in which the department works with leading industry figures to ensure that its curriculum and courses remain up-to-date with industry expectations and demands.
Chairman of the Advisory Board, Harres Tan who is also HT Consulting Asia Founder and chief executive officer, was the mentor for the automated mini train system. Alexist Ong, also from HT consulting, met the students once a week, choosing the industry-centric project for them and providing hands-on teaching.
Communication was kept constant via e-mails, phone calls and even on Facebook groups.
“Each of our projects was carefully chosen to reflect industry challenges – real problems that the technology industry faces which are R&D-intensive. With a focus on our core businesses – banking and healthcare – our projects allow many opportunities for students to explore beyond their comfort level while constantly backed up with the good guidance and monitoring provided by our experienced trainers,” said Tan.
“Each of our programme kicks off with a two-week ‘familiarisation’ period to help students get acquainted with the equipment,platform and technologies that will be used in the project. They will also be furnished with training materials as well as given mini programming exercises to complete,” added Ong.
When asked on the performance of HELP’s students, Tan said: “The students demonstrated their keen interest by being very proactive and resourceful in scoping out current technologies. In some instances, they even surprised our trainers with in-depth discussion about technologies which they had learned and experimented with.
“The department’s robust links with industry have enabled us to introduce an innovative series of internship programmes which not only offer students valuable work experience, but also provide specific knowledge and development of specialised skills.
“Our mission is to produce self-directing graduates who master new skills efficiently, while our primary aim is to produce graduates who are able to embrace rapid technological change and economic evolution.
“Apart from our IT Advisory Board members, we are also closel ylinked with multinational and government corporations such as IBM, DiGi, MIMOSand Accenture on the internship opportunities for our students,” said Department of Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Multimedia head Dr Sien Ven Yu.
The Automated Train System was awarded the two best projects at the exhibition and one of the team leaders, Raymond Chai, was ecstatic with the win.
Apart from cash prize, he and several others have been offered internship opportunities with HT Consulting this month.
The final year project gave us real exposure to the actual working scenario in our industry. The mentorship was invaluable and support from the lecturers of IT Department at HELP was crucial in helping us achieve our objectives.
“We are looking forward to the internship and working on actual projects driven by market demand and the use of best technology methods.”
