TAR UMT is no stranger in the history of the WorldSkills competition, where a number of TARCians have carved their winning streak at the national, regional and global levels of the competition. The WorldSkills Malaysia Belia (WSMB) is the national leg of the competition that brings together talented young participants from various institutions across the nation to showcase their technical and vocational skills. This includes the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT), which has now been introduced as a category in the national competition in Malaysia.
This year, TAR UMT, together with Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran (JPK), organised the esteemed WSMB competition for the IoT category from 10-12 June 2024, where the competition was held at TAR UMT Kuala Lumpur Campus.
Eyes on the prize: Student participants working hard during the WSMB competition.
Dr Tew Yiqi from TAR UMT’s Faculty of Computing and Information Technology (FOCS) led the organising of the competition. Dr Tew has been involved in the WorldSkills competition for a number of years, and he was also appointed as a National Expert for coaching and leading Malaysian participants in the WorldSkills ASEAN competitions in 2018 (Bangkok) and 2023 (Singapore). In February this year, he was one of the team members from FOCS to be a part of the WorldSkills Malaysia Belia (WSMB) competition question formulation meeting.
Dr Tew (standing), having a briefing session with students from eight institutions on the competition.
In addition, Dr Tew was also one of the judges for this year’s WSMB competition in the IoT category. Besides promoting practical skills in IoT, another important goal of the competition was to select the best talents to represent Malaysia in the upcoming WorldSkills ASEAN 2025 in the Philippines.
Dr Tew shared his enthusiasm about hosting the competition at TAR UMT because he believes it will benefit not only the University but also students nationwide. “The IoT category in WSMB is a great way to promote skills in this area because IoT is a major trend, with many mechanisms in different domains striving to become smarter ecosystems. Additionally, through the competition, I am able to share my insights from years of experience in regional level IoT competitions. I believe such an exchange of knowledge is a great help to JPK, especially in selecting the best minds to represent the country at the regional level of WorldSkills 2025,” he said.
Sharing his hope and aim for being actively involved in IoT for WorldSkills competitions, Dr Tew added, “Hosting this event will add value to TAR UMT’s standing to be recognised as a Centre of Excellence in IoT under JPK. Such recognition will allow TAR UMT to be a national-level training platform, promoting skill development and contributing to the advancement of our nation's technological capabilities. In addition, I also hope the experience of competing in this competition will enhance students' knowledge and strong interest in IoT, providing them with opportunities to expand their potential, enhance their understanding of building IoT systems, and enable various industries to develop IoT solutions in the future."
