Multimedia University Cyberjaya Clinches Victory with Overall Champions Title 
Young Malaysian networking genius (left to right):- Team from Terengganu Advanced Technical Institute (winner of the Diploma category)- Team from Multimedia University, Cyberjaya (overall champions and winner of the Open category)- Team from University Malaya (winner of the Degree category)
SHAH ALAM, Malaysia, 9 April 2008 – The brightest young talents in the Malaysian networking industry gathered last weekend to compete in the annual Cisco Networking Skills Competition 2008 at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam. The nationwide quest is organised by the Cisco Malaysia Academy Council to unleash and recognise young, skillful and dexterous networking masterminds from major local universities, polytechnics and community colleges. Students from Multimedia University Cyberjaya proved themselves to be the best of the best with the overall champions title.
The competition provides an opportunity for undergraduates undergoing the Cisco Networking Academy programme (NetAcad) to transform their theoretical knowledge into practical skills. At the same time, it creates a platform for their knowledge and proficiency to be recognised, boosting their confidence level and employment value in the information and communications technology (ICT) workforce.
“The industry is determined to grow skilled and high-quality graduates that are prepared for the real world. This is a key element in response to the country’s need for a knowledge-based workforce and first class human capital that would eventually serve as a catalyst to move Malaysia up the economic chain. The competition exemplifies our commitment to educate and produce future generations of ICT leaders,” said Kumaran Singaram, Managing Director, Cisco Malaysia.
The competition was divided into three categories, which consisted of separate challenges for diploma and degree students. An open category was added this year for students who completed all four modules of the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) curriculum under NetAcad. The winning teams were rewarded with a certificate of achievement, a trophy and cash voucher for each member.
The participants were evaluated by a panel of judges comprising Cisco Certified Internetwork Engineers (CCIEs), who are networking professionals with the highest level of expertise from Cisco, IMS Asia, Global Knowledge and Solsis.
“We were being thrown challenges with real-life scenarios throughout the competition and expected to provide solutions on the spot using what we have learned in the class. It was tough, but we were confident that our team would be able to secure a strong finish in the competition after an intensive preparation of two months, as well as the strong support from our lecturer,” said Tan Wee Chun, a student of Multimedia University, Cyberjaya from the overall best team.
Recognising the significance of the occasion, this year’s competition garnered overwhelming support from various industry leaders and corporate bodies. The competition received strong support from Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), along with sponsorships from renowned products and solutions providers such as Datacraft, HP, Getronics and Global Knowledge.
“MDeC through its MSC Malaysia Capability Development Programmes (CDP), more specifically the CDP Professional Development, aims to encourage individuals to continuously strive for personal growth, to improve their capability and realise their full potential. In addition to the CDP CCIE Lab Preparation Programme, MDeC is pleased to partner Cisco in this competition, which is inline with our goal to equip the students with the right set of skills and competencies as a foundation to succeed in the ICT industry,” said Ng Wan Peng, Vice President, MDeC.
Sponsors and partners also took part in a job fair held concurrently with the competition to help companies identify and secure potential candidates for vacancies in their organisations. On-ground facilities were available for conducting interviews. The companies participated in the job fair include Datacraft, HP, Getronics, Solsis, VADS, Mesiniaga and Dell.
Apart from benefiting the students, Cisco also provided retooling sessions for the instructors. Lecturers and educators were encouraged to discuss recent trends in networking technologies and impart the updated curriculum to ensure consistent quality of education.
“Today, the network has become a critical platform that changes the way we work, live, play and learn. As such, the demand for a skilled IT workforce will continue to grow. Through NetAcad, we are constantly addressing the gap by forging strong partnerships with educational institutions, providing unique opportunities for the local undergraduates to learn specialised job skills and validate those skills through certification,” Kumaran added.
NetAcad is a comprehensive e-learning programme that provides students with the IT networking skills essential in a global economy. The programme was launched in Malaysia in 2001. Since its inception, over 40 academies in Malaysia have implemented the programme and it has generated a total of 9,000 skilled technology graduates for the workforce to date.
Overall Best Team & Open Category
Multimedia University, Cyberjaya
· Siew Voon Fei
· Tan Wee Chun
· Kho Dao Bin
Degree Category
Universiti Malaya
· Chew Poh Siang
· Ho Jenn Huei
· Low Weng Kin
Diploma Category
Terengganu Advanced Technical Institute
· Roslina Abd Wahab
· Muhammad Najmuddin Omar
· Nadiah Omar
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