IBM and UKM Establish Centre of Excellence to Deepen Skills in Cybersecurity

BANGI, MALAYSIA – 24 June 2013: IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) today signed an agreement to establish the UKM-IBM Academic Initiative Centre of Excellence (CoE).

The CoE will provide students at the university with courses in advanced technologies such as Cyber Security and Service Science, Management & Engineering (SSME).

Housed at the UKM Faculty of Information Science and Technology, the IBM-UKM CoE aims to produce graduates with a holistic set of cross discipline skills – for instance training engineers to learn about other parts of an operation such as marketing.

Such skills are in high demand for the workforce of the future, and the enhanced training aligns closely with the objectives of Malaysia’s national agenda to become a knowledge-based economy by 2020.

“The IBM-UKM CoE aims to produce graduates with the required knowledge, ability and analytical skills to plan and manage IT effectively through innovative learning process and practical teamwork," said Y Bhg Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Wira Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, Vice-Chancellor, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Under the collaboration, UKM will provide teaching resources and facilities, while IBM will provide software, courseware, training and testing that are needed for the students to gain global certification.

UKM is the third university in Malaysia to offer post graduate course in SSME. Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Malaya introduced a post graduate in SSME in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

UKM is also the third institution of higher learning in Malaysia to establish a CoE with IBM. Two other universities, Tunku Abdul Rahman College and Universiti Pahang Malaysia, have also set up CoEs with IBM in 2011 and 2010 respectively.

At the UKM CoE, IBM’s IT security technology will be embedded into the unversity’s Cyber Security degree programme. The University will work with IBM to develop and train students with a deep understanding of how advanced technologies can be used to protect enterprise security, as well as concepts such as cloud computing and Big Data can be applied to tackle everyday challenges.

“It is imperative that the emerging workforce is equipped with cross disciplinary 'T-shaped' skills to enhance their professionalism, and enable them to lead their organisations toward success,” said Mr. Paul Moung, Managing Director, IBM Malaysia.

“Embedding Cyber Security into the IT curriculum is essential to meet the growing demand for such professionals to manage privacy issues, which is a growing concern for organisations and with the public at large."

As cyber attacks become more advanced via the pervasive use of social media, mobile and cloud computing, organisations need more professionals who can help them protect their people, data and applications. IBM operates one of the world's broadest security research and development, and delivery organisations.

This comprises nine security operations centres, nine IBM Research centres, 11 software security development labs, and an Institute for Advanced Security with chapters in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific. IBM monitors 15 billion security events per day in more than 130 countries and holds more than 3,000 security patents.

The SSME is an academic discipline by IBM that is designed to nurture a special kind of professional who can stand out in today’s highly competitive world, where our skills and knowledge need to be continuously enhanced.

The programme aims to develop cross functional professionals who have a deep proficiency in more than one area such as engineering, and also the breadth of skills to interact productively with other departments such as marketing and finance. These leaders would then be equipped to lead growth and transformation in today’s service-oriented economies.

In conjunction with the announcement, IBM will also host a three-week Summer School of SSME at the varsity next month for 40 post-graduates students.

IBM has been working with hundreds universities worldwide to design courses that combine disciplines including computer science, operation research, engineering, management science, business strategy and social and cognitive sciences.