The term fourth industrial revolution or IR 4.0 has become a buzz word for businesses big and small especially this year when the Covid-19 pandemic rocked businesses across the world and here in Malaysia. Now, you hear everyone is talking about digitalization, automation and artificial intelligence.
But did you know that IR 4.0 is not a new term that emerged out of the pandemic? In fact, the Malaysian Government has been actively advocating for the country especially the manufacturing sector, to adopt to IR 4.0 since 2018 and published a national policy on Industry 4.0 in February of 2018.
So, what is IR 4.0 and why does it matter so much, you may ask.
Well you see, Malaysia is a trading nation, our manufacturing sector has played a central role in turning Malaysia into a major player in the global arena. The manufacturing sector in the country started off as human labour-intensive production lines, and through the years, evolved into robotics for increased efficiency. With the advancement of technologies, we need to infuse more advanced digitalization, manufacturing technologies and manage our resources more efficiently in order to maintain the country’s competitiveness in the global arena as an industrialized nation.
“With the introduction of IR 4.0 technologies, we can enhance efficiency and reduce reliance on human labour so that we can boost our country’s competitiveness in the world! And that is where the opportunities lie for college and university students like you” said Dr Tiu Zian Cheak, Head, Faculty of Engineering and IT in SEGi College Subang Jaya
Catalyzed by the pandemic, more and more companies and organizations now realize the importance to adopt the latest digital industrial technologies into their business. Increasing efficiency and future proof their business becomes their top priority in maintaining a lead among competitors.
Just like how ice-creams sales will boom in a hot sunny afternoon, graduates with the right talent and skills will find boundless opportunities during these times. The demand for skilled workers in artificial intelligence software (Ai), big data analysis, cyber-physical systems, Internet of Things (IoT) will only rise in the next few years – making it the best time for students to upskill themselves in these areas.
Mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, electrical & electronics engineering, IT and computing are some of the top fields of studies that students may choose to enrol in to ride the IR 4.0 train.
In SEGi, we have launched the SEGi towards IR 4.0 approach in 2019 followed by an international conference on Industrial Revolution 4.0 officiated by then prime minister Tun. Dr Mahathir Mohammad in 2019. As a leap forward towards producing industry-relevant and highly competitive graduates, SEGi has taken tremendous transformative measures to enhance our academic offerings including intensive partnerships with the industry, curricula enhancement, upgrading of facilities and the introduction of new programmes.
In SEGi College Subang Jaya, we partnered with the top university in the country – University Malaya (UM), who also ranked #59 in the recent QS World University Rankings to offer articulation pathways for our engineering graduates to further their studies in UM’s Masters in Engineering programmes.
We are ready to prepare our students for the opportunities that will arise during these exciting times.
We live in an exciting frontier of a global transformation with IR 4.0. It is up to us to ride on the train and make the best of it. With boundless opportunities in the future, what matters now is for you (aspiring engineers and technologists) to ask yourselves – are you ready?
