KUCHING – Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus (Swinburne Sarawak) has hosted the third Industry-University-Community (IUC) Connect Series, featuring Ubisson Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer Peter Ting as the keynote speaker on ‘IT for Big Tech Only? Challenges Facing SMEs Going Digital: A Perspective from Medical Industry’.
Held virtually on 25 May, the third IUC Connect Series was part of the International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (IDECS) 2022 Satellite Programme, where a host of activities were planned in May as a digital month, leading up to IDECS 2022.
The IUC Connect series, a brainchild of Swinburne School of Research, serves as a platform to formalise the university’s connections and commitment to the community and industry. Swinburne believes that the university, industry and community are an ecosystem. Swinburne’s 2025 Vision is to bring people and technology together to build a better world, with people driven by a shared sense of purpose to create tomorrow’s technology and the human talent required for a digital, tech-rich future.
“Swinburne aspires to work closely together, particularly identifying industry and community-based problems. We hope to build an even stronger partnership where we can leverage each other’s strengths and work together to develop a robust research and talent pipeline ecosystem in Sarawak in IT,” said Swinburne Sarawak Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer Ir Professor Lau Hieng Ho.
The Covid-19 pandemic saw the rise of the digital health industry, propelling digital health onto the global stage as healthcare providers worldwide sought to leverage technology to help combat the crisis.
In line with Sarawak’s digital agenda, during the session, Ting shared his insights on IT for Big Tech and the challenges facing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) when going digital from the medical industry perspective. “Embracing IT is the only security to future-proof a competitive landscape that lies ahead. It is important for businesses to go digital to become competitive and thrive in the current landscape,” he emphasised.
Ubisson represents work that ties technology, innovation and community, pursuing its vision of innovative healthcare solutions in Malaysia. Together with the advancement of pharmaceutical technology, its dedicated team aims to provide better services to the stakeholders and promote ‘Innovative Healthcare Solutions for a Better Life’.
The Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between Swinburne Sarawak and Ubisson in 2021 is a prime example of this collaborative effort with the industry to provide solutions for chronic diseases. This initiative aligns with Sarawak’s digital economy mission.
Under this collaboration, Swinburne’s Digital Health research team from its Centre for Digital Futures led by Director Professor Patrick Then and BioTective, a digital healthcare division under Ubisson, are working together to deliver a comprehensive continuum of care to patients with chronic diseases through digital transformation.
Professor Ida Fatimawati binti Adi Badiozaman, Executive Dean of Research at Swinburne Sarawak, said, “Innovations in digital health reshape how healthcare is accessed and provided. The IUC Connect series with Ubisson was a platform to learn new approaches, techniques and paradigms to strengthen our ability to deliver quality, impactful and transformational research.”
Swinburne Sarawak will continue to play its role in promoting and maximising the outcome of research collaborations between industry, community and academia, strengthening relationships and formalising commitments with the industry through these knowledge transfer activities.