By Neville Timothy Sanders & Annabell Naja
The Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak (CENTEXS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yayasan Sarawak that was tasked with training and upskilling the young generation to meet the technical needs and requirements of the state industries, with a focus on various sectors such as oil and gas trade, electrical and port, construction and textile and hospitality, as well as assisting CENTEXS graduates in finding work after they complete their training.
Upskilling the Young for Digital Transformation
IN conjunction with the upcoming International Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (IDECS), which will be held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) from June 21 to 22, the Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak (CENTEXS) has organised a month-long programme called CENTEXS Digital Tech Event 2022.
The event, which runs from May 27 to June 20, is part of the Digital Satellite Programme and focuses on five interesting segments, namely International Symposium on Digital Industry Transformation 2022; CENTEXS National Digital Industry Transformation Hackathons; Bringing Immersive Technologies to Foster STEM Take-Up: The Collaboration Between CENTEXS Digital Academy and Petrosains Playsmart Kuching; CENTEXS Digital Academy with Industries; and CENTEXS Digital Academy with Communities.
International Symposium on Digital Industry Transformation
The International Symposium on Digital Industry Transformation, which took place from June 7 to 8, is a platform for sharing scientific and technological advances in all aspects of the digital industry transformation.
Co-organised by their global leading partners in industries such as Huawei, EON Reality, Keysight Technologies, Basch rexroth, NexT Schlumberger, and International Business Machines (IBM), and armed with intriguing content and skilled speakers in the industry, the symposium seeks international and local participation.
The symposium also featured leaders and speakers from relevant industries, including Sarawak Energy Berhad, Sarawak PETCHEM, and Sarawak Metro.
The symposium is equipped with substantial activities such as global leading industry partners and local industries sharing sessions; CENTEXS Technology Display and project showcase; meet and greet exclusive sessions with global partners and industries; and CENTEXS Open Day.
Themed ‘Digital Industry Transformation: No One Should Be Left Behind’, the symposium’s objective is to discuss the acceleration of digital industry transformation, to discover solutions and the appropriate technological advancement, and to introduce CENTEXS roles in digital readiness.
CENTEXS National Digital Industry Transformation Hackathons
A hackathon is a design sprint event in which people from various backgrounds collaborate to come up with new solutions to problems.
It is organised to stimulate and spark interest in digital and immersive technologies among youngsters and the local community.
The segment catalyses digital capabilities as a winning solution by emphasising digital intelligence, creativity, and innovation in the global-local arena.
The hackathons are expected to yield more outstanding and exemplary projects that can be useful in the global and local arenas with the collaboration of CENTEXS Digital Academy, Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation, and EON Reality.
The hackathons will focus on five themes aimed at tackling challenges and identifying opportunities in digital transformation in the sectors of education, tourism, housing and construction, agriculture, and manufacturing.
Bringing Immersive Technologies to Foster STEM Take-Up
The CENTEXS Digital Academy and Petrosains Playsmart Kuching collaboration is committed to showcasing and embedding immersive technologies in (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) STEM education and learning to make it more interactive and interesting.
Themed ‘Experience STEM Through Immersive Technologies’, the objectives are to highlight emerging immersive technologies along with STEM development; to promote its capabilities through STEM development; and to raise public awareness, particularly among educators, learners, and parents, of the technologies’ impact on intelligence and self-development.
The digital academy has produced six content development innovation projects that will be exhibited at Petrosains Playsmart Kuching soon. Among them are Autostereoscopic/Glasses-Free 3D, AR Mobile Application-Chemical Compound, AR Mobile Application-Colour Combination, Hologram-Heritage Items, Hologram-Solar System, and Hologram-Constellation.
CENTEXS Digital Academy with Industries
CENTEXS Digital Academy with Industries is the programme initiated by Digital Academy of CENTEXS Digital Tech Event 2022, in conjunction with IDECS 2022.
The goal of the initiative is to raise awareness of the digital academy among industries, as well as to reskill and upskill industry workers in related fields through short training programmes. Furthermore, this is an initiative to engage with organisations in order to increase industry participation and penetration in the digital transformation process.
Fiber Optic Splicing Training was held on June 14 from 9am to 4.30pm as part of the first CENTEXTS with industries programme in line with the tech event. The programme drew participants from a number of different industries as well as freelancers who are involved in fibre optic installation projects.
The goal is to improve workers’ skills in digital technology such as IOT, XR, and digital hardware installation programmes, with an emphasis on quality of training, hands-on practise, and opportunities for participants to experiment and utilise their high-tech tools and equipment during the training.
There were five short training programmes for CENTEXS Digital Academy with Industries such as 5G Business Solutions Training, Internet-Of-Things Fundamental Workshop, Wireless and Microwave Hardware Installation Training, Fiber Optic Splicing Training, and Introduction to XR Development Training.
Fiber Optic Splicing Training aimed towards reskilling and upskilling people working in the Fiber Optic Installation industry. Because there is a scarcity of training in this industry, CENTEXS provides the ideal environment for fibre optic splicing practise and testing with its lab, equipment, and tools.
The Introduction to XR Development Training is a platform for participants to learn about the Extended Reality (XR) market, solutions, and development in order to meet industry needs.
During the session, Participants will have the opportunity to explore and experience Augmented (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) devices in estimate their suitability for their operation. Participants may also get the opportunity to meet with professionals for guidance on how Immersive Technologies may help promote and advance the industry.
CENTEXS Digital Academy with Communities
CENTEXS performed the Community Technical Outreach Programme (CTOP) for the community as part of community development, with all programmes based on community demands.
The CTOP has a minimum duration of one day and a maximum duration of five days with no training expenses, no age limit, and no minimum requirements.
The goal is to raise public awareness of the CENTEXS Digital Academy, engage with communities to increase public participation, and penetrate communities in the Digital Transformation process.
Themed ‘Be a Part of the Digital Transformation Community: No One Should Be Left Behind, Skilling, Reskilling and Upskilling’, nine activities were held under the CENTEXS Digital Academy with Communities’ four core programmes.
Tech Talk with Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak (CENTEXS) was a programme, derived from the discussion of the direction of the MOU between the Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) and CENTEXS on February 11.
The purpose of the programme, which took place on June 11 from 8am to 5pm at the DBKU auditorium in Bukit Siol with 200 participants, namely community leaders, representatives, entrepreneurs, educators, students, and the general public, was to share with communities, particularly on the digital and technology transformation, while also demonstrating the role of CENTEXS in digital readiness.
The Introduction To Immersive Technologies course aims to increase participants’ knowledge and awareness regarding the rapidly developing immersive technologies.
Located at the CENTEXS building on May 28 from 9am until 3.30pm, the immersive technologies were presented as a potentially beneficial new technology for the target population. The content was created based on the participants’ suitability.
