Unitar embarks on initiative in e-learning

Ahmad Kushairi in Brisbane, Australia
New Straits Times
07-27-2000
Unitar embarks on initiative in e-learning
Byline: Ahmad Kushairi in Brisbane, Australia
Edition: Computimes; 2*
Section: Business

UNIVERSITI Tun Abdul Razak (Unitar) plans to embark on a research and development (R&D) initiative to produce multimedia-based electronic learning (e-learning) content for the commercial markets.

Its general manager (finance and accounts) Dr Sheikh Ghazali Abod said the move would enable Unitar to position itself to capitalise on the increasing demand for training programmes among large corporations and the smaller entities within the region and worldwide.
Unitar hopes to realise the plan by end of this year, and is making the necessary preparations, which include additional investments in information technology (IT) to boost its R&D infrastructure.

"We will be allocating another RM30 million for IT by the year- end. As of June this year, we had allocated some RM50 million for IT- related initiatives as part our capital expenditure spending of RM145 million for the entire year. This includes the acquisition of e10K servers from Sun for supporting the anticipated increase in R&D computing requirements," Sheikh Ghazali said at a Press conference in Brisbane on Monday.

Earlier, at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, he witnessed a signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Unitar and SAP AG, aimed at transferring expertise to enhance R&D capabilities of both parties.

At the signing, Unitar was represented by its president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Dr Syed Othman Alhabshi, and SAP by SAP Malaysia Sdn Bhd's managing director Khatijah Shah.

Also present were SAP AG's co-chairman and CEO Prof Dr Henning Kagermann, and Asia-Pacific president and CEO Les Hayman.

Under the partnership, Unitar will provide its e-learning concepts and practices to optimise mySAP.com electronic business (e-business) solutions. SAP in turn will contribute its knowledge and expertise on SAP- ERP and mySAP.com solutions to help Unitar create an Internet- based customer-centric and collaborative environment within the organisation and beyond.

According to Syed Othman, the partnership marked the beginning of a series of more innovative initiatives by both parties to emerge as top players in each respective IT industry, and also to capitalise on the Internet-driven digital economy.

Unitar, he added, is constantly looking for the right combination of technology through partnerships with industry players, to become a viable player in the education environment.

"We thus see our partnership with SAP as possessing the right combination to enhance our performance in the areas of e-learning, in the local and global markets," he said.

Khatijah expressed confidence that the R&D partnership with Unitar would enable the company to cater to the surging e-learning demand, particularly in the Malaysian market.

"The partnership is expected to provide mySAP. com, the e- learning technology enabler, to contribute to faster development time, lower cost and higher quality offering to customers," she said.

Illustrations/Photos:
Caption: Expertise edge: From left are Hayman, Syed Othman,
Kagermann, Sheikh Ghazali and Khatijah.

(Copyright 2000)