Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Press wraps up a Summer Camp with Wuyi University, China delegation by organizing the Summer Camp: UMS Colloquium on Artificial Intelligence (Research and Publication) recently.

The closing ceremony of the summer camp which took place at the UMS Library Auditorium commenced with the inaugural address by the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Associate Professor Ts Dr Ismail Saad.

According to Ismail, the two weeks summer camp are involving 48 students and 2 accompanying lecturers from Wuyi University, China.

“Throughout this two week, several programs were held which aimed to create a space for an exchange of knowledge and experience between the two institutions and introduce participants to the unique culture of Sabah.

“It is hoped that this programme could inspire all participants to carve their path to success in the field of artificial intelligence in the future,” he said.

During the event, Ismail also presenting the participation certificates and outstanding achievements to the involved participants.

Also attending the event Head of UMS Press, Prof. Madya Ts. Dr. Kenneth Teo Tze Pin.

To enhance their ability to serve and communicate better with the growing Chinese community in the region, a group of staffs from Royal Malaysian Customs Department of Sabah had successfully completed their Chinese Language Course (HSK) level 1 at Confucius Institute Universiti Malaysia Sabah (CI@UMS).

Over the past three months, a selected group of custom staff personnel eagerly immersed themselves in learning the complexities of Mandarin at the Confucius Institute.

Ten personnel of the department pass all the requirements for the course and were receiving their certificates from CI@UMS recently in a brief ceremony which was held at the Sabah Custom building in Kota Kinabalu.

The Chinese language course, conducted by professional teacher Ming Hao from CI@UMS, encompassed a comprehensive curriculum, focusing on basic conversational fluency, cultural understanding, and specific terminology relevant to Custom procedures.

Participants actively engaged in language exercises, role-plays, and interactive discussions, enhancing their vocabulary, pronunciation, and comprehension skills.

Throughout the course, the staffs turned students showed remarkable dedication and perseverance, attending classes outside of their regular work hours.

Their commitment to mastery of Mandarin was commendable, demonstrating their genuine desire to improve communication channels and foster stronger ties with the local and overseas Chinese community.

This endeavor aimed at equipping the students with the necessary linguistic skills to better serve the needs and concerns of Chinese visitors, residents, and nationals seeking assistance from custom authorities.

The Director (Malaysia) of Confucius Institute UMS, Professor Ts. Dr. Chong Khim Phin expressed his admiration for the participants' unwavering commitment.

"It is heartening to witness the dedication and enthusiasm shown by these Custom members.

“Their decision to invest time and effort in learning the Chinese language demonstrates their sincerity in building stronger connections with the Chinese community and fostering a more inclusive society," he said.

Meanwhile the Deputy Director of Custom Department of Sabah, Edward Justin congratulated the participants on their achievement, emphasizing the importance of effective communication in the Custom sector.

"The completion of this Chinese language course equips our Custom staffs with invaluable skills that will enable them to provide improved services to our Chinese-speaking population, contributing to a more seamless and welcoming experience," he said.

The successful completion of the Chinese language course marks a significant milestone, not only for their staffs but also for the community at large. A multilingual workforce is crucial for addressing language barriers and ensuring efficient service delivery, particularly in a diverse and multicultural society.

CI@UMS will continue to offer HSK level 1 classes to the Custom Department and HSK level 2 to those who had pass the level 1.

The Institute is dedicated to provide language and cultural learning opportunities to individuals and organizations, facilitating cross-cultural understanding and cooperation.

KOTA KINABALU: France Ambassador to Malaysia, Axel Cruau, has expressed hopes for academic collaboration between several universities in France with universities in Malaysia, including Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).

Axel said there are various aspects that can be expanded through the cooperation involving both countries.

“Through this cooperation, research can be conducted to produce better results.

“Students exchanges can also help to strengthen ties between both countries and provide opportunities to the students to learn the way of life of both countries,” he said during his courtesy call at UMS.

Present to receive him were UMS Vice Chancellor, Professor Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor and Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic and International, Professor Dr Shahril Yusof.

Axel also hoped of working together on matters related to the sea.

“I hope for cooperation in the field of marine biology, marine science, fisheries with universities in Malaysia,” he said.

Axel also hoped for all universities in Malaysia to attend a conference to be held in Kuala Lumpur to discuss further the matters raised.

Kasim welcomed the proposals and said UMS is always open to any academic collaborations that would provide positive impacts for both parties.

Also present were Dean of Faculty of Computing and Informatic, Associate Professor Ts. Dr. Mohd Hanafi Ahmad Hijazi; Dean of Center for Promotion of Knowledge and Language Learning, Associate Professor Dr. Lai Yew Meng; Borneo Marine Research Institute Director, Associate Professor Ts Dr Sitti Raehanah Muhamad Shaleh; and Borneo Marine Research Institute’s Research and Innovation Deputy Director, Associate Professor Dr Ching Fui Fui.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) will strengthen its collaboration in academics and technology with one of the largest dredging companies, CCCC Dredging (Group) Co. Ltd (CDC), through its Confucius Institute at UMS (CI@UMS).

UMS Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Dr. Kasim Hj. Mansor and the Vice President of CDC, who is also the Chairman of HK Ocean Investment Development Corporation, Huang Daojin (黄道金), had discussed various types of collaborations, including road and bridge construction, for the benefit of Sabah and UMS.

Collaboration through expertise exchange, students' industrial training, graduate employment, and the development of a simulation laboratory of engineering in UMS were also among the important agendas discussed during the 4th CI@UMS council meeting held in the CDC HQ in Beijing.

CDC was also committed to jointly carrying out environmental protection and social responsibility activities with CI@UMS, such as organising students and lecturers to visit projects and understand environment protection and measures in the construction process, such as Tianlin ship construction in Sabah.

For the record, CDC is a collaborative partner of CI@UMS together with Changsha University of Science and Technology (CSUST).

Founded in 1905 and established as a dredging group in 2015, CDC has 11000 employees with registered capital of USD 1.68 billion and total assets of over USD 14.98 billion. The turnover of CDC in 2019 was USD 5.35 billion, ranking the 1st among global dredging companies.

Some of the remarkable projects of CDC in Malaysia include the Penang Reclamation project (STP2), the land reclamation project in Port Klang, the Sepanggar Bay Cargo Port expansion, Tourism and Resort Development at Kinarut, and many others.

Meanwhile, CSUST has agreed to provide more local training for technical Mandarin teaching for UMS. The three parties had agreed to enhance collaboration in Mandarin teaching and cultural exchange between Sabah and China through CI@UMS as its platform.

Also present in the meeting were the board of directors of UMS, Datuk Vincent Pung Yee Kiong (冯裕强); Director (Malaysia) CI@UMS, Prof. Ts. Dr. Chong Khim Phin (张钦平);

Director (China) CI@UMS, Assoc. Prof. Deng Rong (邓嵘), Director of International Affairs Department CSUST, Assoc. Prof. Gan Hai Ying (甘海鹰); and delegates from the three parties.