KUCHING – Council of the City of Kuching South (MBKS) Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng said that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus and ARx Media Sdn Bhd on 2 December 2021 was a “visionary move”.
Swinburne Sarawak and ARx Media Sdn Bhd, a company involved in developing the Qmunity movement tracking app with MBKS last year, teamed up to collaborate in the field of engineering research and community projects involving technologies such as IoT, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).
Set up by Swinburne Sarawak graduates in 2018, ARx Media specializes in software development, IoT, Smart City solution, AR, VR, web/mobile application development, website development, and technology consultancy.
“Initiated by (Swinburne Sarawak engineering academics) Dr Jennifer Chin Mei Yun together with Associate Professor Kelvin Kuok King Kuok and Dr Angelia Liew San Chuin, this MoU is a visionary move,” said Dato Wee who was the guest of honour at the signing ceremony.
“I believe in your foresight and I request that you challenge the limits, dare to change, and explore unexplored territories and present the world with innovative solutions that can benefit our society,” he added.
Citing that Malaysian cities are emerging rapidly as global tech hubs, he said that Kuching through the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation had created the Sigfox Internet of Things and the 5G technology testbeds as open innovation platforms to drive the development of IoT and 5G.
“The development of Kuching as a global tech hub is in line with the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL) to make Malaysia a regional leader in digital economy, especially towards creating new jobs, attract unicorns and huge investment capital in digitalization.”
Wee said that he believes that Sarawak tech start-ups and innovations could be on par to compete with the some of the region’s big players and cited Kuching’s recent recognition as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy as an example.
“When the Qmunity app was launched in March 2020 as a Covid-19 movement tracking app two months prior to the launching of MySejahtera, I saw that a solution manifested and introduced to the public a crucial piece of tool during the pandemic,” he said.
Wee added that the app recorded more than 450,000 registered users, onboarded more than 13,000 business premises and recorded more than 10 million check-ins which helped JKNS and KKM with tracking during critical times.
“Qmunity was honoured as one of the honourees for the Sustainable Development Award and this is a huge milestone for Kuching technology innovation,” he said.
Wee hopes more businesses would work closely with institutions such as Swinburne to leverage on the resources from both the R&D and industry experience to incubate more market relevant and strategic solutions that could improve the standard of living and liveability of Kuching, and to elevate the city as a cradle for innovative global tech start-ups in the near future.
“I look forward to Kuching being also a Creative City for Sustainable Solutions, which I will leave to your good hands, and the great milestones you will accomplish together,” Dato Wee said in closing.
Swinburne Sarawak Pro Vice-Chancellor and CEO Ir Professor Lau Hieng Ho said that the collaboration with ARx Media is in line with Swinburne’s 2025 Vision to bring people and technology together to build a better world.
“The MoU offers both parties the opportunities to develop the technical interchange through mutual assistance, especially in the areas of mobile app development, AR and IoT, and to initiate university-industry research interactions through knowledge transfer, industry driven research as well as research grant applications.
“The expertise of both parties for engineering and ICT projects with an emphasis on environmental sustainability and community empowerment could be harnessed to benefit local and underprivileged communities. This includes introducing new technologies such as AR and VR to reduce barriers and create opportunities for vulnerable communities,” Professor Lau said.
He added that not only was it satisfying to see that graduates of the Australian university branch campus are doing well in their career but that they are also giving back to the community.
“I hope that our collaboration with Swinburne Sarawak will contribute to developing more innovative solutions to grow Kuching into a better city,” said ARx Media Business Development Director Jimsley Lim Jim Hong, adding that most of the company’s staff are Swinburne alumni.