By Asmahanim Amir
Pix Abd Raai Osman

BANGI, 1 Dec 2015 – Data from Visual Informatics is indispensable in analysing many worldwide natural phenomena and crises such as Climate Change and the food shortage.

It can make a difference in analysing various ways of responding to natural disasters, food shortage and assisting many communities worldwide to make necessary adjustments to vital resources such as water, sustenance and agriculture.

Pro-Chancellor of the National University of Malaysia (UKM), Dato’ Seri Diraja Tan Sri Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah said research and development (R&D) on visual informatics worldwide is advancing more rapidly than ever.

“Added with the fact that research and development particularly on Big Data is expected to grow to USD$46.34 billion (RM200 billion),” she said when opening the Fourth International Conference on Visual Informatics (IVIC’15) here on 17 November.

She said nowadays, computer science and information and communication technology (ICT), specifically visual informatics – is seen as one of the key elements that is revolutionising and supporting the growth of many traditional industries such as education, healthcare and communication and new industries such as biotechnology, genetics and biomolecular engineering and data driven enterprises.

“For example in education, visual informatics democratizes education-expending accessibility to education beyond the traditional modes of learning.

“Millions of people all over the world (irrespective of social-economic status, race, colour and learning abilities), are tapping into more sophisticated and advanced online visual education systems to enhance their competencies and skills through virtual, augmented reality and holographic technologies,” she said.

She stated that in healthcare, visual informatics offers care-givers new systems and structures for the collation and exchange of crucial medical data which includes real-time image processing data.

In a related development, Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz said the Multimedia Corporation Development (MDeC) recently launched the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia for Startups programme to facilitate and accelerate local startups in obtaining MSC Malaysia status.

According to her, the initiative is supported by the Malaysia Global Innovation and Creativily Centre (MAGIC), as well as others ecosystem players, with some 500 Small and Medium Enterprises benefiting from this programme.

“We are serious in nurturing a vibrant ICT and R&D and innovation ecosystem that would create an industry that could produce selected creative and innovative products and services for the domestic and global market to become an exporter nation by 2020,” she said.

She explained that among the indicators are Malaysia’s potential increase in expenditure on R&D in ICT and rise in the number of filing of ICT patents.

“I hope it would spur yet another significant outcome that would help the country better coordinate big data initiatives.

“The formation of a ‘knowledge centre’, such as the Centre of Intelligent Data Analytics (CIDA), could be spearheaded by the Institute of Visual Informatics, UKM, in collaboration with its industry partners, AGA Zone Sdn Bhd,” she added.

The conference was co-chaired by five Professors from renowned universities such as Cambridge University, Dublin University, Kingston University, National Taipei University and UKM.

The conference successfully attracted more than 200 experts, academics, professionals, researches and industry players.

Also present were UKM Vice Chancellor, Prof Datuk Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali and Deputy Vice-Chancellors of the University.