KUCHING: The Fourth Industrial Revolution (R4.0) is the key focus of the country as Malaysia is in the midst of rapid technological development, said Special Adviser (Sarawak Affairs) to Deputy Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Hafsah Harun.
She said R4.0 involved automation technology that provided new challenges to all sectors in the country, requiring them to make changes in line with the digital transformation in order to remain competitive.
“If this complex new technological challenge is not given due emphasis, it can cause Malaysia to lag behind in global competition,” she said when officiating at the closing of Kuching Polytechnic Project and Innovation Festival here today.
According to Hafsah, the labour market for the next 30 years will be filled with highly skilled, creative and critical thinking individuals.
Because of this, there was a need for lecturers in polytechnics to play an important role in ensuring innovation in teaching and learning in the classroom.
“This is because today’s Z generation students are exposed to a world of digital technology, the internet, cloud computing and social media that challenge the formal education system,” she said.
“While we are upset with the existence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (R4.0), make it a challenge because technology can replace work but manpower will remain relevant because robots are created by humans. It does not have the creativity of problem-solving skills and certainly does not think out of the box and not as innovative as humans, ” she added.
Out of the 200 entries were received for the Kuching Polytechnic Project and Innovation Festival Competition, 44 student-projects and 20 projects from their lecturers were selected to compete in the final.
