IBM and TAR UC set up entrepreneurial support centre

• Will be incubator for ideas and arm undergrads with real-world skills
• Focus on marketing, accounting, strategy, ops and management skills

IBM and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) have announced the establishment of an Entrepreneurial Support Centre that they said would nurture real-world skills and seed a culture of entrepreneurship among the latter’s undergraduates.

The centre, housed in the Faculty of Applied Science and Computing (FASC), complements IBM’s Academic Initiative On-Campus ‘Centre of Excellence’ (CoE) established at the tertiary institution in 2011.

More than 2,800 students have graduated with skills in IBM software technology such DB2, Lotus and Rational from the CoE, IBM said in a statement. These graduates also possess knowledge of IBM Power Systems, including IBM i and cloud computing capabilities, the company added.

The Entrepreneurial Support Centre would complement the CoE by building proficiency in marketing, accounting, strategy, operations and management among TAR UC undergraduates.
 
These students would also be able to incubate and test out their ideas at the centre, IBM said.

“The collaboration signifies a stronger and closer collaboration between TAR UC and IBM to jointly develop and sustain the talent pipeline for the industry in Malaysia by cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset among the students,” said TAR UC president Dr Tan Chik Heok.
 
“Our efforts are consistent with the Government’s aspiration toward human capital development, specifically nurturing ‘real-world experience’ among students, and to strengthen Malaysia’s position as a hub of skilled IT experts, software specialists and budding technopreneurs in South-East Asia,” he said.

Members of the faculty, alumni, startups and small and mid-sized companies are also encouraged to incubate their ideas using IBM technologies at the centre.

“This is an ongoing effort by IBM to bring innovation and progress to the nation, and to support Malaysia’s quest to be a high-income, knowledge economy,” said IBM Malaysia managing director Paul Moung.
 
“The introduction of the Entrepreneurial Support Centre at the Faculty is essential to produce graduates with skills in critical thinking, effective communication and problem-solving so crucial in a modern workforce,” he added.

IBM will also help to identify its clients and business partners to collaborate with TAR UC for internships.
 
Among the participating partners of its industrial training programme for IBM certified graduates are: Scope International, Standard Chartered Bank’s Group Global Technology and Operations Hub; Silverlake Axis, a leading banking and finance digital economy solutions and services provider; Dynafront, a leading life assurance solution provider; and Computer Business Solutions, an IBM premier business partner specialising in IBM systems.

IBM said its Academic Initiative is currently used by three million students and 25,000 faculty staff from 5,000 institutions globally, culminating in more than 30,000 unique partnerships between IBM and higher education professionals to help advance curriculum in areas including big data and analytics, cloud computing, security and social business.

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