SHAH ALAM: Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) has yet again made its mark in the education arena by becoming the first varsity in the world to be appointed an accredited training provider under the SAS Academy for Data Science.
In a statement, UiTM said that the collaboration – a first in Malaysia – will enable its students to attain professional big data and analytics certifications as added value. By incorporating the training into its curriculum, the university will also be able to cultivate a skilled talent pool of young data scientists in line with Malaysia’s 2020 digital nation vision.
"The Malaysian government has set a national goal to strengthen the talent pool by training 20,000 data professionals by 2020 to achieve the vision; and address the need for data science skills in today’s digital economy.
"The establishment of the SAS Academy for Data Science at UiTM directly addresses this challenge by providing students with another advanced curriculum for both big data and advanced analytics capabilities," the statement read.
The university said that with nearly 300 hours of content provided by SAS, UiTM will further enhance students’ education with knowledge and skills on advanced analytics, which includes topics on analytical modelling, machine learning and optimisation – allowing them to stay competitive in the marketplace, especially with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence in industries and businesses.