KUALA LUMPUR: Efforts to prepare the industrial transformation in Malaysia for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) are continuing with three new initiatives that focus on the development of the design industry.
The initiatives are the Certified Industrial Designer (CID) certification, Covid-19 Creative Campaign Competition and Sirim 3D Printing Marketplace digital portal organised by Sirim Bhd and the Malaysian Design Council (MRM).
MRM director Associate Prof Dr Mohamad Hariri Abdullah said the council was targeting 500 applications by industrial designers for CID certification this October, with 200 of them set to receive the certification.
"This recognition is a paradigm shift to ensure design remains relevant to the local and global industry, especially with the explosion of new technologies," he said in a speech at the launch of the certification today by Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Lim Ban Hong.
Hariri said CID would serve as the benchmark for professional designers' competency as well as a reference for all organisations seeking certification for industrial designers.
He said a total of 785 industrial designers and 74 creative design firms were currently active in Malaysia.
On the Covid-19 Creative Campaign, he said a total of 372 entries had been received in two categories — short video and digital poster — from May 7 to 29.
He said the creative entries were aimed at enhancing people's compliance with the new normal standard operating procedures.
Sirim president and group chief executive Dr Ahmad Fadzil Mohamad Hani said the 3D Printing Marketplace was a digital platform developed in March this year as a medium for independent designers, technology entrepreneurs and manufacturing companies to connect and share ideas in the design, technology and manufacturing industries.
"Portal users can access designs as well as upload and download shared designs on the portal," he said.
He added that to date the portal recorded 12,865 hits with 180 designs uploaded by 33 designers and 18 designs printed.
In his speech, Lim said all the initiatives were in line with Industry4WRD, which was the country's policy related to 4IR, aiming to improve national productivity and creating employment as well as highly competitive innovation.
"The design industry can't simply be seen as a cosmetic instrument because the roles and functions of design are very important, especially in the country's industrial development."
He added that the value added composition of a product must meet consumers' needs and tastes as well as enable local industry sectors to come up with products and services that were more internationally competitive. -- Bernama