In partnership with Politeknik Ungku Omar (PUO), Malaysia, and the National Institute for Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR)-Chennai, India, the Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) has conducted a free-to-register webinar titled Driving Digital Technology in TVET on December 15, 2023. Held via Zoom and YouTube platforms, the webinar aimed to provide a venue to discuss curriculum-related challenges faced by Malaysia and India’s TVET education institutions specializing in digital technology and answer how TVET can develop a digital technology curriculum that is aligned with industry standards. A total of 100 online participants have attended the webinar.
The program was jointly supervised by Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe, CPSC Director General; Dr. Usha Natesan, NITTTR-Chennai Director; and Dr. Shamsuri bin Abdullah, PUO Director. During their welcome addresses, Prof. Natesan and Dr. Shamsuri both warmly welcomed the participants and delivered inspiring words of encouragement highlighting the importance of incorporating digital technology, especially cybersecurity and artificial intelligence in the advent of today’s modern TVET curricula.
From top to bottom: Prof. G. Kulanthaivel, Aminah Bibi Binti Bawamohiddin, and Madam Jacey d/o Mariadass @ Manickam present their session topics
The resource persons who delivered the sessions include: Prof. Dr. G. Kulanthaivel, Head, Centre for International Affairs, NITTTR-Chennai and Former CPSC Faculty Member; Aminah Bibi Binti Bawamohiddin, Senior Lecturer, Department of Information Technology and Communication, PUO; and Madam Jacey d/o Mariadass @ Manickam, Senior Lecturer, Department of Information Technology and Communication, PUO. The sessions were moderated by Dr. Kesavan Ulaganathen, CPSC Faculty Consultant.
The sessions were divided into two sub-themes. The first sub-theme focused on the topic Championing TVET Through IR 4.0 Curriculum: Digital Technology, which aimed to discuss the best practices of TVET institutions in India and Malaysia when it comes to developing a digital technology-driven curriculum as well as the challenges they face. Meanwhile, the second sub-theme focused on the topic Cyber Security Training in TVET: Nurturing a Secure Digital Workforce primarily discussed how Malaysian institutions like PUO is incorporating cybersecurity education into their TVET programs ensuring that graduates are well-prepared to address the growing threats in the digital world. Following the sessions, a short question and answer session was facilitated. As a conclusion, both institutions (PUO, Malaysia and NITTTR-Chennai, India) exchanged mutual commitments to produce more collaborative activities and programs in the future.
