Kuala Lumpur, 20 November 2020: The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is launching the DataKITA initiative in conjunction with Malaysia Tech Month 2020 (MTM 2020) to catalyse a thriving national data ecosystem in Malaysia. The ongoing initiative will be inaugurated with DataKITA.Pulse virtual event taking place on 21-22 November 2020.
DataKITA is preparing Malaysia for a new world order of data, one driven by disruptive Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies that necessitate business openness and digital evolution. Through the initiative, MDEC will collaborate closely with enterprises and stakeholders within the nation’s data economy. They will do this to help businesses jumpstart their data transformation journey through a structured approach – leveraging data literacy, data analytics, governance, data sharing and artificial intelligence (AI).
“Malaysia must gear up for a world beyond the new normal. To reach the next evolutionary level of our development, we must take charge of emerging 4IR technologies that will power the digital economy. As Malaysia transforms digitally towards Malaysia 5.0, businesses now must make the most of the ‘new gold’ that is data to better understand markets, increase revenues, gain new segments and raise their efficiency. Through DataKITA, we are empowering digitally-skilled Malaysians, enabling digitally-powered businesses and driving investors in digital sectors to join this data-driven population, as we work together to realise our nation’s Shared Prosperity Vision 2030,” said Datuk Wira Dr Hj. Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff, Chairman, MDEC.
The DataKITA initiative will raise the availability, accessibility and usability of data in Malaysia’s society and economy via four strategic pillars:
1. Knowledge: Promote Data Literacy
2. Infrastructure: Foster a Data-Driven Environment
3. Talent: Facilitate Development of Data Professionals
4. Action: Accelerate business enterprises to be Data Driven and AI Ready
By fostering holistic data transformation between the Malaysian people, businesses and the government, DataKITA will be the key vehicle to help Malaysia grow a data-driven digital economy to become an advanced market that sets a global example in leading the data proliferation within society and the economy. It will also help Malaysia’s economic actors tap
into the US$13 trillion revenue projected to be added by data-fuelled applications in the global economy by 2030, thereby reinforcing the nation’s position as the Heart of Digital ASEAN1.
“We want organisations to recognise importance of data transformation and to take the first crucial steps to embark on the data journey, such as training, using data for decision making, investing in technology or the cloud and setting up data roles within their organisation. This is what MDEC’s DataKITA initiative is all about and we are calling on Malaysia’s businesses and tech talent to embark on this data journey at our upcoming DataKITA.Pulse event,” said Ir. Dr. Karl Ng, Director, Data Ecosystem Development, MDEC.
DataKITA.Pulse – Jumpstarting data transformation journey for businesses
To be held on 21-22 November 2020, DataKITA.Pulse is a 25-hour non-stop virtual event that will inspire digitally powered businesses on their data transformation journey by connecting them to like-minded ecosystem stakeholders and industry thought leaders. The event is the first initiative under the broader DataKITA initiative. It will facilitate closer data ecosystem collaborations between society, businesses, governments as well as private- and public-sector entities to help more organisations in Malaysia embark on a structured and sustainable approach for their data transformation.
Held in cooperation with Forkwell – a global software engineer and data community seeking to empower and support with job opportunities across the world – DataKITA.Pulse will feature workshops, forums, business matching opportunities, product showcases by MDEC’s Data Technology Partners as well as one-on-one sessions with MDEC’s Chairman and COO. All of these are designed to help participating businesses link with leaders of Malaysia’s growing data ecosystem and better understand the value of data to power their respective data transformation.
The industry trailblazers speaking at the event – and whose organisations are already proliferating data – include Kevin Khoo Min Sinn, CIO, Sunway Group; Shamsul Izhan Abdul Majid, CTIO, PLUS Malaysia; and Ts. Dr Mohamed Ackiel Mohamed, SVP, IT & Education and Training, Serba Dinamik Group. Meanwhile, DataKITA.Pulse is hosting business matching sessions with esteemed demand ecosystem partners, i.e. MARDI and KTMB.
In addition to encouraging data adoption between businesses, MDEC has also invited talented tech talents to DataKITA.Pulse to take part in the Data Visualisation & Storytelling Challenge. Through this challenge, participants will create data visualisation based on the problem statements pertaining to data application in selected industry sectors. They will then work on the challenge overnight before presenting their submission to the judges the next morning. Collaborating with MDEC on this challenge are I Tech Train Sdn Bhd (Strategic Partner) and Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd (Data Platform Partner), along with CompTIA who is the challenge’s prize sponsor.
The launch of the DataKITA initiative and the DataKITA.Pulse event are held in conjunction with the Malaysia Tech Month 2020 (MTM 2020) – a month-long curation of the very best in digital and technology keynotes, workshops and discussion panels. This inaugural event will feature visionary leaders and insightful investors as they share why they chose to operate in Malaysia, alongside a massive showcase of Malaysia’s world-class innovations and digital platforms for the world to see.
To register your company for DataKITA.Pulse, visit: www.mdec.my/mtm-event/datakita-pulse/ 1‘Which Countries Are Leading the Data Economy?’, Harvard Business Review (24 January 2019)
To learn more about the initiatives under the DataKITA initiative, visit: www.mdec.my/datakita To know more about the Malaysia Tech Month 2020, visit: www.mdec.my/mtm2020/
