PUTRAJAYA, 6 Nov: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) came out tops at the 2009 National Open Source Software Case Study Awards. USM also took second place at the 24-Hour Open Source Software Development Contest which was held in conjunction with the Malaysian Government Open Source Software Conference (MyGOSSCON) 2009 organised by the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Planning Unit, today.
Universiti Sains Malaysia won the 2009 National Open Source Software Case Study Awards for its research and implementation of the open source software for library automation, known as ‘KOHA’ at the Advanced Medical and Dental Institute (IPPT), USM. The award for the 24-Hour Open Source Software Development Contest was garnered for the ‘E-Appointment,’ system developed by a group of programmers at the National Advanced IPv6 Centre, USM.
The implementation and research on KOHA was headed by Mohd Nasir Hj. Md Rashid, Senior Assistant Librarian, IPPT Library, USM together with Adnan Hamid, the Information Technology Officer, IPPT, USM while the WALTS 6 Group from the National Advanced IPv6 Centre, USM comprised Lingeswari a/p V. Chandra, Chew Wei Choon, Teoh Khah Swee, Lim Soo Ling and Adrian Hor Yew Choon.
The awards were presented by the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd.Sidek Hj. Hassan, who also officiated at the MyGOSSCON 2009 Closing Ceremony.
When met, Mohd Nasir said that the implementation of KOHA at the IPPT Library, USM not only succeeded in saving management and operational costs of more than 10 000 books and reading materials at the IPPT Library but also enabled the library to operate more effectively.
“This means that the IPPT Library, USM is the first library in the country to use Open Source Software in some aspects of its operations,” said Mohd Nasir who began research on upgrading work based on KOHA according to the needs of the IPPT Library, USM since early 2008.
Meanwhile, Lingeswari a/p V. Chandra who led the WALTS 6 team representing the National Advanced IPv6 Centre said that the achievement of their team in creating Open Source Software within 24 hours was proof of the capabilities of USM students and programmers in creating high-quality software despite encountering various challenges.
“The participants were only given the subject three hours before the contest began and it became more difficult when we had to face 99 other professional programmers from all over the country who were also taking part in the contest,” she said. She attributed the success of the team to the encouragement received from Prof. R. Sureswaran, the Director of the National Advanced IPv6 Centre and the team advisor, En. Selvakumar Manickam.
Also present at the ceremony were Datuk Normah Md Yusof, the Director-General of MAMPU; Prof. Lim Koon Ong, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, USM and wife, Puan Koo Lee Lee; Dr. Hj. Ramli Saad, Director, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, USM; and En. Wei Chuan Beng, Chairman, Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia.
