Some of the interesting pictures taken during the launching of the WWRF at Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa, here, yesterday.
The three-day forum, the first in Southeast Asia, saw the coming together of hundreds of experts in the field of telecommunications from 110 member countries, including the United States of America, France, Japan, South Africa, Portugal, China, India and several local universities.
WWRF, themed “Wireless sans Frontiere: Reaching out to Humanity” is organized by the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, USM and is aimed at providing a platform for the academia, the industry and network operators to come together and determine the future of world telecommunications.
Dato’ Mohamed Sharil Mohamed Tarmizi, Chief Operations Officer, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said that with the Forum, Malaysia has proved its capabilities in contributing towards achievement at global level.
According to Dato’ Mohamed Sharil, it is not merely a platform to forge strategic relations between member countries but on the contrary, it is an arena to resolve world telecommunications issues.
“The forum will touch on many issues, including effective methods in tackling the digital gap faced by developing nations,” he said during the press conference after he had officiated at the forum yesterday.
Also present at the press conference were Chairman of WWRF and Director of Research for the Vodafone Group (UK), Dr. Nigel Jeffries; USM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak; and the Dean of the School of Electrical and Electrical Engineering, Prof. Mohd. Zaid Abdullah.
Dato’ Mohamed Sharil added that there are still many countries that are lagging behind in the field of telecommunications and that this matter has to be dealt with in the best possible way so that all parties are able to bridge the digital gap.
Meanwhile, Dr. Nigel Jeffries said that the role of the forum, organized twice a year, is to create a consolidated network for all those who are involved to propel the field of telecommunications to meet the various needs of the different segments of society.
He said that there were many benefits that can be reaped through WWRF, including the sharing accessibility and future strategies pioneered by the academia, industry players and network operators.
“The industry, for instance, can obtain the latest developments related to current studies that have been carried out by researchers from the institutions of higher learning while the academia can get a clearer picture on market needs from the industry. The collaboration among the experts will enable us to prepare a specific agenda to face the challenges of the future and at the same time enable us to conduct research that is creative and which has a high impact on social development,” he explained.
Dr. Nigel Jeffries said that by organising WWRF in Malaysia, it will have a positive impact, especially in having a closer look at telecommunication developments in Malaysia and in Southeast Asia.
He was also very impressed with the developments in USM, especially in this field through research directly related to developments for a wireless world.
