In celebration of International Women’s Day, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) announced its all-women team in its newly-formed Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) department.
The appointments are a continuation of the Digital for Malaysia Associate Programme (DMAP) which provides opportunities for new graduates in the fields of digital technology, data science and AI to gain digital work experience in these fields.
The MDEC CEO stated, “I am both very proud and delighted to introduce this all-women team at our newly-created Data Science and Artificial Intelligence department which furthers our constant drive to leverage on new technologies to bring relevant and market-driven products and services. I believe education and engagement are two pillars of a strong female technology workforce. In Malaysia, women make up 35% of the technology workforce.” Promoting women leadership in technology is also essential, the CEO said.
According to The World Bank report, women make up less than 40 per cent of the total global workforce while according to McKinsey, a diverse workforce tends to perform better.
MDEC’s Chairman stated that the participation of new talents, including from among graduates with digital and data science skillsets, will contribute towards this agency in making the digital leap. It is also in line with the second component of Malaysia 5.0 which is to adopt, add value and produce digital and technological transformation in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0).
All these components are combined to produce a strong team that supports each other and in turn enables MDEC to accelerate digitalisation efforts, he added.
Based on the AI Readiness Index by the International Research Development Centre (IDRC) and Oxford Insights released last year, Malaysia is ranked 28th with a score of 63.66 involving the readiness to use data science and AI for healthcare, education and transportation sectors and is ahead of Brunei (49th), Thailand (60th), Indonesia (62nd), Philippines (74th) and Vietnam at (76th) position.
This achievement is parallel with the aspirations of the government which has identified six clusters namely economy, digital talent, community, data and digital infrastructure, emerging technology and government as the driving components in the digital economy and Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) agenda and the introduction of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL).
One of the graduates said she is excited to join the Data Science and AI division at MDEC as it is a great opportunity for her to gain experience in the digital technology sector which currently plays an important role in the country’s economic growth.
She noted that MDEC has various initiatives to drive the growth of the country’s digital economy.
“I am confident that the knowledge obtained at the university can be applied here in the various fields such as creative digital content, business digitization, financial technology and digital investment. This is because scientific data will lead to the management and creation of smart technology in line with the progress of the IR4.0 era,” she added.
The digital economy is expected to continue its significant contribution to the country this year, based on an estimated 20 percent contribution to the GDP in 2020 by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, following a forecast of 6.7 percent economic growth for 2021 by the World Bank.
In fact, with the launch of MyDIGITAL, the expected contributions – by 2025 – from the digital economy towards the GDP is an estimated 22.6 percent.
MDEC, with the full support of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM), will continue to lead the digital economy forward; centred on ensuring shared prosperity for the many and towards realising Malaysia 5.0.
This is focused on our three strategic thrusts – empowering Digitally Skilled Malaysians, accelerating Digitally-Powered Businesses and attracting Digital Investments. MDEC is committed to rolling out key digital initiatives announced in MyDIGITAL, to empower a society centered on 4IR technology, progressing towards Malaysia 5.0 and shared prosperity for all.
