The winners of the competition (from left to right): Loo Ann Gie, Teoh Jia Jun, Lim Xin Zhe, Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok, President of TAR University College, Low Leong Yong, another participant, Jeffrey Ting Ming Yeong, and Ching Richard.

The lecturers of FASC and the winners, together with Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok(9^th from left), Assoc Prof Dr Ng Swee Chin (5^th from right), Vice President of TAR University College and Assoc Prof Dr Loke Chui Fung (4^th from right), Dean of FASC.

Five out of six IT students from the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Computing (‘FASC’) who participated in the Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (‘UTeM’) IT Open Competition, won top prizes in 3 areas and categories that were being contested. In the first category on IT Software Solution for Business, the 1st prize went to Lim Xin Zhe from the Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons) in Software Systems Development. The second category on IT Network System Administration, the 2^nd prize winner was Jeffrey Ting Ming Yeong from the Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons) in Information Security and the 3rd prize for same the category went to Ching Richard from the Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons) in Software Systems Development. As for the Web Design category, the 1st prize was clinched by Loo Ann Gie from the Diploma in Science (Internet Technology) and the 2^nd prize was garnered by Teoh Jia Jun from the Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons) in Information Security.

Lim Xin Zhe felt exuberant after the win. He developed software for the use of marathon runners to keep track of marathon details and their sponsorship. He said: “The web-based application and web application development subjects that I learnt in my programme helped me in this competition.”

As for Loo Ann Gie, the only girl in the group, her advice to those who wish to do well in this competition is to do their own research about things they do not know and to prepare well as it is the key to success. Ann Gie had to design a homepage according to a picture given to the participants of the category and as for the 2^nd part of the competition, she had to design a database to retrieve data based on a given scenario.

Another winner, Jeffrey Ting Ming Yeong said: “Being well-read is important. Take some time to read on all areas of study in IT. Read widely on books found in the library, as this competition requires one to know other platforms and technology. You have also got to remember all the commands and steps before entering the competition.”

All the winners will have to go through another round of selection to be eligible to enter the ASEAN Skills Competition, which is the next level, to be held this year. After that, there will be the World Skills Competition in 2017, for those who are qualified to compete at the international level.