As an avid researcher in neural network and being active in the Asia Pacific Neural Network Assembly (‘APNNA’), Assoc Prof Dr Lai Weng Kin has devoted much of his effort and thankfully, all his hard work does not go unnoticed as he has carved a legacy for himself when he was awarded the APNNA Special Meritorious Award. Assoc Prof Dr Lai from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at TAR UC was presented with this once-in-a-lifetime award at APNNA’s annual International Conference on Neural Information Processing (‘ICONIP’) which was held in Kyoto, Japan from 16-21 October 2016. In this interview with Assoc Prof Dr Lai, he shares about his journey with APNNA and what it means to him to receive this prestigious award.
What is the objective of APNNA and how did you joined APNNA?
APNNA is an assembly with the objective to promote active interaction among researchers, scientists and industry professionals who are working in the area of neural network and related fields. Neural network is defined as a system of hardware or software patterned after the operation of neurons in the human brain. I was first introduced to APNNA back in 2005 when I presented a research paper on neural network in a conference. One of the Governing Board Members of APNNA approached me to join APNNA as a representative from Malaysia. I immediately jumped at the opportunity as it provided me a platform to build strategic network with like-minded professionals in the area of neural network and related fields.
What were the criteria in awarding the APNNA Special Meritorious Award?
I was informed by APNNA that this award was given based on my sustained contribution towards APNNA. Since I joined the Assembly in 2005, I have been active in attending the yearly Governing Board meetings which are held alongside ICONIP. Besides that, I have presented research papers almost every year at the ICONIP. In addition to this, I played a major role in organising the 21st ICONIP which was held in Malaysia back in 2014 as well as a one-day Post-ICONIP’09 Workshop on Advances in Intelligent Computing in 2009. Apart from this, I am also one of the Country Governors in APNNA.
How has TAR UC contributed towards your achievement?
When I joined TAR UC in 2011, I was already a member of APNNA. Knowing this fact, Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok, TAR UC’s President, has been consistently encouraging me to be active in APNNA’s activities and he has ensured that I will receive all the necessary support. Besides this, my colleagues and the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment have been very supportive towards my involvement in APNNA. In summary, I am very grateful that I have the full support from TAR UC which has allowed me to continue being an active member of APNNA.
How does winning this award bring value to your work and to TAR UC?
Winning this award is certainly an encouragement for me to do better in my work especially in the area of research. Besides this, as APNNA provides me the platform to learn and acquire the latest knowledge and developments in the area of neural network from other renowned neural network researchers and professionals, I am able to utilise the information I have acquired in my teaching and my research work. On top of this, as TAR UC is moving towards attaining the status of a university, it is important that TAR UC is active in the area of research. Thus, by winning this award, it has certainly put TAR UC’s name among the top universities in the region on research work in neural network.
