JOHOR BAHRU, 30 March 2015 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (UTM-CIAM) has collaborated with Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (OCIAM), Oxford University in organising the 2015 Malaysia Mathematical Modelling Camp (MMMC 2015).

This is a 4-day camp, a first of its kind in Malaysia, which aims to bring together graduate students nationwide to work on industrial mathematics problems under the guidance of experienced mentors.

MMMC 2015 Chairman, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali H.M Murid said that the camp provides participants with hands-on experience of mathematical modelling under the guidance of an experienced instructor.

“This programme was designed to promote a broad range of problem-solving skills such as mathematical modelling & analysis, scientific computation and critical assessment of solutions”.

“Problems participants have to solve have been inspired by real problems faced by the Industry. The camp will start  with presentations from the camp mentors, followed by participants forming several groups and teams to work on each problem,” he said.

This Camp is inspired by the Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM) UK Graduate Modelling Camp. MMMC 2015 garnered the participation of more than  70 graduate students from universities throughout Malaysia.

The invited mentors for the camp were Prof. Dr. Robert Mckibbin (Massey University, New Zealand); Assoc. Prof. Dr. Troy Farrell (Queensland University, Australia); Dr. Robert Style (Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Oxford); Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Hassan Mohamed Murid , Prof. Dr. Zainal Abdul Aziz, Assoc. Prof. Dr. K.K. Viswanathan (UTM Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia); Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fadhilah Yusof, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shamsudin Ahmad (Department of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia).

This camp is very much in line with the National Higher Education Strategic Plan and the National Graduate Employability Blueprint 2012-2017, which emphasize critical-thinking abilities to devise solutions to grand challenges.

The camp aspires to equip  students with higher order thinking skills that can give students the edge  to compete in the global job market. Certainly this will contribute to the development of innovative and highly qualified human capital to fulfil the needs of the complex global employment market demands.

The programme was held at Al-Razi Auditorium, T02, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering (FBME) UTM Johor Bahru for four days starting from 30 March – 2 April 2015. It was officiated by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs and Alumni, Prof. Dr. Mohd. Ismail Abd. Aziz. 

Participants of UTM MMMC 2015 taking a group photo with the Deputy Vice -Chancellor of Student Affairs and Alumni, Prof Dr Ismail Abd Aziz following the opening ceremony held at FBME, Johor Bahru campus.