Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corp. (MDC) has signed an agreement with Australia-based Asia-Pacific Information Technology and Telecommunications Corporation (APIT and T Corporation) and Asia-Pacific Information Technology Awards (APITA) of Malaysia to establish an IT and telecommunications awards program for the MSC that includes electronic and network solutions among its categories.
The awards, dubbed the Asia-Pacific Multimedia Super Corridor Information Technology and Telecommunications Awards (APMITTA), will give recognition to achievement of individuals, students and entrepreneurs, SMEs and corporations that have contributed to the development of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), according to the MDC.
The APMITTA will be held annually and directly linked to the APIT and T Awards which will be staged at different Asia-Pacific locations each year. Malaysia will be hosting the International Awards next year.
MDC executive chairman, Dr Othman Yeop Abdullah, said that the APMITTA is aimed at providing a platform for the enhancement and promotion of networking, technology transfer, innovation and training in the information technology and multimedia and related industries, especially those within the MSC and eventually the Asia-Pacific region.
The APMITTA initiative is part of an on-going effort by the MDC to promote the development and enlargement of the pool of IT and multimedia SMEs in the country.
“Technopreneurs and IT/multimedia SMEs are key ingredients for the success of the MSC,” said Othman.
“Through APMITTA, we hope to be able to help nurture the new generation of IT and multimedia innovators and mobilize a new culture geared towards optimizing IT and multimedia technologies,” said Othman.
APITA will manage the awards with support from stakeholders from the Malaysian IT and multimedia industry, including the government, IT and multimedia associations, educational institutions, related industries and users.
The APMITTA will be held annually and directly linked to the APIT and T Awards, launched in Queensland, Australia, in March 1998 and staged at different Asia-Pacific locations each year. Malaysia will be hosting the regional awards next year.
The Malaysian awards categories include among them applications and solutions in smart schools, electronic government initiatives, and start up companies.
The MDC is the Malaysian government-owned caretaker of the MSC, a multimedia and IT development zone with two cybercities, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.