By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Feb 19: International College of Advanced Technology Sarawak (i-CATS) recently received approval from the Education Ministry to establish a university college.
Named College of Smart Agriculture (COSA), the new campus will be located in Mukah and is scheduled to be completed this August.
Sarawak Skills Development Centre (PPKS)-cum-i-CATS chairman Tan Sri Dr Abdul Aziz Husain said the campus would offer courses such as aquaculture, precision farming and agro marketing.
“We will be able to facilitate the application of the latest technologies to transform Sarawak’s agricultural sector. This will increase agricultural output and encourage the development of sustainable practices by farmers,” Abdul Aziz said at the launching of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Symposium 2019 here today.
Taking up Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg’s recent call to the centre to develop and offer courses that facilitate the use of digital technologies in agriculture, Abdul Aziz added that this was also their commitment to facilitate the advancement of Industry 4.0 and digital economy in this region.
There was also an exchange of memorandum of cooperation between PPKS and Bandigo Kangan Institute, Melbourne, Australia, at the event today.
“This paves the way for us to identify joint strategic initiatives in areas such as education and training, teachers training and also joint research and development projects. We will also enhance this important relationship by organising joint activities such as seminars, workshops and training programmes, experts’ visits and staff exchange programmes,” he said.
With the support of the Sarawak government and technical expertise provided by the team from Bendigo, Abdul Aziz said PPKS planned to set up an Advance Automotive Training College (AATC) in the future.
He believed this would go a long way to enhance the centre’s range of TVET courses to support the state’s development initiatives. — DayakDaily
