PUTRAJAYA: The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, through the Malaysia Board of Technologists (MBOT), has been announced as a Full Signatory of the Seoul Accord at the recent Seoul Accord Annual General Meeting held in India.
This announcement underscores Malaysia's capabilities and credibility in the field of information and communication technology on the global stage through the confirmation of its status as a full signatory.
In a statement on Thursday (June 20), the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry noted that the Seoul Accord recognition is expected to boost investor confidence, especially in the high-tech sector, to expand their operations in Malaysia, given that local talent is now recognised as being on par with international standards.
"In order to achieve this recognition, MBOT has worked hard for five years starting in 2019 as a provisional signatory of the Seoul Accord until becoming a full signatory today. During the process, MBOT has been guided by the Australian Computer Society (ACS), which acts as a mentor," it said.
The Seoul Accord is a multilateral agreement among bodies responsible for accrediting degree programmes in computing and information technology at the academic level.
At present, Australia, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States are full signatory countries of the Seoul Accord.
The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry said the process to obtain recognition as a full signatory involved various evaluation sessions, including audit visits to Universiti Teknologi Mara Shah Alam for the Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) programme and Multimedia University for the Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) and Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons) programmes in Information Systems.
"MBOT has received positive feedback from the evaluation panel, especially regarding the equivalence of MBOT's accreditation standards with the Seoul Accord. The panels involved were from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET), and the British Computer Society (BCS)," it said.
Through its status as a Full Signatory of the Seoul Accord, degree programmes, especially in three fields accredited by MBOT, namely Information and Communication Technology, Cyber Security Technology, and Creative Art and Multimedia Technology, are equivalent to the international standards set by the Seoul Accord.
Therefore, for local graduates to achieve international recognition, all public and private higher education institutions offering bachelor's degree programmes in these fields must obtain accreditation from MBOT.
"At the same time, it will improve the prospects and careers of graduates globally," it added. - Bernama
