Press Release: Digital Skills Gap Expert-Sharing Session

KUALA LUMPUR, 2 February 2023 — An expert-sharing session to discuss the digital skills gap was held at Azman Hashim Building, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya.

The expert-sharing session was hosted by a research team which consists of academicians from Universiti Malaya and Multimedia University and the purpose of the session is to engage with practitioners from the industry and members of professional bodies to discuss issues associated with the digital skills gap and digital skills requirements in the workplace focusing on the finance and accounting field.

The research team is led by Dr. Farzana Parveen Tajudeen from the Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya. Other members of the research team include Prof. Dr Che Ruhana Mohamed Isa and Dr. Shahrin Saaid Shaharuddin from the Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, Asso. Prof. Dr Farrah Dina Yusop from the Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya as well as Prof. Dr. Saravanan Muthaiyah from Multimedia University (MMU) who also served as the moderator for the session. The sharing session is funded by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme Project (Ref no: FRGS/1/2022/SS01/UM/02/6) as supported by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Malaysia.

The distinguished participants and guests for the session include Ms. Lim Fen Nee, Chairman, Digital Technology Implementation Committee (DTIC), Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), Ms. Karen Phang, Associate Director, CGMA Academic Initiatives, AICPA & CIMA, Ms. Kiran Ahuja, Talent Acquisition Director, APAC, Smith+Nephew Services Sdn Bhd., Ms. Oh Chin Ai, Head of People and Culture, CapBay, Ms. Amber Mosses, HR Specialist, CapBay, Mr. Edgar Jobe Gasper, Former Chief Operating Officer, SINEGY, Mr. Wilson Chin, Head of Marketing, Tokenize Malaysia, Ms. Shelly Kwong, Relationship Manager, Tokenize Malaysia, Mr. Mohammed Zakir Hossain, Head of Talent Acquisition, Asia Pacific, SWIFT, Ms. Rhoda Tan, HR Business Partner, Asia Pacific, SWIFT and Mr. Dan Ting Lip, Senior Vice President, APAC AML Financial Crimes Analytics & Data Science, Citi.

At the commencement of the session, Dr. Farzana Parveen Tajudeen referred to the importance of studying the digital skills gap for purposes of developing and designing academic curriculum and the need to involve members of the industry, government regulators and professional bodies. She also discussed details relating to the research project which includes various research activities as well as results-sharing sessions.

Prof. Dr Saravanan Muthaiyah expertly chaired the session and managed to gather some valuable insights from participants including the need to include case studies as well as knowledge sharing from industry experts in designing academic curricula. Furthermore, participants in the sharing session also highlighted the importance of encouraging students to gain practical experience as interns in companies that are adopting new digital technologies and are involved in digital transformation activities.

Furthermore, participants in the session also alluded to the fact that faculty staff needs to be well-trained and informed about the contemporary developments in digital technologies affecting the industry. In addition, it is also important that students do not neglect the importance of soft skills and business ethics when it comes to their development.

The expert-sharing session has managed to draw attention to some of the areas which practitioners and professionals in the industry as well as professional bodies regard as important developments in the area of digital skills and will be beneficial in contributing towards the research project as well as academic curriculum development.


Group Photo of Participants and Research Team

From left to right: Mr. Wong Xin Jian, Dr. Shahrin Saaid Shaharuddin, Universiti Malaya, Mr. Mohammed Zakir Hossain, Head of Talent Acquisition, Asia Pacific, SWIFT,  Ms. Rhoda Tan, HR Business Partner, Asia Pacific, SWIFT, Naharin Binte Rab, Universiti Malaya,  Mr. Edgar Jobe Gasper, Former Chief Operating Officer, SINEGY, Ms. Lim Fen Nee, Chairman, Digital Technology Implementation Committee (DTIC), Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), Ms. Rani Angammah Sithambaram, Asso. Prof. Dr. Farrah Dina Yusop, Universiti Malaya,  Dr. Farzana Parveen Tajudeen, Universiti Malaya,  Mr. Dan Ting Lip, Senior Vice President, APAC AML Financial Crimes Analytics & Data Science, Citi, Prof. Dr. Che Ruhana Mohamed Isa, Universiti Malaya, Mr. Wilson Chin, Head of Marketing, Tokenize Malaysia,  Ms. Kiran Ahuja, Talent Acquisition Director, APAC, Smith+Nephew Services Sdn Bhd., Ms. Oh Chin Ai, People Team Manager, CapBay, Porf. Dr. Saravanan Muthaiyah, Multimedia University, Ms. Amber Mosses, HR Specialist, CapBay,  Ms. Karen Phang, Associate Director, CGMA Academic Initiatives, AICPA & CIMA, and Ms. Shelly Kwong, Relationship Manager, Tokenize Malaysia.

For more information, PRESS only:

Wilson Chin (Mr.)
Head of Marketing, Tokenize Malaysia.
[email protected]

Mastura Mohamad Yusoff (Ms)
Media Relations Officer
University Malaya (UM)
[email protected]
+6013-377 3207

For more information on participating comapnies and organizations:

  • AICPA & CIMA
    https://www.aicpa-cima.com/
  • CapBay
    https://capbay.com/
  • Citi Group
    https://www.citigroup.com/
  • Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA)
    https://mia.org.my/
  • Smith+Nephew
    https://www.smith-nephew.com/
  • SWIFT
    https://www.swift.com/
  • Tokenize Malaysia
    https://tokenizemalaysia.com/
  • Universiti Malaya (UM)
    https://www.um.edu.my/

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