The third series of Alumni Vibes shared the importance of technological advancement in terms of assistive technology which would help people in their daily life. The talk on “Assistive Technology – Powered by AI” on 28th April 2021 engaged Permata Dunia Prof. Dr. Andrews Samraj, the Dean and Professor of Mahendra Engineering College in India and a graduate of Faculty of Science in Information Technology in 2009. The event was attended by 664 people at the time it was aired live and continues to grow with each passing day.
For this episode, the event is unique in the regard that it is a collaboration of two countries, Malaysia and India, as Prof. Dr. Andrews is currently in India whereas the MMU as the host is based in Malaysia. The event is held as a joint effort between Multimedia University and the Mahendra Engineering College. Thus the event is attended by both MMU students and the Mahendra Engineering College students who interacted with Prof. Andrews throughout the session. The event also featured a short session called Apa Khabar Permata Dunia, where the alumni of MMU are invited to share their experiences after their graduation.
Throughout the one hour interactive session, Prof. Dr. Andrews Samraj talked about how assistive technology is focused on how this form of technology can help the disabled in many ways such as education, clinical, transportation and even military uses. According to him, artificial intelligence (AI) can help in the education sector through inclusion of people with disabilities such as the deaf and the mute who cannot communicate very well if they have no means of speech or hearing. Therefore they might not feel included in the discussion. However through the AI based assistive technology, the classroom can have a dedicated adaptive learning system. The event was moderated by Ms Aida Nabila binti Sumardia, a student of FOM.
