The Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) today held two (2) signing events at the Brunei Pavilion in CommunicAsia, Singapore.  The signings were on:

i. Project Addendum with the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) for the Cooperation in Human Capacity Building for Broadcasting and Media, and
ii. Project Agreement with IDA International Pte Ltd (IDA International) for the Cooperation in Human Capacity Building for ICT.

Both signings were  for the Internship Student Programme for ICT Related Education (INSPIRE) – an attachment program for selected Bruneian students to work in Singapore’s ICT and Broadcasting & Media companies for a duration of up to six (6) months. This program is to provide opportunities for students to apply and enhance their knowledge and skills through meaningful work experience and interaction with professional people in an actual working environment.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, Brunei’s Minister of Communications, and Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information witnessed the signing ceremonies as the Guests-Of-Honour.

Ms Koh Lin-Net, CEO of MDA, Hj Yahkup, CE of AITI, Yang Berhormat Pehin Abdullah, Brunei’s Minister of Communications and Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Singapore’s Minister of Communications and Information at the Brunei Pavilion for the signing ceremony

Blessing the ceremony with doa selamat

Our emcee for the day 😀

AITI’s collaboration with MDA for this internship program is part of the MOU signed in 2009 between Brunei Darussalam’s Ministry of Communications and MDA. This programme, supported by Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), will have a minimum of two (2) selected undergraduates majoring in New Media and Professional Communication or related courses, attached to media related agencies in Singapore for a period of up to six (6) months. The scope of the attachment may include production, network programming, photography, videography, narrative writing, broadcasting, filming and/or interactive media. In August this year, the first two (2) Brunei UBD students to take part in this programme will be attached to Mediacorp’s Suria and Eagle Vision.

Signing on behalf of AITI was the Chief Executive, Haji Yahkup bin Haji Menudin, while MDA was represented by her Chief Executive Officer, Ms Koh Lin-Net.

Signing ceremony between AITI and MDA. This is a joint partnership where UBD will send a minimum of two selected graduates majoring in New Media and Professional Communication to Singapore up to 6 months. The first two students will take part in Mediacorp’s Suria and Eagle Vision. Awesome!!

The second collaboration is a Project Agreement signed between AITI and IDA International, a subsidiary of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).  Under the framework of the existing IDA-AITI Memorandum of Understanding, AITI and IDA International are collaborating on an industry attachment project for Brunei ICT students.  Selected students undertaking Higher National Diploma in ICT related courses will undergo supervised work attachments in Singapore infocomm companies for six months, and will have the opportunity to sharpen their infocomm skills.  The first group of four students are from Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB).

IDA International was represented by Mr. Tan Lark Yang, Director, Market Unit Group.

Signing ceremony between AITI and IDA. This means selected students in HND in ICT will get experience by going through attachments in Singapore infocomm companies for six months. The first students are from ITB.

According to Haji Yahkup bin Haji Menudin, “We continue to foster the relationship and strengthen our collaboration with IDA and MDA for mutual benefits. Today, we see another fruit of these efforts, and how they will benefit our young students. I hope our collaboration for this INSPIRE programme will provide the students a flying start as they gain first hand real organizational settings and challenging experience with the leading ICT and broadcasting agencies in Singapore.” “Project INSPIRE is an expression of the close and warm ties that Singapore enjoys with Brunei Darussalam in the area of media cooperation,” said Ms Koh Lin-Net, Chief Executive Officer of MDA.  “Through this G2G programme, Brunei students will gain a meaningful appreciation into how media business is conducted in the real world. We are pleased to welcome the Brunei students to Singapore, and hope that their time here will prepare them well for the evolving media landscape.”

Mr Vincent Wong, CEO of IDA International said, “We are delighted to extend our longstanding collaborations on ICT with Brunei and AITI to include hosting of Brunei ICT interns in Singapore. We hope Singapore will provide not just the technical exposure but a varied work environment for Brunei’s budding ICT professionals.”

The last signing ceremony was a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Brunei’s PHMD Publishing Company and Singapore’s LDR Pte Ltd. They will be working with each other to create curriculum-based mobile learning apps for schools in Brunei Darussalam. Signing on behalf of PHMD Publishing Company was Ak Mohd Khairi Bin Pg Hj Metussin and LDR Pte Ltd was represented by Png Bee Hin.

Signing ceremony between PHMD Publishing and Singapore’s LDR Pte Ltd where they will create curriculum-based mobile learning apps for schools in Brunei

 

Flown to KL? Via @airasia. Click image to enter website.

 

It was a bonus to have both Ministers (Brunei and Singapore) of Communications to tour the 10 exhibiting companies participating in the Brunei Darussalam Pavilion in CommunicAsia 2013. The Ministers were introduced to the exhibitors and the Brunei Darussalam’s Minister consented to launch three companies’ new products.

Bru InnovEdu launched their product Learn thru Play which aims to provide an interactive online platform to address the problem arising from irresponsible spending and excessive debt amongst the youth. I believe this is a great move as children will become aware of their financial being once they become independent.

We tend to neglect this issue, thinking kids won’t be influenced but if you have been planting the wrong seeds to the kids, you may not see it but it can have a big influence even after 10 years or so. It’s quite rare to know of companies aiming at raising awareness of financial literacy through means of ICT.

So I salute you Shavon Hon of Bru InnoveEdu for building this software and hopefully the Ministry of Education can make use of your software and use it as part of the school’s curriculum.

Both Ministers officiating the launch of “Learn thru Play” software by Bru InnovEdu with Shavon Hon looking on

A token of appreciation for Dr Yaacob from Shavon

The second product launch was from the company Silver Wings Service with their product, Mizi, a social media aggregator whereby several social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin and Google+) are consolidated on one window or platform. Basically, in a nutshell, if you are a social media enthusiast or if you have many social network accounts, Mizi is one good platform to view all your accounts under one roof.

It has already gained some interest from a few foreigners who dropped by Silverwings booth yesterday. Sophia Siu, the creator of Mizi app, said her web-based app is still in the infant stage and there is still more room to upgrade with other features. Mizi is a very useful web-based app and so far it’s suitable for desktop version as it uses quite a few columns hence you need a bigger screen (it has a similar feel to tweet deck).

You can try surf the web at miziapp.com and check out the features. Congratulations to my buddy Sophia on your launch and you are doing great so far. Proud of you 😀

Both Ministers officiating the launch of “Mizi” with Sophia Siu, the founder of SilverWings

Sophia explaining on how Mizi works

The only SME ladies from Brunei who are showcasing their products

A local blogger TechieLobang showed some interest on Mizi

The third product launch was MeSixty Sdn Bhd with their product “Top Halal Restaurants (Singapore)” application which  provides a list of top 10 quality dining restaurants in Singapore for Muslim travelers. Now this is another new adventure for MeSixty after a rough year for founder Keeran Janin and his brother Liam after the passing of their late father. It was also rising from another failure of his previous product “Chatworthy” which didn’t take off after its launch last year and also a fall out with his investor didn’t make it a smooth ride either.

However, this year, I can see a lot of excitement from MeSixty as they created a unique app for food lovers especially if you are hunting for good halal restaurant. I have a feeling the new app “Best of Halal” will be a huge hit among downloaders and it has been downloaded at least a 1,000 after its launch.

So far, they have reviewed more than 7 highly recommended restaurants which are certified halal and they also have chosen the Editor’s Pick which goes to Carousel at Royal Plaza on Scotts. They are currently added more restaurants in Singapore and MeSixty will be adding more regional countries in the next few months.

Do download “Best of Halal” app on your IOS and Android and tell me what you think. Congratulations, MeSixty, on another interesting app.

Both Ministers officiating the launch of “Best of Halal” app with the founder of MeSixty, Keeran Janin

Dr Yaacob also downloaded the app

MeSixty booth was one of the busiest during the 1st day. This shows there is a demand for places to dine with halal certificates

The MeSixty Team

 

A hand written sign on The Empire Cinema yesterday. Image courtesy of Tigerlim.

I’m not really sure what’s the issue here and it’s pretty sad to know that MVision has ended their contract with The Empire Cinema. For many years, they have run the cinema and from what I know, the management of MVision is not happy with the lack of support from The Empire Hotel as their contract were not renewed.

Now with only 3 cinemas left within Brunei Muara area (The Mall Cineplex, Times Cineplex and Seri Q-lap cineplex), competition is getting tougher now. Of course, the big giants now are The Mall Cineplex and Times Cineplex. From what I know MVision will focus on rebuilding Seri Qlap cineplex and they might have find a new location for cinema. Hmmm.. That should be interesting as now people are appreciating to catch movies on the big screen and this is quite evident after anti piracy laws have been enforced.

It may be a sad news that MVision have finished their contract and I’m not sure who will be willing to take over the Empire Cinema for now. Let’s wait and see.

 

The Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) signed a Letter of Exchange (LoE) yesterday that would serve the next step towards further collaboration and cooperation between the two regulators.

The collaboration and cooperation will cover the areas of telecommunications, broadcasting and multimedia matters including content regulation and development, according to a press release issued by the AITI.

The statement said that under the LoE the regulators will have regular exchanges or study visits carried out either in Malaysia or Brunei; dispatch experts to assist either parties; and facilitate and promote strategic and/or commercial industry partnerships between industry players from both countries.

Also included in the exchange are legal and institutional development and content regulation and development, the statement added. “The collaboration executed under the LoE will enhance the expertise in AITI as it prepares to become the converged telecommunications and media regulator in Brunei,” AITI said in the statement, adding that the exchange would enhance the close working relationship built by the regulators over the years.

Hj Yahkup Hj Menudin, chief executive of AITI and Dato Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, chairman of MCMC while the signing was witnessed by Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdullah Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, Minister of Communications and Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Malaysia

The signing ceremony was held at the Malaysia Pavilion at CommunicAsia 2013 in Singapore during the trade show’s opening day yesterday.

The ceremony was witnessed by Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdullah Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, Minister of Communications and Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Malaysia.

Signatories were Hj Yahkup Hj Menudin, chief executive of AITI and Dato Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, chairman of MCMC. Text courtesy of Al-Haadi Abu Bakar of The Brunei Times.

Dato Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, chairman of MCMC briefing the Dr. Yaacob, Singapore’s Minister of Communications and Information

Modern dance & music from the MCMC

The drumline moment

The Malaysian Minister of Communications and Multimedia saying a few words

Click image to enter website

This is another version of the LEAP grant by the Brunei Economic Development Board and it’s called Start Up Brunei. This was recently launched in March where it aimed at introducing funds to those who are in need of funds to progress especially those with innovatives ideas. LEAP is more of creating a prototype that hopefully can translate to a revenue streamline. As for SUB, it’s more on the business and innovative ideas that you want to pursue but it’s the funds that is holding you back!!

Hence, BEDB created this programme and their objective is straight forward –> To get the startups going and on their feet. This is Daniel Leong’s baby project and he is BEDB’s Assitant CEO, Head for Innovation and New Initiatives. He shared that SUB applicants can get financial assistance up to BND 50,000 and there’s also an additional relocation incentive of BND 30,000 for overseas entrepreneur. So I believe this is a great programme that also acknowledges oversea entrepreneurs.

You want to know more then click here and view the details on their official website and you can also click here for the presentation slide. The application has just open today and the closing date has extended until 28th June. Start Up Brunei is showcasing in this year’s CommunicAsia in Singapore. 

Daniel Leong, BEDB’s Assistant CEO, Head of Innovation and New Initiatives, speaking to the Ministers on SUB’s initiative. Click image to enter website for more details.

Click image to enlarge

 

The Management of the Mabohai Shopping Complex is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a second Teddy Bears’ Tea Party this weekend on the 1stFloor of the Mabohai Shopping Complex from 2pm – 6pm on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June.

Following on from the success of the first Teddy Bears’ Tea Party held in May, the event is back by popular demand and will provide families with yet another opportunity to share a fun and whimsical tea party experience.

The Mabohai Shopping Complex Teddy Bears’ Tea Party is a high-tea event with a teddy bear oriented theme. There will be a free flow of coffee and tea for parents, and hot chocolate with sprinkles for children, along with assorted sandwiches and cupcakes. Children and the young at heart are encouraged to join in the fun by bringing along their favourite teddy bear!

  As well as tea with teddy, families will also be invited to take part in a number of fun craft activities such as glass painting and t-shirt decorating.

Pictures from the previous Teddy Bears’ Tea Party

Pictures from the previous Teddy Bears’ Tea Party

The Management of the Mabohai Shopping Complex said: “We are delighted to be hosting a second Teddy Bears’ Tea Party for our community to enjoy. The first event proved extremely popular with parents and children alike, and we are sure that the second Teddy Bears’ Tea Party will be just as well received. We invite all families to take this wonderful opportunity to come together and share in a unique high-tea experience during the last weekend of the school holidays. Don’t forget to bring along your favourite teddy!”

For more information on participating in this event and future events, please call MABOHAI SHOPPING COMPLEX Manager on 8111623 or 7250110 or Event Solutions on 8722249. Or find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The great thing about AITI is that they organised site visits to a few IT companies so the Brunei delegates can have a feel on how these exciting companies run their businesses. Yesterday we paid a visit to two companies, D.Ink and 2369Media. Both companies were quite interesting and I love how young of a company there are with young blood and high commitment and passion. Their creative juices can also be seen when I saw their product demo as well as their histories.

D.Ink Company was more into digital branding and also Augmented Reality (AR) which is slowly picking its pace in Singapore. Yes, I have seen AR demos a few years back and it’s not something that it’s necessity especially for corporate clients unless you have the spending power and whether it will bring “return on investment” on your products. AR is useful if you want to gain the public’s attention and also educate them further by virtual interaction.

One great example was D. Ink’s project on shavers for men (not sure what brand or the company that hired their services) and they placed the AR kiosks at strategic places at bus stops for a few weeks. Within the time frame, they managed to get thousands and thousands of people getting involved in the 3-minute virtual interaction on just about shaving. The interaction includes a virtual demo where they will capture your video image and start putting shaving foam on your chin area presuming that you have a beard and it do a demo on the shaver cleaning off your chin area. According to D.Ink, about 80% of the audience stayed for the full demo product which is definitely good news for the shaving company.

I’m impressed that D.Ink have engaged with big companies and even ministries in Singapore on the usage of AR. It does capture the interest of the public and D.Ink also do some background homework to see in what way AR can be effectively deliver the message while gaining their interest at the same time through Augmented Reality. Apparently there are three co-founders for the company and they are good friends and former school mates too and they combined each other strengths to drive where their company is now. Awesome!! They only have 7 people in their organisation including the co-founders.

Fabian Tan, Malcolm Chia and Timothy Seow are the co-founders of D.ink

Brunei ICT delegates attending the briefing by D.ink

Some of the AR demo by D.ink

The shaving demo in AR mode

A token of appreciation to D.ink from Brunei

Brunei delegates in group photo with D.ink

The other company that caught my eye is 2359Media and they are exactly like our local companies Infindo Technology and MeSixty who are app developers. 2359Media (such a catchy, original name) is not just app developers but they provide consultation services on ways to get the end user experience. They are also good at mobile marketing and targeting the right end users. Basically you can say it’s like a one-stop centre if you want to engage them in building apps. Again young chaps (co-founders) running the show and 2359Media are one of the pioneers of mobile app developers in Singapore and they are now a very successful company *kudos*

Within four years, they have awesome milestones and they even built an award-winning, multinational mobile-first studio. They have quite a young team too and now they have around 41 staff in the company and the energy is so vibrant. They are even dressed so casual at work and I just love their work environment. It also helps that despite the few departments (such as engineering, marketing, designers and so on), the people inside 2359Media carry the same vision of the company and it does help the company excel to greater heights.

They have worked with big companies such as Mediacorp, SingTel and OCBC Bank to name a few. What kept them driven during their challenging times especially in the beginning is their self belief. One reputable company was reluctant to engage in mobile services as it had more preference on how Facebook was more powerful and effective in reaching the masses. So with their self belief and dedication, it paid off and now many companies and even end users see the benefits and effectiveness through means of mobile as we are now accustomed to smartphones in the past two years or so.

Their recent projects are groundbreaking for Singapore. They released two new apps – SGMalls and Sentosalens. The SGMalls app is a cool app that lists over 200 shopping malls in Singapore and it’s such a great directory if you really want to explore different types of malls and they even have categories on the types of services or products that you are targeting and it will give you choices of malls to go according to the interest of products. This is such an ideal app especially for foreigners like us 😀

Kudos to the co-founders Hong Ting and Wenhan Zhou on the success of 2359Media. By the way, why it’s called 2359 is because it symbolises “a minute before the dawn of a new day”. And that day is the day of the transition of the mobile revolution. If you want to read one of the interviews (back dated 2009), you can read here. For their corporate website, you can click here.

Wong Hong Ting, co-founder of 2359Media sharing his journey. Awesome stuff!! I’m inspired.

This is a cool working environment.. Though it’s small but very energetic

Around 40 staff are working right now at 2359Media

A token to the co-founder of 2359Media

Seeing this makes them feel like home 😀

Even though I was there working for 2 minutes, Iw was already enjoying it 😀 Thanks 2359Media