2014

20 Feb

Hilti industrial visit most insightful for IT students

KUALA LUMPUR: The School of Information Technology (SoIT), Faculty of Business & Information Science at UCSI University recently organised an industrial visit to Hilti Asia IT Services (HAITS) in Petaling Jaya. 

A group of 11 students and two lecturers from the School visited the HAITS office, where students were able to gain valuable insight on the internal working environment of an IT company and how it functions. 

SoIT has been very particular aboutorganising regular industrial visits for its students to ensure they are exposed to all-round practical training and actual industrial practices; this has become part of the School’s annual activities. Needless to say, these visits aim to help students gain practical knowledge – on top of the theoretical concepts that they learn in class – that will help them become efficient and effective industry players. 

The visits have received positive feedback from students, who are glad that such activities help them understand and experience actual work environments. They also get opportunities to see real-life systems during department tours in the HAITS office and interact with the employees there. This allows them to better comprehend certain issues and situations they have encountered. 

The students were also lucky to meet Ryan Chen Kiat Marn, an IT graduate from the School, who was hired through UCSI’s cooperative placement programme and is now a permanent employee in HAITS. Through his briefing, students were able to understand the nature of his job and the role of his department in the company. 

According to one of the participating students, one of the best advantages of any degree is being able to participate in industrial visits, which provide useful insight on the inner workings of a company and other practical aspects that will ultimately help the students identify the area they should specialise in or even IT careers that they would be most suitable for. Vice versa, industrial visits also help employers identify and evaluate potential candidates. HAITS, for example, has shortlisted five SoIT students for their cooperative programme. 

Notably, Hilti Corporation is a Liechtenstein-based company that develops, manufactures, and markets products for the construction, building maintenance, and mining industries, primarily for the professional end-user. As such, HAITS is an IT company that ensures Hilti’s critical IT services continue to run 24/7 worldwide. 

“I would like to thank UCSI University for giving me this opportunity to get a real peek into the IT industry. This visit provided a wonderful learning experience because I could really understand how different departments work together,” says Chia Yong Yong, a BSc. Mobile Computing student. 

“What really opened my eyes was how the company eliminated the sense of hierarchy and allowed its employees to fulfil personal commitments. This trip really motivates me to work harder because I hope to work in this company in the future.”