UCSI Group President, Dato’ Peter Ng (third from left) admiring the work of Usaid Ghassen Yassen, a final year student at the School of Design

3D Animation lab lecturer, Mr. Ivan Lam (standing far left) briefs the audience on the journey the staff and students had undertaken to create “Quest Land”

UCSI University 3D Animation students take the computers at the lab for a test run

Kuala Lumpur, 05 March 2010 - UCSI University’s School of Design today launched its 3D animation laboratory. The lab was officiated by UCSI Group President, Dato’ Peter T. S. Ng, together with the Dean for the Faculty of Social Sciences, Music and Design, Dr. Irene Tan. The lab is specially designed for students in the 3D animation programme, and is equipped with the highest specifications to facilitate students’ assignments and coursework.

Located at the University’s academic block at the Kuala Lumpur campus, the computers in the lab is outfitted the standard softwares available for 3D animation, such as Maya and Adobe Creative Suite Production Preview. The computers will mainly be used for subjects which require animation studies, matte painting, modelling, advanced modelling, editing, compositing and special effects, rendering and etc. The lab is also equipped with a Hi-fi audio system specifically for movie screenings.

The laboratory is also themed as “Quest Land”, with a unique design on its walls, to create a fairy tale land setting where lecturers guide them. The fairy tale land mural in the lab shows caricatures of the School of Design staff members, to inspire students while working at in it.

Present at the opening ceremony of the lab was En. Hassan Abd. Muthalib amn, the President of the Animation Society of Malaysia, and one of the external examiners for the University’s 3D programme. “3D animation in Malaysia is a booming industry, with wide career prospects. A graduate who is skilled in this field can venture into many different fields, from designing simulators for the aviation industry and medicine industry, to programming computer games and educational audio visual tools,” he says.

Leroy Fong Kien Ynn, a tutor at the University’s 3D programme concurs, “technology in the last few years has changed tremendously; and this has greatly affected the demand for 3D animation graduates across many industries. Advances in technology for mobile phones, computers and software continue to boost the 3D Animation industry,” he says.

During his speech, Dato’ Peter Ng said that the School of Design can expect more hi-tech facilities such as these in the near future. “I foresee the staff and students at this School doing great things in the future, with state-of-the-art animation movies and productions being produced right here at UCSI University.”