To encourage the volunteerism spirit among colleagues, Pfizer Malaysia launched an on-going Pfizer Gives Back initiative earlier this year in partnership with Kechara Soup Kitchen to serve and help the less fortunate individuals. Under the Pfizer Gives Back initiative, Kechara Soup Kitchen is selected as the main partner while the branch colleagues are given the liberty to select a charity of their choice within their state.
In the span of 6 months, more than 150 Pfizer employees have put approximately 70 hours collectively to reach out to the less fortunate community. Some of the activities carried out by Pfizer employees include cooking in the kitchen, food delivery, health screening, donations and other charitable activities.
Under the Pfizer Gives Back umbrella, branch colleagues also reached out to Pusat Jagaan Kebajikan Kanak- Kanak Budimas Orion; Fungates Soup Kitchen; Need to Feed the Need; Peace and Harmony Home to deliver the kind deeds.
ISKL will be hosting Elementary School Open Day for prospective families on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at 10:00a.m. The Open Day session will include a tour of our Melawati campus, and an opportunity to meet with faculty and administrators .
To RSVP, please visit: www.iskl.edu.my/openday
ISKL Elementary School Open Day
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
10:00 am
The International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL)
PT3350, Jalan Melawati 3, Taman Melawati,
53100 Kuala Lumpur.
Inquiries, please call
Melawati Campus
03 4104 3036 / 3078
Ampang Campus
03 4259 5627/5628
or email to: admissions @iskl.edu.my
In December, five massive wind turbines began harnessing breezes whipping off the coast of Rhode Island. Each as tall as the Statue of Liberty, the turbines use 240-foot-long blades made by the Danish company LM Wind Power attached to a 6-megawatt Haliade generator made by GE Renewable Energy in France. Two months before they came online, GE said it would acquire LM Wind Power for $1.65 billion. The deal was just completed.
The Block Island wind farm, the first offshore farm in the U.S., isn’t large, but it’s a part of a global trend. Worldwide investment in renewable energy set a world record in 2015 at $286 billion. Half of all new power generation capacity came from renewables that year. International Energy estimates that renewables will be the primary power source within 25 years.
GE and LM Wind Power are on the leading edge of this trend. GE has shipped more than 30,000 wind turbines since entering the market 15 years ago. LM Wind Power builds rotor blades for the industry’s bread-and-butter 1.5- and 2-megawatt wind turbines, as well as 8-megawatt behemoths with rotors spanning 180 meters, or roughly the length of two football fields. It has factories in the U.S., Denmark, Spain, Poland, Canada, India, China and Brazil. About one in five of the world’s turbines use LM Wind Power blades. GE says the change of ownership won’t affect the blade maker’s business with non-GE customers.
“With LM Wind Power, we’ll be local in more markets, have greater flexibility in turbine design and supply and increased ability to reduce product costs, all of which are good for competition in the industry and the growth of wind power,” said Jérôme Pécresse, president and CEO of GE Renewable Energy.
Until now, GE was the last major wind turbine maker without blade-production capability. By tightly integrating blade and turbine design, GE hopes to enhance the performance of its turbines, reduce the cost of energy and boost its $9 billion renewable energy business. That’s because longer blades can harvest more wind and make power cheaper.
LM Wind Power’s wind turbine blades made from a unique blend of carbon and glass fiber and other materials are the lightest in the world. At nearly 300 feet (88.4 meters), they are also the longest. These oversized blades for the 8MW turbine help the machine achieve the highest annual energy production (AEP) from an offshore wind turbine. Twenty-five years ago, the Danes were also the first to move wind power generation offshore, and LM Wind Power has been playing a key part. “Our hybrid technology is more cost effective than a full carbon blade and also much less sensitive to manufacturing defects, a key element to making a reliable blade,” said Marc de Jong, LM Wind Power’s CEO. “Our blades have been manufactured with sufficient quality and reliability to withstand a quarter-century offshore in the world’s harshest weather conditions and roughest seas.”
LM Wind Power has manufactured more than 185,000 blades since 1978, enabling 77 gigawatts of installed wind capacity. The company calculates that the turbines deliver an annual savings of more than 147 million tons of carbon dioxide. The company also holds 669 patents covering 160 separate inventions and generates as many as 27 new patent applications annually.
“The deal gives us the ability to integrate blade design and production into our wind turbine business, allowing us to compete better in the fastest-growing segment of power generation,” Pécresse said.
LM Wind Power will benefit from access to GE’s Industrial Internet software. “We plan to invest in the LM Wind Power business while integrating digital industrial capabilities to enhance LM Wind Power’s offerings,” Pécresse said. “Together, we will become a growth engine for the company and the prototype business for the new digital industrial GE.”
GE says its “digital wind farm” software and solutions can deliver as much as 20 percent more energy from existing wind farms. “Our goal ultimately is to deliver total wind farm packages that maximize electricity output while reducing the cost of electricity to each local region,” Pécresse said. “In doing so, we create more value for our customers, and thus more value for GE. We plan to integrate digital and advanced manufacturing technologies and expand in key wind growth areas including India, China, Brazil and Europe.”
The two worlds have merged; ours and the digital world. We are surrounded and connected by everything digital and the possibilities are infinite.
From wearable tech, to smart cities and digital skies, Malaysia is looking at endless opportunities towards advancement. Powering the digital age, GE and Malaysia’s Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) works towards creating a conducive IoT industry ecosystem, strengthening technopreneur capabilities in IoT, and making Malaysia a regional development hub for IoT.
Welcome to a connected Malaysia. Welcome to the future.
If you’d like to know more about the local initiatives and efforts done by the GE Malaysia team, please click here for the Malaysia GE Reports.
IGB International School (IGBIS) offers the full range of International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes from Early Years to Grade 12. The school’s mission is “To provide an inclusive learning community embracing diversity by offering a challenging IB education which empowers its members to be caring global citizens.” The IB Learner Profile underpins the programmes and is a list of behaviour traits that reflect the anticipated outcomes of a global education. The staff at the school are constantly seeking ways to ‘ignite the minds’ of the students by engaging them in learning experiences and discussions that are both significant and challenging. The development of international mindedness is an important goal where students learn to appreciate the complexity of the world around them and embrace the opportunities that present themselves.
The first programme IGBIS offers is the Fireflies programme, for students who have turned two years of age. Both the Fireflies and Early Years programmes provide a holistic education that promotes social, physical, cognitive, creative, and emotional development. Students experience a culturally diverse setting where a planned balance of play, teacher-initiated and child-directed inquiries and challenges, stimulate their learning in a safe and nurturing environment.
The Primary Years Programme (PYP), for ages 3 through 12 years, aims to equip the children with the skills, conceptual understanding and attitudes necessary to be successful in an ever changing global society. A spirit of inquiry in the classroom puts the emphasis on the children making sense of their world in order for them to gain an understanding of the challenges we face. The curriculum framework is an expression and extension of three inter-related questions: What do we want to learn? How best will we learn? How will we know what we have learned? A significant event in the life of the PYP student is the Grade 5 Exhibition, where students engage in an independent study exploring ideas that are significant and relevant to them. It is hoped that this will lead them to take some form of action which will make a difference in their lives and potentially in the lives of others. The exhibition is shared with the whole school community.
The Middle Years Programme (MYP), is designed for 11 to 16 year olds, who are at a critical period in their development, where their success in school is closely related to their personal, social and emotional well-being. At a time when students are establishing their identity and building self-esteem, the MYP offers a holistic and challenging framework that can motivate students and help them to achieve success. The design of the programme provides a bridge from primary education to further studies. The Personal Project, which is completed during Grade 10, encourages students to develop an area of personal interest, to practice and strengthen their approaches to learning skills, and to consolidate prior and subject-specific learning. The Personal Project provides an excellent opportunity for students to produce a truly personal and often creative product. The personal nature of the project challenges and motivates the individual students for the duration of their nine-month project.
The Diploma Programme (DP) is an academically challenging and balanced programme of education designed for motivated secondary school students aged 16 to 19. The programme has earned a reputation for rigorous assessment, giving IB diploma holders access to over 2000 of the world’s leading universities and preparing them for success in further studies and life beyond. The extended essay, which is undertaken in their final year, is a student’s in-depth study of a focused topic chosen from a list of approved DP subjects. The 4000-word essay is much like a mini-thesis. It is the result of approximately 40 hours of work and provides students with the opportunity to develop research and communication skills, develop creativity and critical thinking, engage in a systematic process of independent research, and experience the excitement of intellectual discovery.
The Career-related Programme (CP), for which IGBIS is a candidate school*, the newest of the IB programmes, is for 16 to 19 year old students who wish to engage in career-related learning while gaining transferable and lifelong skills in applied knowledge, critical thinking, communication, and cross-cultural engagement. The programme leads to further/higher education or employment. Part of the CP requirements includes an approved career-related study which, at IGBIS is a specialism in Business: successful students can gain a Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). ICEAW is a world leading professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports over 147,000 chartered accountants worldwide.
Both the DP and the CP are excellent preparation for university, the workplace and beyond.
2016 saw IGBIS’ first class of students graduate from the Diploma Programme with a 100% pass rate. Students received an average score of 34 points out of a possible 45 points, with the highest score being 43 points. This successful trend looks to continue with many of the 2017 graduating class already having received offers from prestigious universities such as University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University of St Andrews, Arizona State University and University of Alberta.
In addition to the academic programmes, the IGBIS school community play an active role in organising events throughout the year. Comprised of students, their families and other local members of the community, the group is a welcoming, vibrant and integral part of the school environment. Notable events organised by the school community have included International Day and the holiday bazaar.
IGBIS boasts a range of state-of-the-art facilities including two swimming pools: a learn-to-swim pool and a 10-lane, 50m pool used for competitions, lessons, training and other water activities such as water polo; a full-size FIFA 2 Star artificially turfed football field that is surrounded by an 8-lane tartan athletics track; two all-weather tennis courts; five large visual arts studios; a 540-seat theatre with state-of-the-art sound and lighting and a huge screen for presentations and seminars; and two cafeterias operated by a cashless payment system.
Open Days at IGBIS are a great way to get an idea of how an education at IGBIS might look. Visitors can meet the administration team and teachers, view the facilities on one of the school tours, and find out more information about the programmes offered at the school.
Our next Open Day will be on Friday 19th May, from 9:00am to 12:00pm. We will hold three separate talks for interested families. Primary Years Programme – 10:00am; Middle Years Programme – 10:15am; Diploma Programme – 10:30am. A special information session about the Career-Related Programme will run from 11:00am-12:00pm.
Families enrolling their children after visiting Open Days are eligible for special discounts on school fees. For further information, please contact the Admissions Department at [email protected] or telephone +60 3 6145 4688.
*Only schools authorised by the International Baccalaureate can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme or the IB Career-related Programme (IBCP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorisation will be granted.
Cisco Boost for Malaysia’s SMEs and Mid-market Businesses
KUALA LUMPUR, April 12, 2017 – Cisco today launched Cisco ST>RT, a new initiative for Malaysia’s small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and midmarket to take advantage of the vast opportunities created by the nation’s booming digitisation.
The importance of SMEs is clear; they account for almost 35.9% of Malaysia’s GDP and 65.5% of the total workforce. They are also a huge source of competition and innovation, have a much wider geographic footprint than large enterprises, and provide better income distribution.
With Malaysia poised to be one of the global digital hubs with the recent launch of Digital Free Trade Zone, SMEs are the key to ensuring that digitisation spreads faster across the region. Yet many face a number of common challenges in seizing the opportunities provided by digitisation, none more so than the access to, and financing of the latest technologies.
Cisco ST>RT aims to tackle this. It provides SMEs and midmarket businesses with access to a suite of simple, secure and smart enterprise-class technologies, specifically tailored to their business size and priced to match. More specifically it offers:
The right-sized, right-priced solutions wherever they are on their digital journey
Enhanced operations, services and processes to reduce overheads and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Improved workforce productivity and innovation to meet the increased demands of today and the evolving opportunities of tomorrow
Speaking at the industry panel discussion dubbed ‘START Digitising: A Call for Malaysian SMEs to Reap the Full Potential of Digitisation’, Cisco Malaysia’s Managing Director Albert Chai said, “The launch of Cisco ST>RT is a sign of our continued commitment to SMEs and midmarket businesses in the Asia Pacific region, particularly Malaysia. These companies play a vital role in driving the region’s digital future and Cisco is determined to ensure they have access to simple, secure and smart technologies designed to help streamline their business and stay ahead in the digital age.”
The upside for SMEs and midmarket businesses is clear: At an operational level, digitisation allows them to operate faster and more efficiently, respond to changing markets, and provide better customer experiences at a fraction of the cost. With a massive multi-billion dollar market opportunity, the incentive and importance of ensuring that the sector is properly equipped become obvious.
“We understand the increasingly complex environment and challenges SMEs and midmarkets face with new technologies,” added Albert. “So we’ve made this so easy to get up and running for our customers. “Want a wireless network? Easy, 10 minutes. Setting up a Switch? Easy, seven steps. Installing security across the network? Nine clicks. That’s the beauty of our technology – it takes the hard work out of IT.”
As well as benefits for SMEs and midmarket businesses, Cisco is streamlining the processes and incentives for its vast partner and distributor network.
“We are making it easier to do business with Cisco.” explained Albert. “We are simplifying how our partners and distributors buy and sell Cisco technologies, develop new business and improve profitability, gain greater market insight and capitalize on our marketing materials and initiatives. Many of our partner and distributor are SMBs themselves, so for them it’s a win-win.”
Digitisation offers numerous opportunities for growth, innovation and profitability. Cisco ST>RT is looking to ensure that Malaysian businesses seize the benefits today and capitalize on the opportunities of tomorrow.
-END-
Excerpts from Panel Discussion
Albert Chai, Managing Director, Cisco Malaysia:
“Instead of working in silos, a cohesive partnership model is needed to support SMEs in their digital journey. It is not just a matter of funding but also providing them with the right technology and expertise as well to harness the full potential of digitisation.”
“65 percent of Malaysia’s population only contributes 35 percent to the nation’s economy. Why are we behind countries such as Singapore and Indonesia in terms of GDP per employee basis? This boils down to how countries utilise tech to achieve productivity. Ultimately, every company is first foremost a tech company with expertise in different areas including education, retail, and manufacturing. Without embracing and adopting technology, there is no business model for these companies.”
Spencer Yeoh, National Assistant Secretary General, SME Association of Malaysia
“SMEs realise the importance of digitisation. For them, it is either start or die. The digital economy is bringing about a world without borders. They must adopt ICT to survive if they want to be able to compete with businesses across the world, including those which have a higher ICT adoption rate, such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore.”
“If SMEs want to start their digitisation journey, our advice to them is to not undertake big investments straightaway. Begin with small steps by starting with cloud adoption, then they can expand their investment as they grow.”
Kevin Tai, Risk Director, Funding Societies
“It is important for SMEs to understand their business model and see where they can leverage technology to improve business operations. They should not resist change but think of a way of incorporating technological advances into their business model.”
“Costs should not be a hindrance as there are a lot of avenues for financing out there. SMEs need to explore and educate themselves on the opportunities out there, ranging from government initiatives to entities like Funding Societies that fills the gap in financing.”
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that has been making the Internet work since 1984. Our people, products, and partners help society securely connect and seize tomorrow’s digital opportunity today. Discover more at newsroom.cisco.com and follow us on Twitter at @CiscoApac.
Cisco, the Cisco logo, Cisco Systems and Cisco IOS are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.
