KUALA LUMPUR: The establishment of the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) is expected to be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on May 3, the Dewan Negara was told yesterday.

       Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said the government had allocated RM20mil for the establishment of the faculty in line with the development of technology, including AI.

       “Currently, the Finance Ministry has given preliminary allocations and the faculty is being refurbished and related equipment is also being set up in this faculty,” he said during a question and answer session at Dewan Negara.

       He was replying to a question by Senator Datuk Seri Prof Dr Awang Sariyan who wanted to know the latest development on the establishment of the Faculty of AI.

       Mustapha also said the decision to close or modify the faculty according to current developments is based on the marketability of graduates, Bernama reported.

       “The ministry will evaluate the faculty according to indicators related to the marketability of graduates. If the marketability of graduates is below 30%, the faculty will have to be closed or modified to meet the needs of the industry.

       “We will ensure students in all faculties can undergo courses that are exposed to new technology, especially AI,” he said.

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