Kuala Lumpur - In the face of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0), creative industry too does not escape the challenges in store in order to remain relevant.

In this regard, the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) School of Creative Industry Management and Performing Arts (SCIMPA) organized the Creative Industry International Conference (CIIC) to discuss the important aspects which will benefit the industry.

The conference was officiated by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Tuan Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik who represented the Minister of Communications and Multimedia.

In his speech, he said that creative industry would become increasingly important in the future since art and culture is set to collide with technology in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0).

According to him, during the era, concerted effort from the government and private sectors must be obtained to ensure full support is put into research and development in the products and services concerning creative industry.

"The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture can lead the effort but the Ministry needs ideas and inputs on the implementation process whilst at the same time, there should be prudent spending of allocation.

"As such, this conference is timely as academicians and practitioners can exchange ideas and discuss the best ways to address the issues and challenges faced by the industry," he said at the Opening Ceremony of the Creative Industry International Conference (CIIC) 2018 at the Cendekiawan Hall, Tun Abdul Razak Institute of Broadcasting and Information (IPPTAR) recently.

Meanwhile, Chairman of CIIC 2018, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Syamsul Bahrin Zaibon said that the conference with its apt theme, 'Creativity in the Industrial Revolution 4.0', saw the acceptance of more than 80 papers from various countries namely Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Portugal, South Korea, Oman and Iraq.

He added that uniquely this year, CIIC 2018 showcased a special session with key industry players from the National Book Development Foundation, Global Content Exchange GCE Club, RTM, Alhijrah, Astro, Bernama and TV3 in discussing the future direction of creative industry in the country.

CIIC 2018 invited two prominent figures, namely President of the University of Multimedia, Prof. Datuk Dr. Ahmad Rafi Mohamed Eshaq and Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar, a media figure who is Chairman of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) and also the former Chairman of Media Prima Berhad as keynote speakers at the conference.

The two-day conference which began on 5 December was jointly organized by the Tun Abdul Razak Broadcasting and Information Institute (IPPTAR), an institution under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM).

Also present were Director of Tun Abdul Razak Institute of Broadcasting and Information (IPPTAR), Mdm. Salmah Ibrahim Melina and UUM Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni) Prof. Dr. Abdul Malek Abdul Karim.

Zero Non-Conformity Report (NCR) and only one Opportunity for Improvement (OFI) were recorded during the SIRIM QAS MS ISO 9001: 2015 Surveillance Audit exercise. This notable achievement will pave the way for Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) to be re-certified next year.

The three-day surveillance audit exercise was led by Madam Hanida Ghazali along with Maznah Mat Isa. Two Schools and several Centres of Authority (PTJ), including the School of Business Management (SBM), the School of Government (SOG), the Institute for Quality Management (IPQ), Bursar Department, Registrar Department, Academic Affairs Department, Development and Maintenance Department (JPP), RIMC, U-Assist, CeTMA, UTLC, UECSB and the Risk Management Unit were involved in this audit exercise.

The Senior Auditor of SIRIM QAS, Madam Hanida Ghazali said, the ISO 9001: 2015 certification received by UUM will expire in 2019 and the re-certification audit will be carried out next year before it expires.

According to her, the surveillance audit helps to determine the ongoing compliance of the customer's quality management system to the ISO 9001: 2015 standard.

"The results of the three-day monitoring audit found that, zero NCR non-compliance was recorded, however there was only one opportunity for improvement (OFI).

"I also found that there was a drastic drop in OFI after this surveillance audit was completed and this is certainly an impressive achievement, but on-going improvements in the quality management systems should be done continuously," he said.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor Dr. Ayoib Che Ahmad said, the audit exercise was conducted to ensure that all processes and procedures comply with the ISO 9001: 2015 standard achieved by UUM last year.

“All suggestions and recommendations will be used as the parameters to improve the work processes in UUM and I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the denizens of UUM for their cooperation and efforts to ensure that the audit exercise ran smoothly," said Professor Dr. Ayoib during the closing ceremony of the SIRIM QAS MS ISO 9001: 2015 Surveillance Audit at the Senate Meeting Room, yesterday.

UUM received the first ISO 9001: 2008 certification, followed by the second certification in 2013 and UUM obtained the ISO 9001: 2015 certification last year.