SECOND BATCH OF FOUNDER INSTITUTE PENANG GRADUATION DAY
Speech by Chief Minister of Penang
Founder Institute Penang Graduation Day – Batch #2
@CAT Wisma Yeap Chor Ee
9 September 2017
INTRODUCTION
A very good morning to all of you.
I was pleased to witness the graduation of the 1st batch last year which successfully produced a total of 7 tech entrepreneurs, 2 of them whose projects were successfully funded by Cradle Fund.
Graduation is a time of celebration & triumph, a proud moment for all of our graduates, the local directors and 19 mentors who have played a significant role in the end result. I would like to congratulate all of you on a job well done and for persevering through one of the most challenging 14-weeks experience to successfully complete the 2nd Founder Institute Penang program.
A big thank you goes out to Founder Institute and @CAT Penang for continuing to spearhead this accelerator program in Penang. Thank you for bringing together the resources and tools to allow our aspiring local technopreneurs to move a step further in building their business into the next generation of technology.
FOUNDER INSTITUTE PROGRAM
Based in Silicon Valley, Founder Institute (FI) is one of the world’s largest entrepreneur training and idea stage accelerator program designed to assist aspiring tech entrepreneurs to build every aspect of their business and accelerate their growth.
This official 2nd batch program in Penang, held at @CAT, Wisma Yeap Chor Ee commenced on 2nd May, 2017 and ended a month ago, on 1st August, 2017. Today, a total of 9 graduates out of the 31 participants that were accepted at the initial stage will be graduating from this program. This goes to show how demanding and intensive the program’s curriculums are.
PREPARING FOR THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
To transform Penang into an international and intelligent city, we must embrace this new future of digital technology, particularly in the growing fields of Big Data Analytics (BDA), cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Internet of Things (IoT). I believe that in order for Penang to win the future, we have to invest not only in education especially STEM of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics but also master disruptive technology, innovation and automation.
Since its inception, @CAT Penang has served as a launchpad for tech start-ups & entrepreneurs to gain access to our co-working space & shared facilities, tech community events and entrepreneurship development programs. As of today, more than 500 co-working space applications have been approved and approximately 150 tech community events & entrepreneurship development programs in total were held at @CAT Penang for the benefit of the startup & entrepreneurship community.
The Penang State Government announced the formation of Penang STEM Sdn Bhd. two months ago as the umbrella organization consisting of the RM 60 million spent by the state on science education such as @CAT Penang, Penang Skill Development Centre (PSDC), Penang Science Cluster (PSC), Karpal Singh Penang Learning Centre (KSPLC), Tech Dome Penang (TDP), and Penang Digital Library (PDL).
This is a coherent and synergistic strategy to spearhead STEM, teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in line with our plan to establish Penang as the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Science and Technology. All our efforts in STEM learning and experience will greatly benefit tech-based activities in Penang and ensure a continuous flow of talent pool to support the Digital Economy and 4th Industrial Revolution.
CLOSING
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In closing, I would like to once again congratulate the graduates of Founder Institute Penang’s 2nd batch. To the local directors and mentors involved, keep up your excellent work in helping shape our aspiring future tech leaders and entrepreneurs.