ACS President Anthony Wong was honoured to present 50 students with ACS membership at a ceremony earlier this week in Sarawak, Malaysia.

The students, all in their final year at Swinburne University of Technology, are what Wong referred to as part of Sarawak’s digital revolution.

“I am pleased to present the ACS Membership to the students here today as part of the ACS’ commitment to Sarawak’s digital transformation agenda,” he said.


With 1,000 global members and an established connection with sister university campuses, the vision of transforming Sarawak through the digital economy is one that strongly resonates with the ACS.

Wong addressed the rapidly evolving world of the Digital Economy at the ceremony, saying dissolved geographical barriers and the key elements of education and innovation are critical requirements students must consider in progressing the world’s digital transformation.

“Education with a focus on digital capability must underpin any long-term plan for Sarawak. Look to the world as a global marketplace and ask what part you can play within it,” he said.

Referencing the World Economic Forum's 'Future of Jobs' 2016 report, Wong said that the top skills required for workers by 2020 will be critical thinking, cognitive flexibility, creativity and most importantly, problem solving.

“The report notes that by 2020 more than one third (36%) of all jobs across all industries are expected to require complex problem-solving skills,” he said.

Wong reinforced that like while exports like tourism and oil were significant to Sarawak, skills and knowledge were just as exportable.  

“There is growing demand globally in areas such as data analytics, cloud, and cybersecurity among others - services that can be exported internationally,” he said.

Also present at the ceremony was ACS CEO Andrew Johnson and the university’s Sarawak campus Deputy Vice-Chancellor and CEO Professor Janet Gregory.

The ceremony concluded with a hopeful address to the students from Wong.

“Together, we are dedicated to helping you, the students of today, begin your careers in an exciting, ever changing industry where the opportunities and ideas are endless. The future is very bright,” he said.