PHNOM PENH: The 14th International Conference on Software, Knowledge, Information Management and Applications (SKIMA 2022) was held at CamTech University from 2-4 December 2022. Delegates from around the world attended in person or video-called in for the three-day conference.
This is the second time that an international conference has been held in Cambodia and the first time at CamTech University, in collaboration with other education institutions.
The conference provided an opportunity for researchers, experts and practitioners from higher education institutions, private companies, research and development institutions, NGOs and government agencies to come together and exchange experiences, knowledge and ideas creatively for development and implementation goals.
SKIMA 2022 had three main objectives: 1) to promote practical solutions for development in response to the Sustainable Development Goals, 2) to gather science and technology experts, researchers, management experts, knowledge executives, software engineers and information systems managers together, 3) and to provide a forum for sharing ideas, experiences and perspectives.
Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State of the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Chhem Rithy, emphasized the importance of the conference in providing a unique opportunity for researchers and other individuals working in the fields of science and technology, software engineering and information systems to come together and share ideas, experiences and perspectives, in order to formulate practical solutions for development in response to the sustainable development goals.
Dr Seingheng Hul, the Director General of the General Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, also launched the 2030 Road Map on Cambodia’s science technology and innovation at the conference, which is built upon various national policies and strategic plans.
Over the three days there were many guest speakers who gave keynote speeches and held workshops on the future of technology. The international guest speakers were from various educational institutions across the world, including from the United Kingdom, Australia, France, China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hungary, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, Poland, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Nepal.
Professor Alamgir Hossain, the Vice President of CamTech University, explained that it is important for the public and private sectors to work closely together on the development of science and technology, because if both sectors only engage in isolated work, they will not be able to generate as much impact as they would when collaborating with one another.
“Anything we want to do, if we only do it [within] the university, [within] research labs, at the end [this work will just] disappear," he said.
"But if we work with the industry and develop something useful for them, or if we work with [the agriculture sector] and develop something that can increase their productivity, reduce the cost and enhance efficiency, that will help. That's why between universities, industries, government agencies, the private sector, [collaboration is] very important.”
