KOTA SAMARAHAN – It happens thousands of times every semester. A lecturer updates a course outline.
Another compiles a course file at the end of term. A first-year student logs in to an MPU class.
Few of them ever stop to wonder who built the doors they walk through.
The answer is Associate Professor Dr Noor Alamshah Bolhassan of the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology (FCSIT). And after more than 30 years at UNIMAS, he has retired.
Dr Alam, as he is known across campus, did not arrive as an associate professor.
In early 1995, the Sibu-born UKM computer science graduate was a temporary teacher at secondary schools in Kuching.
By August that year, he had joined UNIMAS as an Information Technology Officer, at a university not yet three years old.
What followed was a steady climb.
Tutor, then a Master’s and PhD from the University of Aizu in Japan, then lecturer, senior lecturer and finally an associate professor.
He served as Head of the Department of Computing and Software Engineering, spent five years as FCSIT’s Deputy Dean (Undergraduate and Student Development), and later became Director of the university’s Strategic Planning and Quality Management Centre.
UNIMAS will remember him most for three major systems among the many he developed.
The first was eCourseOutline, built to simplify how UNIMAS develops and updates its academic programmes.
It earned him the Anugerah Inovasi Naib Canselor in 2011.
The system was later upgraded to MyClass, now managed by the Centre for Academic Development and Management and TAHODC.
The second was MyCourseFile, developed for the Academic Quality Assurance Division (AQAD) to streamline academic course management for lecturers across the university.
In 2025, it won the Anugerah Inovasi dan Digital Pengurusan at the Majlis Anugerah Gemilang UNIMAS, alongside a Silver Award at Digital NEXUS 2025.
The system will continue to be maintained by TAHODC.
The third was MPU Online, developed for the Faculty of Education, Language and Communication (FELC), which served lecturers and students involved in MPU courses across UNIMAS from 2024 to 2026.
The system has since been phased out as UNIMAS transitions to eLEAP for MPU courses, with continued maintenance no longer feasible due to the lack of dedicated development support.
In between came a gold medal at the Malaysia Technology Expo 2014 for ECODEMIA, a learning management environment for higher education, and a place among the national finalists of the Anugerah Inovasi Negara in 2012.
Dr Alam is the man who taught Multimedia Programming Using Java and Computer Game Design also taught Falsafah dan Isu Semasa, Hubungan Etnik di Malaysia, and Integriti dan Anti Rasuah.
He did not just build the platform for MPU courses. He stood in front of those classes himself.
Through Internet of Things (IoT) research on smart and organic farming, Dr Alam took his code outdoors.
His IoT-based system for micro organic farming won gold at the Malaysia Technology Expo 2022.
He also joined a MOSTI-funded project bringing fertigation and IoT farming skills to the OKU community at Sri Satok.
His most striking success, however, also belongs to someone else.
As mentor to Borneo Agroventures, a UNIMAS student team, he guided them to national runner-up (Naib Johan) at the Ministry of Higher Education’s IoT Incubator TOP Agropreneur 2.0 in January 2026.
The students then registered their own company, Borneo Ventures Resources.
In April 2026, at the International Millennipreneur Innovation and Commercialisation Exhibition (IMInE 2.0) at UiTM Shah Alam, their Smart Eco-Organic Edible Landscape System, powered by IoT and LoRaWAN, took gold.
It also claimed first place in the IoT category, Best Innovative and Best Exhibition Booth.
The final gold medal of Dr Alam’s UNIMAS career did not go around his neck. It went to his students. For a teacher, there may be no better way to finish.
He retired from FCSIT as an Associate Professor, leaving colleagues and students with a simple parting message:
“Never stop learning, dare to explore new ideas, and always share your knowledge. True success lies not only in personal achievements, but also in the positive impact we make on others.”
A farewell ceremony was held in his honour on 10 October 2026, marking the close of more than three decades of service.
Although Dr Alam has logged off, his legacy stays online.
FCSIT is one of the Premier Digital Tech Institutions endorsed by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
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