Mohd Nour
IT Project Lead, 2018
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
“Limkokwing has had, and still holds quite an amazing presence in the digital industry on a global scale, earning countless awards and making headlines on a number of occasions.”
23 February 2018
Mohd Nour Al Bitar comes from a humble Syrian family, born on the 5th July 1991 in the oldest capital in the world, Damascus.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology in December 2014.
“I have always had a tendency to break electronics down to their bare parts to figure out how things would come to life once we plug it into a wall.”
He said the whole idea of taking a seemingly simple form of energy and turning it into information and visuals, had him hooked since 4th grade.
“I have always had a tendency to break electronics down to their bare parts to figure out how things would come to life once we plug it into a wall,” said a determined Nour.
“My dad has been a mentor to me as he was a handy person, and liked to “fix” everything by himself. Those days where we’d spend evenings tearing down the old TV or mom’s PC left quite an impression on me,” he added.
Technological Singularity
Nour referred to a scientist, Ray Kurzweil, as his main inspiration when he first started down this path and described him as a futurist and a pioneer in many fields. Kurzweil’s ideas and vision for a future where we’d be connected by thoughts and everything would be readily available with a click, under the concept of “technological singularity”.
Nour said this has been his biggest inspiration, a driving force for him to perform better. One of the reasons that influenced Nour to join Limkokwing are the global standards set by the University.
“Limkokwing has had, and still holds quite an amazing presence in the digital industry on a global scale, earning countless awards and making headlines on a number of occasions,” said Nour energetically.
He began his professional career as a web developer working on front-end (static websites) related project, slowly moving towards full-stack projects (dynamic sites), and most recently he was assigned to lead a project for iOS and Android.
The Tech Guy
Nour’s current position is IT Project Lead at UK-based company Volcanic that specialises in recruitment solutions. According to Nour, industry has always been a big part of the curriculum at the University, where students would be directly involved in projects via collaborations, hackathons, or just plain old workshops.
Nour said he is currently working on a number of websites for global recruitment firms. He is also working on a mobile application concept that would help people find jobs by walking around the city. He reckons that building an app that would help people find new careers would be his greatest achievement so far. “It is quite intriguing and feels satisfying,” said Nour.
Nour said he has set his sights on data analysis and machine learning as he strongly believes that the future lies in artificial intelligence. “In the tech space, it’s always a game of catch up and I’d like to get ahead of the crowd and start working in that space by the end of the year.”
Nour claims that Limkokwing has played a major role in shaping the tech guy he is now. “This is simply due to the diverse environment that has a mind blowing mix of cultures, races and various astonishing academic bodies that operates in a way that makes our curriculum delve more into real industry,” he said.
During his time at Limkokwing, he participated in quite a number of exhibitions which enabled him to showcase his works, and was also awarded the Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Paduka Dr. Limkokwing award for leadership.
“Limkokwing has been a stepping stone in the process of shaping my skills to be market ready,” said Nour.
What It Takes
To those interested in his line of work, Nour said one should be more than prepared for long nights, and a taste for coffee is a must as it will become your best companion. Love for math tops the list and those who are not into puzzles and challenges, should best not consider this line of work.
“Programming is all about cracking tough problems and creating algorithms to address problems,” said Nour.
Describing Limkokwing in a nutshell, Nour said it is the only place that grants you unlimited opportunities to learn and experience something new every single day. “You’ll never be bored because there’s always something happening, from exhibitions and cultural events, to industry talks and competitions.”
Nour believes the three years he spent at the Cyberjaya campus has helped him succeed on a professional level and, most importantly, become a better person.
