2008 was now 3 days behind us,  with the new year 2009 waiting us with the full loads of challenges. A lot of interesting things happen in our IT industry last year, which is relatively small and young, as compared to the IT powerhouse such as India or US.

No event such as CES and CeBIT, or Masable or TechCrunch award here, but our own home grown events/awards are on the right path if it is groomed properly.

This post list some of the IT (Information Technology) events and awards that I came across last year. I’m well aware that there are many more that I might missed, but I’m more than happy to include it here, in case you mention it in the comments section.

The ‘when‘ is provided as it is, depend on 2008 event’s date. The list is not in order of important or whatsoever.

1. YouthMalaysia – The organizer of Youth 08 which is the largest youth event. Under this event, there are other project such as Malaysia Dotcom Youth Search , YouthSays andThe National Youth Entrepreneur Convention (NYEC). Youth09 is just aroung the corner, so you mingt want to checkout the official site for further detail

When: January each year

2. Mobile Content Challenge – Competition between universities and colleges to develope mobile content. Co-sponsored by Maxis via its Maxis Developer Program

When : July 08 – 31 October 08.

3. Barcamp KL & JB – Is an informal workshop/conference where participant sharing and presenting the app/solution/idea to attendees. And not to misled you, here it the full meaning from barcamp itself

BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences – open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants.

When : Barcamp KL held on July while Barcamp JB held on December. Visit their website for detail.

4. Startup Camp -Just like barcamp, this is the informal conference for start-up community to sit down together discussing and sharing ideas, strategies and etc

When: November

5. FOSS – Malaysia’s premier free and open source software event

When: Since FOSS 08 held on November, you could expecting 09 event held on the same month. Do check the official website or follow their twitter to get update

6. APICTA 2008 – An award  to individual or organizations that build application/solution that benefit Malaysia and world as a whole. There is APICTA Malaysia which open to Malaysian only, and regional APICTA which open to participate countries from Asia Pacific.

When : APICTA Malaysia winner announced at Oct, while the regional award announced at November

7. PC Fair – Organized by PIKOM, it is arguably the largest hardware, gadget fair in Malaysia. Held few times a year all over Malaysia, this fair used to be using as a medium to promote new solution/gadget with a bargain price.

When: First round started April every year.

8. The Intellectual Property Creators Challenge (IPCC) – Annual creative multimedia content competition organized by MSC. Divided to 4 categories which are Animation, Computer Causl Games, Digital Interactive Comic and Mobile Edutainement Content.

When : Closing Date July 08

9. Global Entrepreneurship Week Malaysia – An event where various type of peoples and organizations interact and taking part in a range of activities, to celebrate entrepreneurship across the globe.

When : 17 – 23 November

10. MSC Malaysia Innotech – Platform to connect stakeholders, local and international Venture Capitalists (VCs), entrepreneurs and implementation agencies as a means to move forward in the industry. International speakers within the industries will share their thoughts and ideas on the opportunities and challenges that exist in the Malaysian industry

When: Bi-annual

11. WCIT – Held in Kuala Lumpur in 2008, this event brings together global leaders in business, government and academia  through the exchange of policies and ideas on technology.

When: May

12. Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award – An award that need no introduction. It recognized entrepreneurs who has performed extremely well on their industry and leads the company to the new height. The winner will represent the country to the global award. 2008 winner can be found here.

When: Announced at the end of the year

13 IT Showcase Asia – IT Showcase Asia emphasizes on managing your IT resources right. Major highlights of this high-profile congress would include the latest updates on virtualization, cloud computing, IT security, IT governance, refurbished technology and networking. This is the place to check out the latest technologies like FTTH, Broadband / WiMAX, Blade Server Technology, VoIP and much more!

Date : 6-7 October 2009
Venue : Berjaya Times Square Hotel & Convention Center