Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) has created history as the first public institution of higher education in the country to implement digital identification system for its students and staff.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said the use of the digital system, which began early this month, required the students and staff to scan the QR code on their smartphones.

He said, at the moment, the system was put into use to record the attendance of the students and the staff before it was expanded for other purposes.

"Unimas took only a month to implement the digital identification system, this is indeed something we should be proud of.

"The implementation of this digital system, along with the implementation of the integrated Cumulative Grade Points Average (iCGPA) are proof of Unimas' capability," he told a press conference after opening Unimas' Silver Jubilee Conference (USJ 2017) here Wednesday.

Also present was Unimas vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Mohamad Kadim Suaidi.

Idris also expressed happiness and pleasure with Unimas' achievements over the past 25 years of its establishment.

"I'm happy and pleased to see Unimas' achievements and success stories over the past 25 years, among which was its success for being validated by QS Asia Rankings from 291st place to 247th , which is indeed a significant improvement.

"Through the organising of the USJ 2017, Unimas was also able to attract over 300 papers and abstracts from all over the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, most of which have been selected for publication in SCOPUS and ISI-Indexed journals," he added. -- Bernama