Curtin Malaysia collaborates with Alibaba Cloud to boost local digital talent development

Miri – 27 May 2022 – Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) and Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to introduce the Alibaba Cloud Academic Empowerment Program (AAEP) at the university for its students and staff. The two organisations exchanged copies of the MoU during a virtual exchange ceremony last Thursday.

The AAEP aims to further support Malaysia’s digital economy by empowering future digital talents through professional cloud computing education and resources. As the first global cloud service provider to establish its data centre in Malaysia since 2017, Alibaba Cloud has continuously provided Malaysian enterprises a local choice to build their businesses and run their applications on an advanced, trusted and secure cloud platform.

Representatives of Alibaba Cloud‘s business development arm in Malaysia – Head of Business Development Adeline Lai, Head of Marketing and Online Business Yilan Zhuang, Training Advisor JY Wong, Business Development Manager Dennis Tan, and Marketing Manager Chin KaChin – attended the online memorandum exchange ceremony.

Representing Curtin Malaysia were Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof. Vincent Lee, Chief Operating Officer Ir. Pieter Willem Pottas, Dean of Research and Development Prof. Ramasamy Nagarajan, Associate Dean of Research and Development Assoc. Prof. John Lau, Associate Dean of External Engagement Ir. Dr. Lim Chye Ing, Head of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Assoc. Prof. Ling Huo Chong, and lecturer of electrical and computer engineering Foad Motalebi.

According to Prof. Lee, the collaboration is significant for both Curtin Malaysia, Curtin University’s largest global campus and hub in ASEAN, and Alibaba Cloud, a leading global cloud services provider. By leveraging the tech firm’s expertise in cloud technology and Curtin Malaysia’s strengths in education and research, the collaboration aims to provide advanced knowledge and skillsets in cloud computing to Curtin Malaysia’s students.

This will be achieved through seminars, talks, guest lectures and workshops, and enabling them to access Alibaba Cloud’s cloud computing and e-learning resources. Furthermore, as part of the AAEP, Alibaba Cloud will guide, engage, and empower them as the next generation of IT and cloud professionals at minimal cost to the local university.

Alibaba Cloud is also committed to organising orientation programmes on cloud computing, security and databases for Curtin Malaysia’s academics, as well as offering cloud computing certifications for them upon completion of the orientation programme.

“It is critical for our students to stay current on industry trends and be prepared for the future working environment. The AAEP will see them empowered with the tools and knowledge to be prime innovators and movers in the cloud transformation. Our academics and researchers also stand to benefit from the digital intelligence knowledge and industry support the programme will bring. The benefits to our university will be substantial,” said Prof. Lee.

Commenting on the collaboration, Kun Huang, General Manager for Malaysia, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, said, “As a leading cloud service provider, it is our ongoing commitment to provide the best-in-class cloud services to our customers and we are delighted to collaborate with local partners like Curtin University Malaysia to deliver exactly these experiences to the market, to help students and staff get the best learning resources in the industry so they can better seize the opportunities provided by the digital era.”

Information on Curtin Malaysia can be found at www.curtin.edu.my, or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tiktok.