Khazanah, SEG join forces to develop skilled tech talents for Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah) has entered a joint venture with Sunway Education Group (SEG) to establish 42 Malaysia (42MY), an innovative peer-to-peer computer science school aiming to accelerate the development of 10,000 skilled tech talents within the next decade.

According to Khazanah in a statement today, 42MY is a part of a global movement with a network of 47 campuses across 26 countries that offers a unique education opportunity free of charge for individuals aged 18 years and above, regardless of education and socioeconomic background.

“The programme’s innovative and scalable education model focuses on peer-to-peer and practical project-based learning approaches that resemble a real-work environment, providing learners the opportunity to learn to code while working on real-life industry projects with 42MY’s participating corporate partners,” read the statement.

Its managing director Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said the investment in 42MY was in line with the commitment to delivering socioeconomic impact for Malaysians through the Dana Impak mandate, a key foundation of the Advancing Malaysia strategic imperative.

He said in line with the Malaysia MADANI Budget 2023, Khazanah was committed to playing an integral role, along with other government-linked companies (GLC) in funding high-growth start-ups in Malaysia to spur the country’s innovation and economic growth.

“The availability of talent is crucial to the continuous development of any industry. To this end, 42MY will further bolster the domestic start-up and tech ecosystem by nurturing and developing Malaysian talents, complementing the nation’s digital economy development agenda, and strengthening its IR (Industrial Revolution) 4.0 capability,” he said.

The joint venture with SEG demonstrates what can be achieved through collaboration and partnership, Amirul Feisal said, adding that Khazanah welcomes the opportunity to work with partners that share a similar vision in developing the nation’s digital and skilled talent supply.

Meanwhile, founder and trustee of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah said SEG will expand 42MY through new campuses in Johor, Penang and Kuching, and potentially across Malaysia, in the coming years.

“With this expansion, we can provide more students across the country with quality education, discovering and nurturing more tech talents to establish Malaysia as the leading digital economy in ASEAN.

“This partnership also reaffirms our commitment to nation-building and the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),” he said.

The Jeffrey Cheah Foundation owns and governs all entities under SEG and is the largest of its kind, advancing education in Malaysia through a social enterprise model.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency