ICT Talent: Bridging the Gap between Academia and Industry

As part of the Digital Leadership Excellence Programme (DLE) developed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Huawei Malaysia, Huawei Blog interviewed some of Malaysia's leading industry experts, government delegates, and academics.

In part 2 of this four-part series, we sat down with Ts. Dr. Zulhasni Bin Abdul Rahim, Senior Lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to discuss how to bridge the gap between academia and industry to nurture the tech talent necessary to realize innovation, digital transformation, and Malaysia's digital vision.

The DLE talent development initiative aims to ensure that leaders in Malaysia's public and private sectors are equipped with the skills necessary to steer their respective organisations down the accelerated path of digital transformation.

Aligned with MCMC’s National Policy Objectives to develop industry capabilities that enable Malaysia to lead the digital economy in ASEAN, the first batch of DLE participants comprised 47 Malaysian digital leaders, including representatives from the government, academia, and industry. Participants underwent an intensive hybrid eight-month training programme that concluded in an industry visit to Huawei's HQ in Shenzhen, China in October 2024.

With a strong focus on cross-sector collaboration, the programme aims to cultivate 300 Malaysian Digital Leaders over the next three years. It aims to lay a solid foundation for redefining leadership in the digital era and propel technological innovation across Malaysia’s economy and public services, with digital transformation as a key driver of the nation's future growth and success.

The inaugural DLE programme curriculum focused on Malaysia's national digital transformation. During the program, the digital leaders developed 'Capstone' projects on the following five topics to explore innovative solutions for Malaysia's digital transformation.

• Transportation: Exploring technology-driven solutions for smarter, safer, and more efficient public mobility.
• Talent development: Outlining strategies to upskill Malaysia’s workforce and nurture digital expertise.
• SME Sustainability: Enhancing digital adoption among small and medium enterprises to future-proof their operations.
• Green Data Centres for public universities (IPTA): Enhancing digital adoption among small and medium enterprises to future-proof their operations.
• Smart Government Portal: Reimagining public service delivery with integrated, user-centric digital platforms.

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