A Decade of Digital Talent: Malaysian Students Triumph in 10th Huawei ICT Competition

2 December 2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Marking ten years of developing homegrown digital talent, Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Huawei Malaysia) concluded the 10th Huawei ICT Competition Malaysia 2025–2026 with teams from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), IMU University and Xiamen University Malaysia emerging as the top winners in a closely contested final.

The event, officiated by the Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Higher Education, Datuk Ts. Dr Mohd Nor Azman Hassan, underscored Huawei Malaysia’s ongoing commitment to nurturing a sustainable pipeline of digital talent and advancing the nation’s digital education landscape.

Representing the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Ts. Mustapha Sakmud, Datuk Ts. Dr Mohd Nor Azman praised the Huawei ICT Academy, stating in his speech: “The Huawei ICT Academy, through its certification programmes, further strengthens this ecosystem by offering students structured, industry-recognised pathways to develop practical ICT skills.”

UPM secured the grand prize in the Network Track, led by instructor Ahmad Alauddin Ariffin with students Logith Mohana Krishnan, Sashvant Vadevell and Sio Zixin. IMU University claimed the grand prize in the Innovation Track with students Sam Tao Kien, Keh Pei Rou and Chee Yue Mei under the guidance of instructor Thein Oak Kyaw Zaw.

Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) distinguished itself by winning two grand prizes, in both the Cloud and Computing tracks. The Computing Track team comprised students Meng Zijian, Wai Pui Shan and Wong Wan Ning, guided by instructor Toa Chean Khim. The Cloud Track title was won by students Wu Haoren, Li Haocong and Ge Hanwen, led by instructor Dilshani Hansika Mallikarachchi.

Malaysia first joined the Huawei ICT Competition in 2018 with just over 200 students from seven universities.

Participation has since grown significantly: this 10th edition saw more than 1,900 students from 43 public and private higher education institutions nationwide competing.

From this strong field, 16 teams emerged triumphant across four competition tracks, Network, Cloud, Computing and Innovation.

Speaking at the ceremony, President and Chief Executive Officer of MMU, Prof. Dato’ Dr Mazliham Mohd Su’ud, said: “Through this competition, we are nurturing skilled professionals and visionary leaders who will drive Malaysia’s digital transformation and make talent our strongest national asset. This competition is more than an academic contest, it is a platform that identifies, trains and elevates the next generation of Malaysian innovators.”

Vice-Chancellor of the Huawei ASEAN Academy, Oliver Liu, highlighted Huawei Malaysia’s plans to establish more Huawei Academies to strengthen the country’s digital education ecosystem and support Malaysia’s vision to become the ASEAN Digital Capital.

“The Huawei ICT Academy nurtures both students and educators, giving them the opportunity to gain practical experience in cutting-edge fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing and data analysis. The Huawei ICT Competition complements this by providing students with a platform to compete, showcase their ICT skills and share knowledge through healthy competition,” he said.

In addition to the four competition tracks, awards were also presented to institutions demonstrating excellence in digital education. The Outstanding ICT Academy 2025 accolades went to Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Multimedia University (MMU), Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), INTI International College Penang, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Teknologi MARA, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) and Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP).

Ten educators were recognised with the Most Dedicated Instructor 2025 award for their contributions to strengthening ICT education in Malaysia. They include four instructors from MMU, Prabha Kumaresan, Ho Sin Ban, Lee Fong Yee and Ng Kok Why; two from XMUM, Lee Sui Ping and Toa Chean Khim; two from Universiti Teknologi Mara, Azliza Mohd Ali and Erny Arniza Ahmad; as well as Tan Soo Fun from UMS and Mohd Fairuz Iskandar Othman from Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka.

The awards ceremony was co-organised by Multimedia University (MMU) and Huawei Malaysia.

To date, Huawei Malaysia has established 53 ICT Academies nationwide and trained more than 54,000 individuals in digital skills, surpassing its original target of 50,000 by 2025.