Empowering the Next Generation with KTP on AI-Assisted Business Analytics and Financial Technology

Two impactful Knowledge Transfer Programmes (KTPs) focusing on AI-Assisted Business Analytics and Financial Technology (FinTech) were successfully conducted with students from IR Academy—Malaysia’s first fully structured online school offering both the national syllabus (KSSR for Primary and KSSM for Secondary) and the IGCSE pathway on 7  and 8 July 2025. Conducted virtually, the sessions engaged 56 secondary-level students from multiple countries, including Malaysia and the UAE, with strong support from IR Academy teachers and School Principal Director, Ms. Natasha.

These programmes combined both theoretical foundations and practical applications of key technologies poised to shape the future— Artificial Intelligence (AI), Business Analysis, FinTech, and Cybersecurity. Participants were guided on how to systematically construct AI prompts for business analysis and were introduced to ways they could begin leveraging financial technologies to build and manage personal financial assets, even as students.

The sessions were led by Dr. Muhammad Afif Fathullah (AI-Assisted Business Analytics) and Ms. Fatin Zaida (Financial Technology), supported by Ms. Sharifah Ummu Naqiah and Ms. Nurul Atiah. All facilitators are members of the Faculty of Management (FOM), with Dr. Afif and Ms. Ummu affiliated with the Centre for Management and Marketing Innovation, and Ms. Fatin and Ms. Atiah from the Centre for Accounting, Finance, and Economics.

This initiative underscores the critical importance of equipping students with future-ready digital competencies, while also emphasising ethical and sustainable use of emerging technologies. It also demonstrates how meaningful educational CSR efforts can be realized through strategic collaborations between academia and schools.