Ts. Dr. Lee Fong Yee, Assistant Professor from the Faculty of Computing and Informatics (FCI) represented the university to participate in the high-level Huawei ICT Academy Support Centre (IASC) Roundtable 2025 in Shanghai, China in September 2025. The session was part of the larger Huawei Connect 2025 event, gathered the IASC representatives from Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria, Thailand, Singapore, China, and Malaysia.
The session was also attended by Huawei management, UNESCO IITE, and industry experts, all working to strategically define the future of ICT talent development. Notable Huawei management present included Mr. Sun Gang (Director of the ICT Talent Partner Development Dept), Mr. Liu Fei (Vice President of Kunpeng Domain and General Manager of OpenEuler), Mr. Zhang Chengtao (Vice President, Global Public Sector BU), and Mr. Zhang Jing (Senior Director of the ICT Talent Partner Development Dept).
The Roundtable was structured around influential keynotes and deep-dive practice sessions that highlighted global trends in digital education. Ms. Ekaterina Pushkareva from UNESCO IITE shared UNESCO’s global vision on “Digital Reshaping Education”, highlighting AI integration in educational technologies and international collaboration with Huawei. Mr. Liu Fei presented how openEuler enhances AI ecosystems through intelligent OS installations and performance improvements for complex applications. Meanwhile, Mr. Himanshu Mahajan and Mr. Zhang Chengtao emphasized Huawei’s global efforts in ICT talent cultivation, partnering with over 3,000 institutions worldwide to nurture future innovators in the digital era.
Beyond the main keynotes, global IASC experts shared key achievements and initiatives to accelerate AI talent development. The event featured impactful discussions on aligning academic curricula with industry needs through Huawei ICT Academies. Another session focused on creating practical frameworks to enhance teaching, learning, and innovation in technology education.
In her presentation, Dr. Lee shared the strong success of the IASC initiative at MMU, which has trained over 800 students and improved graduate employability and competitiveness. The integration of Huawei courses has also boosted research efforts and increased student enrolment each trimester. To build on this success, MMU aims to strengthen its partnership with Huawei by adding more industry-relevant courses, adopting advanced technologies for hands-on learning, and exploring joint research opportunities with industry partners.
The ultimate goal of this roadmap is to establish MMU’s IASC as a regional hub for ASEAN ICT talent development, directly supporting Malaysia’s MyDIGITAL aspirations for economic growth and innovation. The session culminated with the IASC Award Ceremony, a significant recognition of the sustained and vital contributions made by the IASCs to the ecosystem.
