Malaysia – Straits Interactive, an IT services and consulting firm, has announced that it has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia’s higher education institution, HELP University. This collaboration is aimed at strengthening the competencies of local talent by offering AI-focused training and business services across the country.
The said effort further aligns with Malaysia’s AI Talent Roadmap 2024–2030 and intends to address the growing demand for AI skills in education and the workforce.
In this initiative, the two will also work together across multiple areas, such as joint training programmes and academic research, advancing competencies in AI and data protection and governance. The said initiative includes the promotion of knowledge sharing and opportunities for international certifications.
Moreover, Straits Interactive and HELP will provide courses, workshops, and forums designed to raise awareness and impart skills in generative AI, data protection, and governance risk and compliance (GRC).
To support this, AI tutors focusing on these subjects will be developed and deployed to enhance teachers’ abilities, improve the quality of education, and offer on-demand assistance to students and working professionals.
These will be available on the company’s generative AI platform, Capabara, which enables non-technical users to effectively leverage a range of large language models (LLMs) for immediate productivity boosts in a secure environment.
The platform is designed with three key considerations: safety, ensuring chat histories are not used to train the model; security, governing proprietary data for AI apps within a closed container; and sustainability, being AI model-agnostic and allowing the creation of AI tools without requiring technical skills.
In addition, the said platform is a comprehensive Capability-as-a-Service solution designed to help organisations develop, govern, and manage their digital transformation goals.
Thus, it ensures the ethical and responsible use of generative AI while protecting privacy. Both the training and software are tailored for safe enterprise adoption of generative AI.
Alvin Toh, co-founder at Straits Interactive, said, “This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our mission to empower Malaysian talent and organisations with cutting-edge AI tools and training in support of the country’s National AI Roadmap.”
“By pairing our expertise with HELP University, we aim to accelerate the country’s workforce transformation into a more tech-savvy and highly productive talent pool to fuel AI adoption in organisations for economic growth. It is intended to build momentum in the development of Malaysia’s digital and AI ecosystems to achieve their strategic objectives for AI,” explained Toh.
Professor Datuk Dr. Paul Chan, chancellor, president, and co-founder at HELP University, also shared, “HELP University recognises the critical role and relevance of AI in education and training, especially for the development of the AI talent pool to sustain the growth of the nation. The portfolio of AI courses is up-to-date in contents, and the pedagogy is tested in various learning environments.
“It offers a comprehensive review and has the relevant specialisations to address the specific needs of individuals and corporations. This collaboration with Straits Interactive is part of our strategic partnership with quality institutions to offer fit-for-purpose education and training courses for Malaysians,” Chan further added.
