Empowering Youths with Digital Skill

KUALA LUMPUR (12 November 2019): HP Inc. Malaysia, in partnership with Universiti Kuala Lumpur British Malaysian Institute (UniKL BMI) and Microsoft, launched its Generation Coding (#GenC) project, a digital skills and coding initiative that aims to empower Malaysian youths to close the digital skills gap for the future.

The #GenC project will reach 400 primary and secondary school students within one year.

Minister of Youth and Sports, YB Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who officiated the launch event, said: “I’m thankful that HP has been proactive in supporting the government’s intent to equip our youth with new skills while bridging the digital skills gap in Malaysia. I look forward to working closely with HP to expand the programme and enable more youths to benefit from the HP Generation Coding programme.”

Adding on, Fayza Mohamed Amin, Managing Director, HP Inc. Malaysia, said: “We are pleased to have the opportunity to bring to life our partnership with Malaysia to support the future of the nation through #GenC. As we make the journey towards Industry 4.0, we need to ensure that our future generations are given every opportunity to enhance their quality of education through technology.”

“Through collaboration with our partners, we believe that the initiative will arm our talents of tomorrow with the right skills, technology and learning experiences to thrive in the jobs of the future,” he added.

Universiti Kuala Lumpur President and Chief Executive Officer, Professor Dato’ Dr Mazliham Mohd Su’ud, observed: “We are very excited to partner with HP to create valuable learning opportunities for our youths. This initiative is a great platform to accelerate digital transformation in the classrooms while ensuring our future generations are ready for the next wave of technological change.”

In line with the government’s agenda of expanding access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning, the two-day workshops held at the HP Technology Labs in UniKL will expose students to the basics of computer science and coding. The labs are home to 17 HP desktops that will be used by youths between the ages of 7 to 17 to learn Microsoft Office skills as well as coding languages such as Scratch and Python.

Classes will be taught by lecturers from the Technology Department at UniKL, with sessions for primary school students aged 7 – 12 covering Microsoft Office and Scratch modules. Secondary school students aged 13 – 17 will be taught Microsoft Office and basic Python coding. Beyond the workshops, students can also further their coding practice through online modules provided by UniKL.

The #GenC project is part of HP Inc.’s overarching goal to enable better learning outcomes for 100 million people around the world by 2025. In Malaysia, HP Inc. has been working towards supporting education across all ages through projects such as Creators of Tomorrow, an activation designed to foster entrepreneurial spirit for students in higher education as well as Little Makers, which encouraged primary students to reinvent learning at school and at home through print technology and the HP Smart App.

“At HP Inc. in Malaysia, we hope to continue providing ways for our youths to gain access to digital skills while supporting the future of the nation. We look forward to collaborating with more partners and government bodies to create valuable learning opportunities for our leaders of tomorrow,” said Fayza.