BlackBerry, UKM Reaffirm Commitment to Sarawak’s Digital Talent and Industry 5.0 Ambitions
Placing Strong Emphasis on Developing Sarawak-Based Talent Pipelines, Including Opportunities for Local Students, Researchers, and Early-Career Professionals to Gain Industry-Relevant Skills in Cybersecurity and Embedded Systems
BlackBerry Limited CEO, John Giamatteo, and Prof. Dato’ Dr Sufian Jusoh, Vice Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), recently attended a meeting with the Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg, reaffirming a shared commitment to advancing the state’s digital growth through innovation, skills training, and talent development in cybersecurity, secure communications, and embedded software engineering.
The meeting highlighted growing collaboration between government, industry, and academia to strengthen Malaysia’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem and develop a future-ready workforce aligned to Industry 4.0 foundations while accelerating Industry 5.0 transformation priorities.
Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg said: “Sarawak is committed to accelerating our digital transformation and building a future-ready workforce that supports the state’s transition into high-value, technology-driven industries. Today’s meeting underlines our focus on deepening Sarawak’s collaboration with industry and academia, strengthening our capabilities in secure and advanced technologies, while supporting our broader ambitions in digital infrastructure, smart industries, and sustainable economic growth.”
Continuing the Blackberry and UKM Collaboration
BlackBerry, a Canadian software leader with its Asia Pacific regional headquarters based in Malaysia, provides governments, critical industries, and leading automakers worldwide with secure, reliable software that drives productivity, resilience, and mission-critical performance. In October 2025, UKM and BlackBerry announced a strategic agreement to help strengthen Malaysia’s digital talent pipeline, grow industry competitiveness, and enhance cyber resilience in ASEAN. As the world prepares for an Industry 5.0 future, the Sarawak meeting signals an ongoing commitment by UKM and BlackBerry to ensure their multi-year partnership delivers capabilities that will benefit Malaysia’s most important growth regions.
In particular, the collaboration aims to support high-value, high-growth sectors such as semiconductors, electric vehicles (EVs), robotics, and advanced industrial automation—critical to Sarawak’s future economic development. These efforts align with Sarawak’s broader ambitions to advance digital infrastructure, energy innovation, and smart industrial ecosystems, positioning the state as a competitive hub for high-value investment and technology-driven growth.
The collaboration will place strong emphasis on developing Sarawak-based talent pipelines, including opportunities for local students, researchers, and early-career professionals to gain industry-relevant skills in cybersecurity and embedded systems. BlackBerry and UKM will also explore collaborations with key Sarawak agencies such as the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) and local higher education institutions, in alignment with the state’s Post-COVID Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 to accelerate digital economy growth and high-value job creation.
John Giamatteo, Chief Executive Officer of BlackBerry, added: “Together with UKM, BlackBerry is proud to support the Government of Sarawak, renewing our commitment to bring BlackBerry’s globally recognised embedded software and cybersecurity training programmes to help Malaysia’s future digital workforce prepare for Industry 5.0. As automotive, robotics, and medical device manufacturing become increasingly software-defined, tomorrow’s workforce must be equipped with the skills and technical know-how to make an immediate impact from day one of their careers.”
Blackberry Offers QNX®
QNX® is trusted by eight of the leading medical device manufacturers, more than 45 of the leading vehicle manufacturers worldwide, and is embedded within over 275 million vehicles on the road today. Under its agreement with UKM, BlackBerry will be offering its global QNX® Everywhere initiative to students at UKM who want to pursue careers in advanced AI, robotics, medical, and automotive industries.
The programme, designed to nurture and grow QNX’s worldwide developer community, offers easy access for everyone—from students and hobbyists to academic and research organisations—to develop knowledge of QNX® technologies, with a view to addressing the growing global shortage of skilled software engineers.
Prof. Dato’ Dr Sufian Jusoh concluded: “By combining UKM’s strengths in education, applied research, and industry collaboration with BlackBerry’s global expertise, we are building a robust pipeline of talent that is industry-ready and future-focused. This partnership goes beyond academic training to equip students with real-world skills, support innovation, and contribute directly to Malaysia’s and Sarawak’s evolving digital economy.”
