Alibaba Business School Expands Global eCommerceTalent (GET) Network to Empower Young Malaysian Entrepreneurs
Sunway University joins Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), and INTI International University & Colleges as part of GET Network initiative to enable 1 million young digital talents worldwide by 2023
Hosts the first-ever symposium for the Alibaba GET Network and education stakeholders in China
Malaysian students from Northwestern Polytechnical University took first place at an inaugural competition for the Alibaba GET Network students
Alibaba Business School announced the expansion of the Alibaba Global eCommerce Talent (GET) Network initiative yesterday, with eight new members joining and committing to facilitate the education and empowerment of youth around the world. Sunway University from Malaysia was one of the eight new member universities added to the worldwide network. The announcement was made at an Alibaba symposium held during the 12th Annual China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week.
Since the launch of the Alibaba GET Network, five Malaysian universities have joined the network to support the goal of empowering young Malaysian entrepreneurs to excel in the Digital Economy. This includes Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), INTI International University & Colleges, and most recently, Sunway University. Until now, 223 GET Network teachers from Malaysian universities have trained over 6,340 Malaysian students representing 46 organizations in Malaysia. The initiative underscores Alibaba Group’s ongoing efforts to sharpen the skills of Malaysia entrepreneurs, strengthen their existing businesses and empower the future makers of Malaysia’s Digital Economy.
The symposium “Entrepreneurship and Innovation Education in the Era of the Digital Economy” brought together GET-trained university lecturers and students as well as representatives from 62 universities and partners across 22 countries including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia and Mexico. More than 250 experts and representatives from Alibaba Group, various governments, universities and the digital industry joined stakeholders from the Alibaba GET Network to discuss how to further develop talents in the digital economy and drive a new business education model. It was part of the wider proceedings of the China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week which encourage educational and cultural exchange between ASEAN nations and international partners since 2008.
“In the past years, Malaysia has cooperated with Alibaba closely. Our government, entrepreneurs and young people have all moved into the digital world. In Malaysia, leading universities have already commenced curriculum in digital economy which can guide students to turn idea into reality and practice. We believe talents emerging from digital economy will play an important role for the future economic development of any country and education underpinning this future success will be vital. Through the Alibaba GET program, more and more GET talents will be nourished from the meaningful program and bring very positive changes to Malaysia and the world.” said Prof. Dr. Rahmah binti Ahmad H.Osman, Director, Education Malaysia Division Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Malaysia.
As part of the Alibaba GET Network, education partners will receive learning materials based on real-world case studies and multimedia learning assets via the GET Online Learning Platform and Simulation Platform, taught by experts from the Alibaba ecosystem. Participating universities can also send their lecturers to receive further training on equipping students with the right knowledge and skills to succeed in the digital economy. Inaugural Competition for the Alibaba GET Network Students The inaugural GET Digital Economy Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition was also held during the symposium. Eleven finalist teams from eight universities presented their business proposals to a panel of judges.
The winning team of four Malaysian students at Northwestern Polytechnical University, China prevailed with their idea of digitizing the family’s fish snacks business and entering the Chinese market through ecommerce, in addition to helping local SMEs in Malaysia to transform and tap into global trade. The Alibaba GET Network was first initiated in 2018 as an extension of Alibaba’s GET program which, to date, has benefitted 80 education partners and trained more than 300 lecturers, and over 13,000 students and other participants from Australia, India, Israel, Mongolia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, South Korea, Singapore and China.
