- Kaspersky has signed a new three-year MoU with Asia Pacific University (APU) to strengthen cybersecurity education and equip Malaysian students with industry-ready skills.
- The partnership introduces updated curricula, faculty upskilling, and hands-on training through Kaspersky’s Interactive Protection Simulation to prepare learners for real-world cyber threats.
- As part of the global Kaspersky Academy Alliance, the initiative reinforces Malaysia’s cyber talent pipeline and supports the nation’s digital resilience strategy.
Kaspersky has reaffirmed its dedication to nurturing cybersecurity talent in Malaysia with the signing of a new three-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation. This accord aims at elevating cybersecurity education, making students job-ready, and matching the fast-growing demand for skilled cyber professionals in the country.
Under the agreement, Kaspersky and APU will work together to refresh academic programmes with industry-relevant contents to ensure students graduate with cutting-edge knowledge and competencies relevant in contemporary cybersecurity environments. This collaboration will extend further to faculty development through exposing lecturers to global best practices for deepening their technical expertise and the latest technologies. This exchange of knowledge is expected to strengthen the overall quality of APU’s cybersecurity curriculum and enrich the learning experience for students.
A key highlight of the partnership includes the introduction of technical talks and the Kaspersky Interactive Protection Simulation, a unique gamified cybersecurity exercise that puts participants in the role of incident responders. In these simulations, students and educators will experience real-world cyber defence scenarios, witnessing an attack unfold and how decisions made under pressure can be the difference. This hands-on approach not only builds technical proficiency but also sharpens critical thinking, teamwork, and decision-making skills attributes essential in the fast-paced cybersecurity sector.
Simon Tung, General Manager for ASEAN and AEC at Kaspersky, underlined the strategic value of the partnership, citing that investment into education is crucial for long-term cyber resilience. He stated that Kaspersky perceives this as an opportunity to meaningfully contribute toward the future workforce of Malaysia by equipping students and educators alike with advanced cybersecurity capabilities. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thang Ka Fei, Senior Head of the School of Technology, APU, reflected upon this by stating that the university is committed to fostering a future-ready talent ecosystem in support of Malaysia's rapidly accelerating digital transformation. He added that with the partnership, graduates will play the role of shaping people who can protect national and industry-level digital infrastructures.
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It is part of the larger Kaspersky Academy Alliance-a global program aimed at narrowing the cybersecurity knowledge gap through close collaboration between academia and industry. It is targeted at building a strong cybersecurity talent pool across the globe through joint research initiatives, specialist training, and practical skill-building programs.
In Malaysia, Kaspersky has an established track record of working with universities and communities to enhance digital resilience. Past collaborations include engagements with Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Universiti Malaya and Universiti Kuala Lumpur, where students received hands-on training in cyber investigation and mitigation. Beyond higher education, Kaspersky has also partnered with schools, NGOs and community groups to raise awareness on cyber safety, reflecting a holistic approach to building a digitally secure society.
This new MoU inked with APU represents a very important step towards catalyzing Malaysia's cybersecurity ecosystem. The partnership will merge academic expertise with industry-driven insights and hands-on, real-world training to shape a new wave of competent professionals who will be ready to shield the nation's digital future.
