CendekiAwan Malaysia Program Empowers Thousands of Malaysian Students to Lead the Generative AI Revolution

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Elitery Malaysia, AWS's edtech partner, celebrated the successful conclusion of the CendekiAwan Malaysia program, marking a significant milestone in Malaysia's journey toward developing a future-ready digital workforce. The initiative reached its milestone conclusion with a high-energy Closing Event, highlighting the remarkable achievements of students and universities in mastering generative AI technologies.

Since its launch in November 2025, CendekiAwan Malaysia has reached a total of more than 13,000 student participants across six partner universities, namely Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Universiti Malaya (UM), and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). As an ongoing initiative through the end of 2026, the program continues to expand its reach, bridging the gap between academic theory and industry demand by equipping students with the essential tools to experiment, build, and innovate with cutting-edge cloud technology. A key highlight of the journey was the integration of PartyRock, AWS's no code, browser based service, which empowered students to build 227 functional, innovative applications using natural language prompts. These submissions showcase the power of generative AI to solve problems in sectors like digital health and smart education, proving that generative AI is a powerful tool for students of all academic backgrounds.

The initiative culminated in a milestone Closing Event on April 20, 2026, which celebrated the program's collective success. Beyond recognizing the transformative role of partner universities, the ceremony showcased the most impactful Generative AI applications built using AWS PartyRock. Top honors were awarded to five exceptional student innovators who demonstrated the power of AI to solve critical challenges:

• Siti Aisyah Binti Abdul Azis (UiTM) in GovTech & Social Impact with CareerAdvisor;

• Amir Fahmi Bin Jasni (UniMAP) in Smart Education with ThinkPath;

• Nik Hannan Qistina Binti Zulkifli (UiTM) in Financial Inclusion & SME Empowerment with CashSmart Campus;

• Muhammad Fadlan Bin Mairuzsazali (UniMAP) in Digital Health with Isihat+; and ⁠

• Ang Ke Sin (UTHM) in Sustainable Environment & Climate with KitarSemula AI.

Among the featured innovations, Isihat+ stood out for empowering users to optimize daily routines through precise physiological tracking and health metric analytics. Meanwhile, CashSmart Campus redefined personal finance for the academic community, offering students a streamlined tool to track expenses and gain actionable insights for long-term financial literacy. This massive achievement ensures that every participant is career-ready, armed with industry-validated skills to thrive in today's competitive digital economy.

Hussein Mohd Ali, Country Manager, AWS Malaysia, emphasized the transformative power of early experimentation with generative AI. "Building a culture of experimentation starts at the earliest ages. When we empower students with tools like PartyRock and AWS generative AI technologies, we're not just teaching them skills — we're enabling them to curate the future they want to see. The applications created through CendekiAwan Malaysia demonstrate what's possible when young innovators are given the freedom to experiment, fail, learn, and ultimately build solutions that matter to their communities. This is how we strengthen Malaysia's digital talent pipeline — by nurturing curiosity and creativity from the ground up," said Hussein.

Kresna Adiprawira, President Director of Elitery, emphasized the importance of this collaboration in fostering local talent and regional digital transformation. "We are honored to facilitate this bridge between industry and academia. The success of CendekiAwan Malaysia is more than just statistics; it represents the immense potential of Malaysia's next generation of digital leaders. By providing the right platform, we are empowering these students to catalyze digital transformation across the entire region. The 227 innovative applications developed through this program are a powerful reminder that when student creativity is matched with industry-leading tools, it translates directly into real-world solutions", said Kresna.

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