Chinese technology company ZTE Corporation announced Thursday the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Multimedia University Malaysia (MMU) to collaborate on talent development initiatives in the fields of 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation.

ZTE said in a statement that this partnership marks a significant step in bridging academia and industry, equipping students and professionals with globally recognized ICT certifications and skills to thrive in the fast-evolving digital economy.

Under the MoU, MMU will become an authorized training and examination center for ZTE Certification, a professional and comprehensive technical certification system that covers multiple ICT domains, including 5G, AI, wireless, core networks, and transmission.

The program offers three certification levels: Associate (ZCIA), Professional (ZCIP), and Expert (ZCIE), enabling participants to progress from foundational knowledge to expert-level proficiency.

To date, more than 450,000 industry professionals have earned ZTE certifications, with hundreds of thousands more joining annually.

This partnership will provide MMU students, faculty, and industry professionals in Malaysia with access to world-class training, standardized evaluation, and industry-relevant competencies, enhancing their employability and competitiveness in both local and global markets.

“Our collaboration with MMU underscores ZTE’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of ICT talent,

“By combining our global expertise with MMU’s strong academic foundation, we aim to accelerate Malaysia’s digital transformation journey and create new opportunities for ICT professionals,” said Steven Ge, Managing Director of ZTE Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Ooi Chee Pun, Dean of FAIE, said partnering with ZTE aligns perfectly with MMU and FAIE’s mission to produce future-ready graduates.

“This MoU opens doors for our students and industry partners to gain certifications that are recognized and valued worldwide,” he added.

This latest MoU builds on a strong history of collaboration between ZTE and MMU.

In recent years, the two organizations have launched the MMU NexGen Communication Engineering Hub (2023) to provide advanced labs, tailored curricula, and research opportunities in communications engineering.

They also co-organized the ZTE NextGen 5G Hackathon (2024), engaging university students nationwide to create innovative 5G solutions, and introduced public sector AI and cybersecurity upskilling programs (2024–2025) to strengthen Malaysia’s digital capabilities.

CelcomDigi, Huawei, ZTE team up to boost Malaysia’s digital network with AI