HANGZHOU, May 12 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) continues to expand its global strategic engagement in digital education and artificial intelligence (AI) through the signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Guangdong Polytechnic of Science and Trade (GPST) and NetEase Youdao during the 2026 World Digital Education Conference in Hangzhou, China.

The collaboration marks a significant milestone in strengthening Malaysia–China cooperation in the field of AI-powered education and the internationalisation of digital and vocational education, particularly in the development of international AI translation technology standards.

Held under the theme “Artificial Intelligence + Education: Transforming Education Development and Governance,” the conference was jointly organised by China’s Ministry of Education and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province. The prestigious global platform brought together education ministers, policymakers, leading scholars, and major technology industry players from around the world to explore the transformative role of AI in reshaping the future of education systems and governance.

The signing ceremony, which formed part of the conference’s closing programme, reflected growing international recognition of deeper industry–academia–research collaboration between Chinese enterprises and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) universities in advancing AI-driven education ecosystems.

Under the collaboration framework, the three institutions will jointly develop and promote international standards for multilingual AI translation technologies, including the formulation of the Human-Computer Interaction Multilingual Translation Service Specification aimed at addressing gaps in multilingual smart translation standards within international vocational education.

The partnership will also focus on the development of integrated digital education + AI solutions, enhancement of AI-enabled translation systems and digital learning materials for ASEAN markets, joint talent development and cross-border credit recognition, as well as collaborative research and technology transfer in advanced fields such as natural language processing and multimodal human-computer interaction.

The initiative further includes the establishment of a “dual-qualified” teacher training base to support multilingual Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) teaching and learning environments.

Prior to the formalisation of the agreement, UTM, GPST, and NetEase Youdao had already established active collaboration through the co-development of a multilingual human-computer interaction translation system, which successfully secured a national invention patent. The jointly authored publication, Human-Computer Interaction Business Translation, was also selected as part of China’s national 14th Five-Year Plan textbook initiative.

Representing UTM, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni), Prof. Ts. Dr. Ali Selamat, described the collaboration as a strategic step towards strengthening regional digital education ecosystems and future-ready talent development.

“This collaboration reflects the growing importance of international partnerships in shaping the future of AI-driven education. By combining academic expertise, industrial innovation, and digital technology capabilities, we are creating a platform that can accelerate knowledge transfer, talent development, and impactful solutions for both Malaysia and the broader ASEAN region.

“The initiative is also aligned with UTM ASCEND 2030, which emphasises global collaboration, high-impact innovation, digital transformation, and the development of future-ready talents capable of thriving in an increasingly interconnected world,” he said.

The collaboration is also seen as supporting Malaysia’s broader aspirations under the Ministry of Higher Education’s agenda to strengthen digital transformation, internationalisation, and strategic technology development in line with the nation’s future economic and talent priorities.

As one of Malaysia’s leading engineering and technology universities, UTM brings strong research expertise in artificial intelligence and multilingual information processing to the collaboration. Meanwhile, GPST contributes extensive experience in international vocational education standards development, while NetEase Youdao, a pioneer in China’s smart education industry, contributes advanced AI translation and intelligent learning technologies through its large-scale education AI model.

The collaboration is expected to strengthen cross-border digital education cooperation and position Malaysia and China as key contributors in shaping international AI education standards, while advancing more inclusive, scalable, and globally connected education ecosystems.