Unimas-SAIC collab on ‘Raya Bersama AI’ to promote STEM among students

KOTA SAMARAHAN (March 31): Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) today successfully held its inaugural community programme ‘Raya Bersama AI’.

The programme marked a significant milestone as the first collaborative initiative between Unimas, the Sarawak Artificial Intelligence Centre (SAIC), and NEUON AI Sdn Bhd — a company established by Unimas alumni.

The partnership aims to strengthen the Triple Helix ecosystem by bridging academia, industry and the public sector.

The programme also reflects Unimas’ commitment to nurturing young talent and promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outreach, with active participation from secondary schools and youth institutions across Sarawak.

Participating schools included Yayasan Sarawak International Secondary School (YSSIS), SMK Muara Tuang, SMK Penrissen, SMKA Tun Ahmad Zaidi (TUNAZ), and SMK Pensantren.

The programme also featured international experts from Taiwan, who guided participants through complex artificial intelligence concepts ranging from hardware data models to the Whisper system.

Unimas chief digital officer Professor Dr Wan Hashim Wan Ibrahim said the university is proud to collaborate with SAIC, an initiative introduced by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg to position Sarawak as a leader in technology-driven innovation.

He said initiatives such as the Sarawak Cloud aim to establish trusted digital infrastructure while ensuring AI sovereignty by keeping local data within the state to serve Sarawakian interests.

“We want you, the students, to realise that the breakthrough ideas of tomorrow don’t have to come from Silicon Valley.

“They can start right here in our own backyard, in Kota Samarahan, at Unimas,” he said during the programme closing.

Through the collaboration, Unimas reaffirmed its role not only as an institution of higher learning but also as a key enabler of Sarawak’s digital future, cultivating talent across all levels of society.