Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) becomes ASEAN's first university to integrate QNX technology into its curriculum, helping to build Malaysia's future software engineering workforce.
BANGI, MALAYSIA / ACCESS Newswire / June 11, 2026 / BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) today announced a major milestone in their multi-year strategic partnership, with UKM becoming the first university in ASEAN to integrate BlackBerry's globally recognized QNX® Everywhere program and QNX® foundational operating system (OS) into its curriculum. The initiative aims to build a robust pipeline of skilled software engineers to help support the rapid modernization of Malaysia's most mission-critical industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical devices, semiconductors, robotics and industrial automation.
UKM will offer QNX Everywhere as a curricular elective, with courses expected to commence in late 2026. This week, representatives from BlackBerry and QNX, Pi Square Technologies, UKM's university leadership, faculty and key government and industry stakeholders will commence course design, and formally open program registration for UKM students.
Raj Jain, Vice President, QNX Engineering and Head of R&D in APAC said, "The future of robotics, automotive and industrial systems is being shaped by 'Physical AI', where artificial intelligence meets real-world, safety-critical environments. With QNX Everywhere, we are giving Malaysia's next generation of engineers hands-on experience with the trusted software foundation that powers safe, secure, real-time systems. BlackBerry is proud to partner with UKM to help build a globally competitive talent pipeline, advance the digital economy and support Malaysia's Industry 5.0 ambitions."
Through QNX's 'one-to-many' model, UKM students in computer science and engineering will get free access to the QNX® Software Development Platform (SDP) 8.0, giving them hands-on experience with the same trusted platform used by nine of the world's top 10 medical device manufacturers and embedded in more than 275 million vehicles globally. The QNX-backed curriculum will equip Malaysia's aspiring software engineers with industry-ready skills to support the nation's ambitions in advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, Physical AI, robotics, automation, and other connected and safety-critical industries.
Malaysia's national development policies, including Industry4WRD, the National 4IR Policy, New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030), Malaysia Digital 2030 (MD2030), and the MADANI agenda, are focused on accelerating digital transformation, strengthening technological sovereignty and creating higher-value industries. QNX Everywhere helps bridge the gap between policy and capability, equipping future software engineers with the expertise needed to build the intelligent, connected and safety-critical systems that will underpin the nation's future growth.
UKM Vice-Chancellor, Prof Dato' Dr Sufian Jusoh said, "Our partnership with BlackBerry continues to break new ground, expanding to address Malaysia's requirements to 'tech up' more software engineers to support our future digital economy. UKM is proud to be the first university in ASEAN to integrate QNX Everywhere into our curriculum, ensuring that Malaysia's future software engineers are not just career-ready, but globally competitive in designing and supporting the world's most critical industries."
The UKM-BlackBerry partnership was established to strengthen Malaysia's digital talent pipeline, sharpen industry competitiveness, and bolster ASEAN cyber resilience. Following the launch of the 24-week Cyber Pathways professional certification program in May 2026, this next milestone expands the partnership beyond cybersecurity and into the foundational software that powers the world's most mission-critical industries.
The UKM-BlackBerry partnership will further expand QNX's growing global academic footprint, which has seen QNX Everywhere span institutions across Canada, the U.S., South Korea, India and Germany.
