Centexs, Gamuda academies to position S’wak as AI upskilling leader
Dalat (Dec 7): The launch of the Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak’s (Centexs) Dalat Campus set the stage for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) exchange between Gamuda Technologies and Centexs, marking a collaboration to establish Sarawak’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Academy and a Digital Construction Academy.
This positions Sarawak not only as a national leader in digital upskilling but as a future exporter of homegrown AI talent for the region.
Centexs Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Syeed Mohd Hussien Wan Abdul Rahman, said the partnership was a convergence of two entities sharing a ‘mutual DNA’ of a drive to innovate, push boundaries, and accelerate digital competency.
“Both Centexs and Gamuda thrive on challenges, and both possess strong track records. AI for the construction sector is unique, and together we are opening an entirely new chapter for Sarawak,” he said at the event recently.
He said for Sarawak, the partnership marks a turning point in how technology is applied to real-world sectors.
“While Centexs already runs AI programmes in oil and gas through partnerships with global players, the new partnership brings cutting-edge AI for construction capabilities to Sarawak for the first time,” he said.
Gamuda, with decades of global experience in digital construction and engineering across Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, will embed its strengths directly into the curriculum.
According to Gamuda group chief digital officer John Lim Ji Xiong, this will be supported by international technology partners such as Google Cloud and Autodesk Construction Cloud to ensure that Sarawakians receive world-class exposure from day one.
“This collaboration brings our global expertise to Sarawak, where local talent can now train at a standard that prepares them for the international marketplace,” he said.
Both Lim and Syeed Mohd Hussien stressed that the academies would offer high-quality training and remain accessible and free to Sarawakians regardless of their background.
At the AI Academy, trainees will learn full-stack AI development, which includes three major learning pathways – Frontend Development, Backend Development and Cloud DevOps, as well as AI, Machine Learning and Data Science.
Meanwhile, the programme at Digital Construction Academy is designed to build a strong talent ready to adopt digital construction through hands-on experience using a suite of technologies that mirror a modern project lifecycle.
Graduates can apply AI in the workforce, whether in construction, engineering, tunnelling, project planning, or large-scale public infrastructure development.
Syeed Mohd Hussien said more importantly, the training programme addresses Sarawak’s immediate and long-term digital talent needs.
“To thrive in the AI era, our workforce must be future-ready. With Gamuda, we can now cascade AI literacy from leadership to technical levels across the state.
“This aligns directly with the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 and Sarawak Digital Economy Blueprint (SDE) 2030, both of which prioritise technological readiness as a foundation for economic growth,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lim said that Gamuda’s decision to expand into Sarawak reflected confidence in the state’s leadership and progress in digital advancement.
“We go where leadership is clear in its vision, and Sarawak is investing heavily in its people. We believe this is where the future can be built,” he said.
Through the collaboration, local companies would be able to collaborate with the AI academy and Digital Construction Academy, co-developing solutions and integrating AI into daily workflows.
With the opening of the two academies in Sarawak by the end of quarter one of 2026, the collaboration stands to deliver free, world-class AI and digital construction programmes to all Sarawakians.
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