Project 2100: First strategic agenda between CADS and PETRONAS

Kuala Lumpur, 22 March 2022 – BeDigital Bootcamp was marked as the official Project 2100 strategic activity after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between The Center of Applied Data Science (CADS) and PETRONAS early this year in a mission to future-proof youths in this region through data literacy.

PETRONAS collaborated with CADS, Microsoft Malaysia, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) in this initiative to produce digitally driven talent. A total of 18 students of UMS were selected to undergo the two-week curated bootcamp with the main objective to strengthen young graduates’ digital literacy to meet the demands of current and future job markets.

CADS Founder and Chief Executive Officer Sharala Axryd said, "The involvement of CADS in PETRONAS' BeDigital Bootcamp marked the first official agenda for bilateral collaboration since the two companies signed an MoU earlier this year. Our role as the strategic enabler is integral towards helping to increase local talent pools for the challenges that come with the advent of Industry 4.0.”

She added “CADS is committed to help Malaysia prosper with data literate talents in line with the nation's Industry4WRD policy and initiatives. In collaboration with PETRONAS Digital Sdn Bhd, we are proud to provide our graduates with a competitive edge in this technologically advanced industry. CADS is inviting the BeDigital boot campers to join our Data Star initiative to get further access to upskilling and job placement with our extensive network of partners to grow your career in this field".

PETRONAS Chief Digital Officer Aadrin Azly said, “We aim to decode ‘How can we enhance the employability of Malaysians?’, and digital is one of the obvious options. The BeDigital Bootcamp was designed with the objective of enhancing local talents’ employability before they join the workforce.

“Once equipped with this bolstered leadership and innovative mindset, they can explore the realm of digital entrepreneurship, become digital technical specialists or venture into other digital roles within the job market. Participants also stand a chance to be selected for a role in PETRONAS.”

Since the completion of the bootcamp, five participants have received conditional employment offers from PETRONAS while another five have received employment offers from TCS. In addition, the remaining participants were invited for interviews with the rest of the bootcamp partners for possible work placements or industrial training opportunities.

Other strategic partners of this bootcamp expressed the same reactions. TCS were interested to absorb the outstanding participants through its 60-days Initial Learning Program (ILP) and placement in a specific project within TCS and PETRONAS engagements afterwards.

Concurrently, Microsoft planned to support these participants through industry and digital entrepreneurship placement to sharpen their digital skills, nurture their experiences and expertise in the realm of entrepreneurship and build networks within the community in which they would like their talent to grow.