South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on July 13 it opened a Korea-ASEAN Digital Academy at Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia with the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA).

The Korea-ASEAN Digital Academy is a project to boost ASEAN countries' ability to use AI and to train specialised talent in digital fields.

The ministry set up first-round academies in Indonesia and Laos last year. It opened additional academies in Vietnam in June and in Malaysia. Each country's academy provides tailored AI and digital training for students majoring in digital fields and job seekers.

The training includes not only theory but also practical instruction, networking days and job placement links with companies. The ministry plans to support local digital talent development and job creation through the programme.

Lee Jin-soo (이진수), director general for AI policy planning at the ministry, said, "We will support the future AI leaders of ASEAN so they can grow through Korea's strong digital education system." He added, "We will underpin Korea-ASEAN shared growth in AI across various areas, including talent development and expansion of AI infrastructure."