ZTE Deepens Industry-Academia Partnership with Multimedia University Malaysia, Advancing Digital Talent Development

• ZTE Vice President Dr. Zhao Gang delivered a guest lecture at MMU covering AI deployment, 6G roadmaps, and career development strategies for the digital age
• Since 2016, ZTE and MMU have co-built a comprehensive talent development ecosystem, serving both academic and public sector talent pipelines across Malaysia

Photo 1: Dr. Zhao Gang delivered a special guest lecture at MMU

Cyberjaya, Malaysia, September 23, 2026 - ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a global leading provider of integrated information and communication technology solutions, recently brought its frontline industry expertise, as Dr. Zhao Gang, ZTE Vice President and Managing Director of Service Delivery Dept., delivered a special guest lecture at Multimedia University (MMU) in Malaysia. The session explored breakthrough developments in AI and 6G technologies alongside practical career guidance for the next generation of digital professionals, drawing strong engagement from faculty and students. The visit marks a further deepening of ZTE's long-term industry-academia collaboration with MMU, reinforcing a shared commitment to building future-ready digital talent and advancing the global industry-education ecosystem.

During the lecture, Dr. Zhao Gang drew on ZTE's global digital intelligence innovation practices to deliver a structured presentation across three key themes: AI technology deployment, 6G industry positioning, and digital talent career planning.

With the rapid proliferation of large models and AI agents, artificial intelligence has moved beyond conversational applications into full-scale industrial deployment, fundamentally reshaping industry landscapes. Dr. Zhao emphasized that ZTE continues to deepen its "All in AI, AI for All" strategy, leveraging a dual-engine approach of connectivity and computing, and deploying its end-to-end full-stack AI capabilities through the AIR MAX three-layer systematic upgrade architecture to reshape next-generation mobile networks and empower value creation across industries. On the convergence of AI and 6G, Dr. Zhao articulated a forward-looking perspective: "6G and AI are mutually dependent." ZTE is actively co-advancing key technological innovations with its industry, academic, and research partners, laying the groundwork for an era of intelligent connectivity for all things. Addressing talent development in the AI era, Dr. Zhao encouraged students to embrace the transformative shifts of the intelligent age and to amplify their personal value through human-machine collaboration.

ZTE's engagement with MMU also reflects its broader global network services philosophy, centered on three core delivery capabilities around global end-to-end delivery: intelligent engineering delivery, high-quality digital and intelligent network delivery, and full-cycle intelligent O&M services — collectively supporting the construction of a reliable, intelligent, and sustainable digital infrastructure.

Photo 2: Group photo of Dr. Zhao Gang with the faculty and students of MMU

ZTE and MMU have maintained an evolving partnership, jointly developing a robust digital talent development framework for Malaysia. The collaboration was initiated in 2016, with the completion of a 5G NSA laboratory in 2017 marking the first major milestone. The partnership has steadily expanded, culminating in the completion of Malaysia's first end-to-end 5G SA laboratory in 2022, alongside a jointly established training centre providing faculty and students with a commercial-grade telecommunications training environment.

Beyond infrastructure, the collaboration has grown to encompass curriculum development, scholarships, technology forums, and career guidance for MMU students. ZTE has developed customized, cutting-edge courses for MMU covering 5G, cloud computing, smart manufacturing, and more, while regularly hosting technology forums and guest lectures. Dedicated scholarships, career planning guidance, and internship pathways have also been made available to MMU students. In 2023, the two institutions jointly established the NexGen Communication Engineering Hub, and MMU was designated as an official ZTE-authorised training and examination centre.

In 2024, the partnership extended into public sector capability building through the launch of a digital skills upskilling programme. In 2025, the collaboration was further enriched with the introduction of the AiCube AI education and compute platform and smart classroom solutions, advancing both academic and public sector digital transformation. Notably, in August 2026, in recognition of its sustained contributions to industry-academia collaboration and digital talent development, ZTE Malaysia was honoured with MMU's Gold Industry Partner Award.

ZTE has consistently upheld the "Ultimate Service" concept, built upon four strategic pillars: global delivery, digital and intelligent upgrading, ecosystem collaboration, and resilient organization — operationalised through the "Dual Beyond, Dual Zero" strategic goal to continuously advance its digital intelligence service ecosystem.

As of June 2026, ZTE Global Services has established partnerships with 31 key universities across 25 countries, advancing localised digital talent development and industrial ecosystem upgrades through co-built laboratories, talent certification programmes, and a range of collaborative initiatives.

Looking ahead, ZTE remains committed to advancing intelligent connectivity through innovation and open collaboration. The company will continue to expand its global university partnerships, develop future-ready digital talent, and contribute to the sustainable growth of the global digital economy and communications industry.