AirAsia Digital, in partnership with Google, launched the Redbeat Academy with access to the general public.
Redbeat Academy was initially rolled out to upskill and cross-train AirAsia Allstars (employees) through a series of tech workshops in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (MI), Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, Big Data and Infrastructure among others.
YB Khairy Jamaluddin, Malaysia’s minister of science, technology and innovation said, the concept of the Academy signifies a vital global trend that reshapes how businesses are run, workplaces are restructured and product marketing is shifted from a more traditional way to digital and consumer-centric.
“These efforts are in line with the government’s key initiative, the National Technology and Innovation Sandbox (NTIS), aimed to accelerate Malaysia’s ascent in becoming a high-tech and high-income nation while generating greater social impact and strengthening the social innovation ecosystem structure,” the minister said.
Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes said the academy is now open to the public to provide opportunities for everyone, with the focus on mentoring the best in breed industry-ready professionals and producing problem-solvers using technology.
“Everyone needs to keep learning, growing and embracing the ever-changing tech landscape to ensure that we can stay relevant in this digital economy,” said Fernandes. “I hope everyone will take this opportunity to learn new skill sets in tech so we can together strive for greater heights as a nation.”
Rochana Golani, director of Google Cloud Learning Services, said the Redbeat Academy will help grow cloud skills and talent across Malaysia.
“As a Google Cloud Authorised Training Partner we also look forward to working with the team to deliver advanced curriculum and learning pathways to future cloud technology professionals,” said Golani.
Redbeat Academy will focus on serving five segments, which are AirAsia Allstars, Corporate and SMEs, government agencies, universities and public individuals with at least 100,000 talents to be tapped on a yearly basis to provide solutions in three main areas — Skills Development Programme, Betabuild Labs, and Career Coaching and Hiring Service.