On 15 July 2025, WOU invited Dr Kewei Yang, a distinguished Silicon Valley technologist and entrepreneur to a lunchtime discussion on how Malaysia can sharpen its edge in talent development, innovation, and industry collaboration. The industry leaders exchanged notes on issues confronting the semiconductor industry, such as tariffs, and underscored shared concerns around talent shortages in key engineering disciplines, academic-industry disconnect, and infrastructure and cost pressures.
Chaired by Tan Sri Andrew Sheng, Chairman of the George Town Institute of Open and Advanced Studies (GIOAS) and WOU Board member, the dialogue and luncheon gathered prominent Penang industry leaders and academics to tap into Dr Yang’s insights on the evolving global tech landscape and its implications for Malaysia’s high-tech ambitions.
Drawing from his decades of experience in Silicon Valley, Dr Yang shared valuable insights on how the United States and China better equipped their workforce for rapid technological shifts in areas like advanced semiconductors, AI integration, and smart manufacturing systems.
Dr Yang graduated from Tsinghua University, Beijing and John Hopkins University, Baltimore. He co-founded Analogix Semiconductor, growing it from a Silicon Valley startup into a global leader in digital multimedia interface chips—an achievement that culminated in a landmark acquisition.
“Talent is the true bottleneck of innovation,” Dr Yang said. “It’s not just about technical skills—it’s about fostering adaptability, problem-solving, and systems-level thinking at not just level of engineers, but also technical workers. These are the capabilities that enable companies to stay ahead in fast-evolving sectors like E&E.”
“Malaysia has strong fundamentals—especially in Penang—but it must be bold in reimagining how it cultivates, retains, and upskills its talent,” he added.
The closed-door luncheon served as a high-level forum to examine how academia and industry can work more closely to shape future-ready learning pathways and close current skills gap.
WOU Chief Executive and Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Lily Chan said the University sees itself as a strategic enabler and forum to enable academia and industry to work more closely to shape future-ready learning pathways and close current skills gap.
“This dialogue with Dr Yang was not only timely but necessary,” Prof Chan said. “The pressure is mounting on Malaysia to scale up its tech talent. At WOU, we are actively redesigning flexible, modular programmes that allow working adults to upskill in real time while staying employed. This is the kind of agility the workforce needs.”
Tan Sri Sheng observed that “Dr Yang’s hands-on experience in Silicon Valley and China offers valuable lessons in how ecosystems evolve in both tech innovation and venture funding. We must think beyond small fixes and instead embrace system-wide approaches to learning, innovation and industry collaboration.”
Attending the dialogue were leading industry figures including Dr Jeffrey Hwang, Group CEO of Qdos Holdings Berhad; Michel Van Crombrugge, Senior Director of Tecan and Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Belgium in Penang; Dr Matin Ng, Deputy Group CEO of UWC Berhad; and Leonard Tan, Product Operations Director at Dell Technologies. Tan Leng Hock, CEO of Wawasan Education Foundation and Prof Ts Dr Yap Eng Hwa, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) of WOU were also present.
WOU reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the industry through a range of specialised programmes, including the Bachelor of Technology (Hons) in Electronics (BTEL), Bachelor of Technology (Hons) in Mechatronic Systems (BTMS), Master of Science in Smart Manufacturing (MSSM), and Master of Science in System Design Engineering (MSSDE). In addition, the University offers microcredentials in areas such as IC design, IoT, and applied electronics—tailored for working professionals and stackable towards full qualifications.
This engagement with Dr Yang is part of WOU’s broader push to convene international and industry voices to help shape a future-ready talent pipeline for Malaysia’s digital and high-tech economy.