Sunway University has renewed its strategic partnership with the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) at the University of California, Berkeley, extending the collaboration through 2029 and creating further opportunities for Sunway students and faculty to engage with one of the world’s most dynamic innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
The renewed partnership reflects a shared ambition to develop entrepreneurial talent, strengthen innovation capabilities and connect Sunway University’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem with the ideas, networks and experiences emerging from Berkeley and Silicon Valley.
Through the partnership, Sunway University students will continue to have opportunities to immerse themselves in a range of SCET’s flagship programs. These include the Startup Semester and the Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship Bootcamp. Faculty will also benefit from opportunities for short-term research engagement, while executive and professional training programs will provide further avenues for developing the capabilities required to lead through technological and economic change.
The partnership has already demonstrated its potential to create meaningful educational experiences that complement and extend Sunway University’s own entrepreneurship education.
Louis Ong, a student in the Bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship programme at Sunway Business School, participated in SCET’s Startup Semester before returning to Sunway and being named valedictorian of the Class of 2025. Reflecting on the impact of the experience, he said, “The Sunway University and UC Berkeley partnership added an extraordinary dimension to my education. It fueled my ambition to dream big and aim higher.”
For Sunway students, the collaboration provides an opportunity to build upon the entrepreneurial foundations developed through their studies and extend their education beyond the classroom. Participants experience first-hand how entrepreneurship, emerging technologies, investment, and innovation intersect within the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Through hands-on learning, mentorship, and access to industry networks, they are equipped to translate ideas into impactful ventures.
Ken Singer, managing director of SCET, welcomed the renewal of the partnership, “We deeply value our partnership with Sunway University. The program consistently brings exceptionally talented, motivated students to Berkeley, and we look forward to continuing to support their entrepreneurial journeys.”
This renewed partnership reflects both institutions’ shared commitment to cultivating the next generation of global innovators and strengthening international collaboration in entrepreneurship education. It also reinforces Sunway University’s ambition to develop entrepreneurial graduates with the knowledge, confidence and global exposure to create ventures, drive innovation and contribute meaningful solutions to society.
Professor Abhi Veerakumarasivam, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Sunway University, said, “UC Berkeley is one of the world’s great centres of entrepreneurship and innovation. This partnership gives Sunway University students and faculty invaluable access to its extraordinary ecosystem, enabling them to learn from the ideas, networks and experiences that have made Berkeley and Silicon Valley such powerful forces for global innovation, and to bring that knowledge and entrepreneurial energy back to Sunway, Malaysia and the rest of the world.”
Sunway University has renewed its strategic partnership with the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) at the University of California, Berkeley, extending the collaboration through 2029 and creating further opportunities for Sunway students and faculty to engage with one of the world’s most dynamic innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
The renewed partnership reflects a shared ambition to develop entrepreneurial talent, strengthen innovation capabilities and connect Sunway University’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem with the ideas, networks and experiences emerging from Berkeley and Silicon Valley.
Through the partnership, Sunway University students will continue to have opportunities to immerse themselves in a range of SCET’s flagship programs. These include the Startup Semester and the Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship Bootcamp. Faculty will also benefit from opportunities for short-term research engagement, while executive and professional training programs will provide further avenues for developing the capabilities required to lead through technological and economic change.
The partnership has already demonstrated its potential to create meaningful educational experiences that complement and extend Sunway University’s own entrepreneurship education.
Louis Ong, a student in the Bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship programme at Sunway Business School, participated in SCET’s Startup Semester before returning to Sunway and being named valedictorian of the Class of 2025. Reflecting on the impact of the experience, he said, “The Sunway University and UC Berkeley partnership added an extraordinary dimension to my education. It fueled my ambition to dream big and aim higher.”
For Sunway students, the collaboration provides an opportunity to build upon the entrepreneurial foundations developed through their studies and extend their education beyond the classroom. Participants experience first-hand how entrepreneurship, emerging technologies, investment, and innovation intersect within the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Through hands-on learning, mentorship, and access to industry networks, they are equipped to translate ideas into impactful ventures.
Ken Singer, managing director of SCET, welcomed the renewal of the partnership, “We deeply value our partnership with Sunway University. The program consistently brings exceptionally talented, motivated students to Berkeley, and we look forward to continuing to support their entrepreneurial journeys.”
This renewed partnership reflects both institutions’ shared commitment to cultivating the next generation of global innovators and strengthening international collaboration in entrepreneurship education. It also reinforces Sunway University’s ambition to develop entrepreneurial graduates with the knowledge, confidence and global exposure to create ventures, drive innovation and contribute meaningful solutions to society.
Professor Abhi Veerakumarasivam, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Sunway University, said, “UC Berkeley is one of the world’s great centres of entrepreneurship and innovation. This partnership gives Sunway University students and faculty invaluable access to its extraordinary ecosystem, enabling them to learn from the ideas, networks and experiences that have made Berkeley and Silicon Valley such powerful forces for global innovation, and to bring that knowledge and entrepreneurial energy back to Sunway, Malaysia and the rest of the world.”