By: Retave’s Technology Desk Editor
Malaysia has set a minimum target of 3,000 smart factories for its manufacturers by 2030, under Mission 2 of the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030).
Every one of those factories will need people who can design, run, and improve connected, automated production lines. The mission itself speaks to manufacturers. The link to campuses, from universities to technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, runs through the graduates those factories hire and the partnerships that train them.
Four missions, and one called ‘Tech Up’
NIMP 2030 is the government’s plan for the manufacturing sector to 2030, led by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI). It’s built around four missions: advancing economic complexity, building a digitally vibrant nation, pushing for net zero, and safeguarding economic security and inclusivity.
Mission 2, “Tech Up”, sets a bold aim: to nurture homegrown technology solutions and move Malaysia from being a technology provider to a technology creator.
Mission 2’s playbook for industry
The mission page sets out four strategies:
- Accelerate technology adoption by strengthening Industry4WRD, Malaysia’s national Industry 4.0 programme, and rolling out JENDELA, the national digital infrastructure plan.
- Shift away from the low-skilled labour model by charging a tiered levy on foreign workers and making automation a condition of the new Manufacturing Licence.
- Spur technology innovation by growing local technology providers, building a national digital platform for manufacturing data, and committing to “develop generative and industrial AI solution leaders and system integrators.”
- Accelerate government digitalisation and integration, by putting online the government services a business deals with across its life cycle.
That third strategy is the one closest to a computing or engineering faculty. Builders of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and system integrators are roles that computing and engineering graduates train for.
RM5 million per factory
In February 2025, Datuk Hanafi Sakri, MITI’s Deputy Secretary-General (Industry), described 3,000 as a minimum target. Datuk Hanafi named the technologies involved: AI, the Internet of Things (networks of connected sensors and machines), and robotics.
He put the cost at about RM5 million per company, or roughly RM15 billion in all. Nearly 500 companies had already benefited from the Intervention Fund run by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA).
The first 93, and 161 on the way
On 2 October 2026, at the launch of the Malaysia Smart Manufacturing Awards (MSMA) 2027 in George Town, Penang, Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Sim Tze Tzin gave the latest count.
So far, 93 manufacturers have earned smart manufacturing recognition, the mark that counts towards the 3,000, and another 161 are expected to join them by December, bringing the total to 254.
Deputy Minister Sim pointed manufacturers to MITI, the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance (MIDF), and SIRIM, the national industrial research and standards agency, for help with automation. He also presented automation as a route to higher skills and better wages for Malaysian workers.
The campus connection
NIMP 2030’s talent plan sits in a separate section, Enabler 2, “Foster talent development and attraction.” Two of its actions speak directly to education:
- “Expand TVET programmes for high-skilled jobs in critical sectors.”
- “Raise profile of high-tech manufacturing career to attract interest in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] subjects.”
The enabler also draws on two national platforms for workforce planning: mynext, TalentCorp’s career and internship platform for students, and MYFutureJobs, the national job portal. It introduces a progressive wage system and easier access to highly skilled talent from abroad.
Campuses are already building the links. Universiti Malaya runs a Centre for Research in Industry 4.0, and MIDA has brokered an academic-industry collaboration between the university and Panasonic Appliances Air-Conditioning Malaysia.
On the TVET side, the German-Malaysian Institute (GMI), a technical institute in Kajang, Selangor, runs a Smart Factory on its campus: a simulated production line built with industry partners. Its advanced technology centres also include a Bosch Rexroth Smart Mini Factory.
The Smart Factory’s programmable logic controllers, the industrial computers that run automated lines, show students how automation, data exchange and intelligent control fit together. Engineering students from Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation toured the facility in December 2025.
From users to creators
Mission 2’s stated goal is for Malaysia to create its own technology. For Malaysia’s universities and TVET institutions, that goal comes with a clear role: preparing the people who will build and run the next 3,000 smart factories, and the ones after that.
Further Reading
- Aerospace, chips, and pharma: where TVET graduates fit in three NIMP 2030 sectors
- 21,391 and rising – Malaysia’s chip-talent drive passes one-third of its 60,000 goal
- The 66-occupation list, decoded: what the Malaysia Critical Occupations List (MyCOL) 2024/2025 names, group by group
Sources
Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation. (2025, December 24). APU engineering students gain industry-ready insights at the German-Malaysian Institute. https://apu.edu.my/node/2869
German-Malaysian Institute. (2026, August 17). Malaysia Industry Transformation (MIT) Technologies delegation visits GMI to accelerate advance manufacturing partnerships. https://www.gmi.edu.my/?p=31469
Malaysian Investment Development Authority. (n.d.). MIDA bridges academic-industrial collaboration between Panasonic Appliances Air-Conditioning Malaysia (PAPAMY) and Universiti Malaya. https://www.mida.gov.my/media-release/mida-bridges-academic-industrial-collaboration-between-panasonic-appliances-air-conditioning-malaysia-papamy-and-universiti-malaya/
Malaysian Investment Development Authority. (2025, February 20). Malaysia sets minimum target of 3,000 smart factories by 2030: MITI. https://www.mida.gov.my/mida-news/malaysia-sets-minimum-target-of-3000-smart-factories-by-2030-miti/
Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry. (n.d.-a). Enabler 2: Foster talent development and attraction. New Industrial Master Plan 2030. https://www.nimp2030.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/91?mid=474
Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry. (n.d.-b). Mission 2: Tech up for a digitally vibrant nation. New Industrial Master Plan 2030. https://www.nimp2030.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/317
The Star. (2026, October 3). Manufacturers urged to start gearing towards automation. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/03/manufacturers-urged-to-start-gearing-towards-automation
Universiti Malaya. (n.d.). Centre for Research in Industry 4.0: Introduction. https://cri4.um.edu.my/introduction
