UM to roll out hostel project housing 40,000 students, meeting B40 families’ needs, says Zambry

Universiti Malaya (UM) plans to build a residential hostel for over 40,000 students, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is set to inaugurate the project on October 15. The project aims to tackle the increasing demand for student housing at public universities. Education Minister Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir stated that the hostel will be constructed in phases, addressing immediate basic needs first.

The accommodation will prioritize students from low-income families, especially from the B40 group, including those who have to travel long distances and lack affordable housing options. Zambry emphasized that the project is not solely meant for generating income but to meet students' housing needs, particularly for those from low-income backgrounds.

UM Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Noor Azuan Abu Osman revealed that the project will be executed in two stages. The initial phase will accommodate 10,000 students, while the second phase will house a staggering 30,000 students. Noor Azuan also introduced ILMUcode, a groundbreaking AI-based coding platform developed in collaboration with YTL AI Labs.

This platform allows developers and students to access advanced coding abilities at a reduced cost, utilizing an agentic AI coding assistant and the ILMU-GLM-5.3 model. Noor Azuan expressed pride in UM being the first Malaysian university to provide its computer science students with such cutting-edge AI coding capabilities. He further highlighted that this move will nurture the next generation of Malaysian technology developers and bolster the local AI talent pipeline.