Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) clinched first and second place at the Top Coders National Grand Finals 2025, Malaysia’s largest and most competitive coding championship, held on Saturday at the University of Cyberjaya. Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) finished third.
The competition, now in its second edition, brought together 280 participants across 140 teams from 34 universities. Participants qualified through months of workshops, university-level rounds and coding bootcamps, impacting more than 5,000 students nationwide.
Organised by the Data Science Association of Malaysia (DSA) and Thulija Technologies Sdn Bhd, the championship aims to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world coding challenges. It seeks to cultivate computational thinking, algorithmic mastery and resilience among students while positioning Malaysia as a regional digital talent hub.
Prof. Dr. Azrin Esmady Ariffin, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of the University of Cyberjaya, said, “Top Coders is precisely the kind of high-impact platform Malaysia needs to future-proof its talent pipeline. The energy, discipline and problem-solving agility demonstrated by these young coders reflect the calibre of innovators our nation must continue to nurture.”
Winners of the Grand Finals were:
- First Place: UPM – Aqil Danish bin Mohammad Yusof and Muhammad Alif Syahmi Bin Normahadu
- Second Place: UPM – Nurfarhannis Nabila Binti Mohd Fauzi and Aisyah Humaira Binti Nasrudin
- Third Place: UTP – Chong Sing Kiat and Nicholas Tan Hong Junn
- Fourth Place: UPM – Chung Hao Jun and Chris Low Xiao Hiang
- Fifth Place: Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) – Muhammad Darwish Bin Hamdan and Selva Kumar A/L Krishnamurthi
Students highlighted the competition’s focus on coding as a motivating factor. Muhammad Alif Syahmi of UPM said, “This competition is more like a game, a fun challenge that inspires me.” Nurfarhannis Nabila added that consistency and passion were key to improving skills, while Chong Sing Kiat described coding as a hobby that also tests computational thinking.
The event was organised in collaboration with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), ServiceNow the University of Cyberjaya, with support from Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Censof, Genuine Technologies and others.
A major feature of the competition was the use of E-Box, an innovative coding platform that allows participants to practice real-time coding and develop problem-solving skills relevant to industry scenarios.
The championship ran alongside the Technology–Academia–Industry (T-AI) Forum 2025, which convened leaders from government, academia and industry to discuss AI transformation, digital innovation and talent development. Ravichandran Balasubramanian, Special Duties Officer to the Deputy Minister of Digital, emphasised that “Top Coders provides the platform for [students] to dream big, innovate and build solutions that do not yet exist.” Dr. Jufitri bin Joha of TalentCorp described the initiative as “a nation-building mechanism” and a key driver for nurturing world-class digital talent.
With rising participation and industry engagement, the Top Coders National Grand Finals continues to serve as a platform for developing highly skilled Malaysian programmers and advancing the country’s AI and digital capabilities.
