The first DHL Applied Analytics (DAA) Hub in Malaysia was launched virtually today as part of the collaboration between Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB) and DHL. The hub is located in Medini 6, Iskandar Puteri and is DHL’s first dedicated office outside of Singapore to host business development and networking meetings to ideate, incubate and create cutting-edge analytics projects for DHL’s clients and corporations based in Iskandar Malaysia.

The setting up of this hub also involves Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) as partners to the collaboration, to contribute towards Medini becoming a key Digital and Innovation centre. The hub would also enable best-in-class analytics talent to work on advanced analytics offerings for their clients.

DHL’s data scientists would be housed at the DAA Hub to provide internship programmes for UTM students as part of the data analytics talent development initiatives within Iskandar Malaysia. It will also act as a platform to provide training & exposure in data analysis among members of the local community, which is crucial for digital ecosystem building within the 2,230-acre Medini township, the Johor Digital Hub.

The DAA Hub targets to produce new talent in data analytics in Iskandar Puteri annually via the internship programme with UTM. Aside from the internship programme and faculty attachment, UTM will also explore undertaking commercial projects and hosting joint events. The hub is large enough to accommodate 8-10 persons, consisting of faculty members and interns from Malaysia’s academic institutions to work on global and regional projects. Plans include placing data scientists from the DAA team Singapore, in the Medini Hub.

“The establishment of the DHL Applied Analytics Hub in Medini is a missing piece in the puzzle in further developing the business ecosystem in Iskandar Puteri. As data is the source of value in the global economy, DHL will be placing experienced data scientists at the hub to help train and develop local talents from UTM while providing data analytical solutions for their clients. This will further increase the 5,000 jobs created since IIB’s inception in 2006. We are delighted to establish a platform to provide our local talents with exposure and training in data analysis which is crucial for digital ecosystem building in Medini”, said Datuk Ir. Khairil Anwar Ahmad, President / Chief Executive Officer of IIB.

Despite the uncertainties brought about by COVID-19, IIB is determined to ensure Iskandar Puteri remains as an attractive investment location for a diverse range of sectors. The establishment of the DAA Hub is reflective of DHL’s support, to meet the region’s growth in demand for best-in-class supply chain analytics solutions and allow DHL to leverage on the strengths of Iskandar Malaysia to be closer to DHL’s customers in Malaysia. The IIB-DHL collaboration seeks to contribute to IIB’s vision to build an inclusive and sustainable future metropolis.

The Virtual Launch of the DAA Hub was officiated by Justin Baird, Vice President Asia Pacific Innovation Centre; Datuk Ir Khairil Anwar Ahmad, President/CEO of Iskandar Investment Berhad and Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr. Ahmad Fauzi Bin Ismail, UTM Vice Chancellor. Also in attendance at the virtual event were Matthias Heutger, Senior Vice President of Innovation and Commercial Development for DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation; as well as Encik Amran Hafiz Affifudin and Ms Nik Marien Nik Ahmad Kamal representing the IIB Board of Directors.

The DAA Hub is the third DHL establishment in Medini after the Global Centre of Excellence (for Innovation) opened its doors in 2018 and the DHL Global Forwarding began operating in Medini 9 in 2021.