Kuala Lumpur, 13 October 2021 - ​​YTL Foundation and Universiti Malaya today announced their new partnership on the refreshed Learn From Home Initiative for university students. During the launch, YTL Foundation also announced that this partnership will be extended to 35 other local universities nationwide to empower their students. Students under the partnering universities, including 120,000 newly enrolled students, can start the new academic year with 7GB data per month for free from YES for 12 months up until 30 September 2022.   

The partnering universities include:

The Learn From Home Initiative was first launched by YTL Foundation, in collaboration with YES and FrogAsia, in March 2020 when the Movement Control Order was first enforced, causing schools and universities to go online. The initiative equipped students in government schools and partner universities with free YES SIM cards with 40GB of data. In addition, B40 families with school-going children were each given a smartphone, SIM card, 12 months data plan, and access to the FrogPlay mobile app for free so that their children can stay digitally connected to their schools as well as learn from home. This free data plan has recently been extended till September 2022 so that these students can continue their home-based learning as well as access the FrogPlay mobile app for additional learning.

Speaking at the launch event in Universiti Malaya, YTL Foundation Programme Director Dato’ Kathleen Chew said, “We are very honoured to work with these local universities and extend the Learn From Home Initiative to even more university students around the country. The pandemic has gone on for nearly two years and while we have adjusted to the new normal, some challenges remain the same. Many students still struggle with internet connectivity whether at home or on campus. It is our hope that with this strategic partnership with over 35 universities, we can enable students to focus on their learning without having to worry if they have enough data to attend online lectures, tutorials and undertake course work.” 

Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Malaya Professor Dato’ Ir. Dr. Mohd. Hamdi Abd. Shukor mentioned, “The pandemic has caused us to turn to new, digital ways of educating our students. We are thankful to YTL Foundation and YES who have come on board to partner with us and the other universities to offer free data to students. We hope to work together closely to further empower all students to continue their studies in this new normal.” 

“Our partnership with YTL Foundation and the universities is consistent with our commitment to elevate the lives of Malaysians through the power of data. We hope to continue making data affordable and accessible for everyone, regardless of their lifestyle and needs, and offer even more value through the extra perks that come with our YES plans,” said YTL Communications Chief Executive Officer Wing K. Lee.

To date, under the Learn From Home Initiative, more than 18 million GB of free data, 450,000 free SIMs and 100,000 free phones have been distributed to those who most need it. The programme was extended to the 230,000 teacher members of the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) in April this year with 40GB free data SIMs to help them keep in touch with their students and online lessons.

As the nation works towards recovering from the pandemic, YTL Foundation, YES and FrogAsia will continue to support students and teachers by enabling online learning experiences through the provision of data and content.

For more information on the Learn From Home Initiative's free data plans, please visit  https://www.ytlfoundation.org/learnfromhome/. 

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