Javeson Francois Liu of APU won an impressive first place, and three other students: Foo Yu Kean, Anson Tan Yen Shen, and Justina Ng Ke Yu finished in the top ten of the Skills to Jobs (STJ) Developer Challenge (Malaysia) 2025, which is part of a global pilot with AWS, powered by the CodeSignal platform in collaboration with MDEC and eCloudValley; aims to equip students with job-ready tech skills through hands-on training.

The Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation’s (APU) School of Computing (SoC) is celebrating the outstanding achievement of four of its bright students — Javeson Francois Liu, Foo Yu Kean, Anson Tan Yen Shen, and Justina Ng Ke Yu — who have all secured positions in the top ten of the virtual Skills to Jobs (STJ) Developer Challenge (Malaysia) 2025 leader board.

CodeSignal has teamed up with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance to deliver this global pilot programme. 

This ambitious initiative aims to equip over 20,000 students with job-ready skills in crucial areas like cloud computing, software development, and other emerging technologies.

Launched on 17th April 2025 in Washington, D.C., U.S., this innovative programme, known as the Skills to Jobs Developer Challenges, is being held virtually across four countries: the United States, Colombia, Malaysia, and Brazil. 

Each event provides valuable hands-on training for students as they prepare to enter the tech workforce and participants engage in gamified coding challenges, experiential learning activities, interview preparation, and realistic job simulations.

The universities participating in this pilot programme include Houston Community College (US), The City University of New York (CUNY) (US), Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA) (Colombia), Ânima Educação (Brazil), and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) Premier Digital Tech Institution, APU (Malaysia).

“At CodeSignal, we believe that hands-on learning and high-quality assessments are key to launching successful tech careers,” says Mr Tigran Sloyan, CEO at CodeSignal. 

“Working alongside AWS, we aim to empower learners across multiple regions with the most innovative tools they need to develop their skills and showcase their abilities to secure meaningful employment in the tech industry.”

Ms Valerie Singer, General Manager for AWS Global Education, added, “By collaborating with CodeSignal, an AWS Education Equity Initiative Awardee, we are ensuring that students not only gain theoretical knowledge, but also develop the practical skills required to succeed in technical and cloud careers.”

Future-ready tech talent

APU proudly participated in the inaugural Malaysia’s Skills to Jobs Developer Challenge, a collaborative effort between the AWS, CodeSignal, MDEC and eCloudValley, which attracted a total of 103 participants from one polytechnic and 18 universities across Malaysia.

During the two-and-a-half-hour virtual event, held on 15th May 2025, the students gained insights from eCloudValley regarding potential career opportunities in the cloud and the skills that are currently in demand. 

They also took part in the CodeSignal General Coding Assessment (GCA), a 70-minute coding challenge.

“Our AWS Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance team has a global partnership with CodeSignal to revolutionise how universities prepare students for technical careers through the use of AI-powered assessments and engaging learning experiences,” says Associate Professor Ts Dr Tan Chin Ike, Head of SoC at APU. 

Dr Ike highlighted APU’s strong performance, with their 23 participants achieving an impressive average score of 415.83 points, surpassing the overall average of 409.26 points (maximum 600). 

“What makes us particularly proud is that within the top 10 achievers who secured maximum scores, their ranking was determined by their completion time.”

Applying theory to practice

Leading the pack, Javeson Francois Liu, an APU Data Analysis student, clinched first place in the competition. 

Javeson is no stranger to programming challenges, having participated in several others previously.

Reflecting on his experience, Javeson explained, “In this competition, we (the participants) were tasked with solving a series of problems using a programming language of our choice, based on our individual strengths and familiarity.

“A key element of my strategy was utilising Python. I opted for Python due to my familiarity with it and its useful built-in features,” he pointed out, “One of the most valuable takeaways for me was the improvement in my problem-solving abilities, especially the process of thoroughly analysing each question to come up with the most effective solution.”

Beyond that, the competition significantly sharpened his time management skills under pressure and reinforced the importance of remaining calm and focused when faced with tight deadlines.

Javeson excitedly described enjoying the competition, finding it both exciting and challenging. He was thrilled and overjoyed when he discovered he had won.

“This competition has significantly enriched my studies. It allowed me to apply many of the concepts I am learning in my degree programme, such as data structures, algorithms, and programming logic, in a very practical and intense setting.

“Witnessing these concepts in action during a real-time challenge makes them far more memorable than simply studying the theory. I entered the competition hoping to test my skills and learn but winning was an amazing bonus that has truly boosted my confidence, honed my skills while compared my abilities to others,” he explained.

Wilson Ang from Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT) took second place, and Adam Zulkefli from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) came in third. 

Following them in the top ten were Foo Yu Kean (APU), Ling Sie Jie (UNIMAS), Anson Tan Yen Shen (APU), Nik Nur Aisyah (UKM), Azrul Naim (UNIMAS), Justina Ng Ke Yu (APU), and Eugene Wan (UNIMAS).

Mr Amad Arshad concluded, “While the competition has now finished, the students who registered for the event will continue to have access to CodeSignal for a four-month period, allowing them to continue their learning journey and earn digital credentials along the way.”

Beside Mr Amad, Mr Au Yit Wah, Associate Professor Ts Dr Tan Chin Ike, Mr Zailan Arabee Abdul Salam and Mr Naresh Kumar Appadurai also helped these students master coding.