AI professional development for educators in Malaysia takes four main forms: in-service training (LDP) organised by schools and district education offices under the Ministry of Education (KPM), university-run continuing professional development for lecturers under the Ministry of Higher Education framework, HRD Corp claimable AI training for staff of private schools, colleges and training centres, and self-directed learning through platforms such as DELIMa and vendor academies. The most effective programmes combine a structured workshop delivered by a qualified AI trainer with follow-up practice tied to real lesson planning, assessment and administrative tasks.
This guide explains each pathway, what a good AI professional development programme for teachers and lecturers should contain, how it can be funded, and how to choose a trainer. It is written by Dr Muhamad Hariz Bin Muhamad Adnan, a Doctor in Artificial Intelligence and Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Computing and Meta-Technology, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Malaysia’s education university, and an HRD Corp certified AI trainer whose work focuses on AI-driven digital transformation in education. His education programmes are described on the AI for education in Malaysia page.
Why AI professional development is now a priority for Malaysian educators
Generative AI tools (systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot that produce new text, images and analysis from a prompt) are already in students’ hands. Educators therefore face two demands at once: they need to use AI to reduce their own workload in planning, marking and administration, and they need to teach and assess in a way that stays valid when students have AI access. KPM has issued professional circular guidance on the use of AI in schools, and universities are updating academic integrity and assessment policies. Professional development is how individual teachers and lecturers turn that policy into classroom practice.
Digital transformation in education means using digital tools to change how teaching, assessment and administration actually work, not simply adding a device to an existing lesson. AI professional development is the human side of that transformation: without it, tools are bought but not used.
Pathway 1: In-service training (LDP) for KPM school teachers
Teachers in Malaysian public schools complete annual in-service training, commonly referred to as LDP (Latihan Dalam Perkhidmatan), organised at school, district (PPD) and state (JPN) level. AI topics can be scheduled into LDP in three ways: as a whole-staff workshop delivered by an external trainer, as a school-based professional learning community (PLC) session led by a trained teacher, or as an online module counted towards LDP hours.
For school leaders planning this, the guide to running in-house AI workshops for Malaysian schools sets out a practical whole-staff format. The key design choice is to build the workshop around subjects and tasks the teachers already do (lesson plans, RPH, question banks, parent communication) rather than generic AI demonstrations.
Pathway 2: Continuing professional development for lecturers
Universities and colleges under the Ministry of Higher Education run their own teaching and learning development units, and lecturers are expected to accumulate professional development activity each year. AI professional development for lecturers usually concentrates on three areas: designing assessments that remain valid with AI available, using AI to accelerate research writing and literature review without breaching integrity rules, and building AI literacy into the curriculum of their own courses.
Dr Hariz’s guide to AI for assessment and feedback for lecturers in Malaysia is a useful companion for this pathway.
Pathway 3: HRD Corp claimable AI training for private education employers
Private schools, international schools, private colleges, tuition centres and training providers that are registered with HRD Corp (the Human Resource Development Corporation under the Ministry of Human Resources) can use their training levy to fund AI professional development for teaching staff. To be claimable, the programme must be delivered by an HRD Corp registered training provider and an accredited trainer, and the grant application must be approved before the training date. This makes HRD Corp the most practical funding route for private education institutions, and it applies to both on-site and live online delivery. The employer guide to HRD Corp claimable AI training explains the process step by step.
Pathway 4: Self-directed and platform-based learning
DELIMa (Digital Educational Learning Initiative Malaysia) is KPM’s digital learning platform for schools and gives teachers access to tools that increasingly include AI features. Vendor academies from Google, Microsoft and others provide free AI-for-education modules, and MOOC platforms offer certificates. These are valuable for motivated individuals, but on their own they rarely change whole-school practice. They work best as follow-up after a facilitated workshop, when teachers already have a reason to keep practising.
What a strong AI professional development programme should contain
Whether the audience is primary school teachers or university lecturers, the programmes that produce lasting change share the same structure.
- AI literacy foundation. What Generative AI is, where it is reliable, where it fabricates, and how data privacy applies to student information.
- Hands-on task practice. Participants build their own lesson plans, differentiated materials, rubrics and feedback comments with AI during the session, not afterwards.
- Prompting for educators. Structured prompting techniques adapted to Malaysian curriculum documents and to Bahasa Melayu as well as English.
- Assessment and integrity. Practical redesign of assignments and a clear classroom AI policy that students understand.
- Follow-up and measurement. A 30-day practice plan, a shared prompt library for the school or faculty, and a simple measure of adoption such as hours saved per week.
The practical AI policy framework for Malaysian classrooms can be used as the take-home artefact for the assessment and integrity module.
How to choose an AI trainer for educators
The trainer market for AI in Malaysia is dominated by corporate and technical providers. For educators, look for three additional qualities: genuine teaching experience so the trainer understands classroom constraints, familiarity with KPM and higher education policy context, and a formal AI qualification so the content is accurate rather than a repackaged tool demo. Dr Hariz combines all three, as a university lecturer at UPSI, a Doctor in Artificial Intelligence and an HRD Corp certified trainer, and he delivers programmes for schools, universities and private education groups across Malaysia.
Frequently asked questions
Can AI training count towards a teacher’s LDP hours in Malaysia?
In-service training organised or endorsed by the school, PPD or JPN is generally recorded as LDP. Confirm the recording arrangement with your school’s LDP coordinator before the session so that attendance and hours are captured correctly.
Is AI professional development for teachers HRD Corp claimable?
For employers registered with HRD Corp, such as private schools and colleges, yes, provided the programme is delivered by an HRD Corp registered provider and an accredited trainer, and the grant is approved in advance. Public school teachers under KPM are funded through KPM’s own training mechanisms rather than HRD Corp.
How long should an AI workshop for educators be?
A one-day (six to seven hour) hands-on workshop is the most common format and is enough for teachers to leave with usable lesson materials. Two-day programmes allow deeper work on assessment redesign and AI policy. Half-day sessions work as awareness briefings but rarely change practice on their own.
What should educators learn first: ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot?
The tool matters less than the workflow. A good programme teaches transferable prompting and verification skills using whichever tool the institution has already approved, and shows how the same approach applies across tools.
Can the training be delivered in Bahasa Melayu?
Yes. Dr Hariz delivers AI professional development in Bahasa Melayu, English or bilingually, depending on the audience.
Next step
If you are planning AI professional development for your school, faculty or education group, contact Dr Hariz with your audience size, preferred dates and whether you need an HRD Corp claimable arrangement. You will receive a proposed agenda and quotation tailored to your institution.
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