The Top </> Coders Malaysia 2026: University Level (TAR UMT) Competition was successfully held on 18 July 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the TAR UMT Arena Building. The competition was jointly organized by the Data Science Association Malaysia and Thulija Technologies Sdn. Bhd., with the support of the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

The competition aimed to cultivate programming competency, computational thinking, and problem-solving skills by providing students with opportunities to apply their knowledge in practical coding challenges. It also served as a platform for students to showcase their coding abilities in a supportive and engaging environment while fostering greater interest in programming and digital technologies.

As one of the academic partners of the Top </> Coders Malaysia 2026 programme, the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology (FOCS), TAR UMT, hosted the University's qualifying competition to select the top five teams to represent TAR UMT at the national-level competition. The programme was open to all TAR UMT KL main campus and branch campus’s undergraduate students, particularly those from the computing and engineering disciplines, while also encouraging participation from students of other academic backgrounds.

To ensure that students with little or no programming experience could participate, the organizers conducted four online pre-competition workshops covering Python programming fundamentals. This beginner-friendly initiative enabled students to acquire the necessary coding knowledge before competing. Participation was free of charge, with all programme expenses fully sponsored by Thulija Technologies Sdn. Bhd. and the Data Science Association Malaysia, making the competition accessible to students from all backgrounds.

Students competed in teams of two under the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) concept using their own laptops. The competition was conducted entirely on the eBox Virtual Coding Lab, a cloud-based coding platform with an embedded integrated development environment (IDE), eliminating the need to install any software or programming libraries. Using Python as the programming language, each team completed eight logical programming challenges and two real-world case studies within 2.5 hours.

The competition provided participants with valuable opportunities to strengthen their programming, analytical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills through practical coding experiences. It also increased students' awareness of computer science and digital technologies while facilitating networking among peers, academics, and industry representatives.

At the conclusion of the competition, the top five teams were selected to represent TAR UMT at the national-level competition. In recognition of their participation and commitment, all participants received a Certificate of Participation issued by MDEC.

The successful organization of the competition reflects TAR UMT's commitment to nurturing industry-ready graduates equipped with strong digital competencies. The University appreciates the continued collaboration and support of the organizing partners and looks forward to future editions of the programme, with the hope of encouraging even greater participation from undergraduate students across all disciplines.