The Pathfinder Program is a national-level business pre-acceleration program and open innovation platform for university students in Malaysia. It combines hands-on workshops, mentorship, and real-world entrepreneurial challenges to empower students with practical startup skills and innovation capacity.

The program is organized by GUIDE, a venture ecosystem capacity-building firm representing 300+ mentors and practitioners across Asia, running programs for organizations like MRANTI, Khazanah, and the United Nations. In Malaysia, we partner with institutions like the Asia School of Business (a collaborative initiative between Bank Negara and MIT Sloan).

The program aims to empower the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs by creating a platform that inspires collaboration, sparks creativity, and drives impact.

The program offers a structured 3-month journey with bootcamps, mentorship, community-building activities, and a grand finale. It provides real-world problem statements for students to solve, fostering innovation and collaboration through problem-based and action learning.

The program spans 3 months and includes:

The program is open to university students with or without a business idea.

Teams are formed during the program. A designated networking session is provided during the bootcamps for team formation. Before this session, participants will attend a masterclass on team dynamics to understand roles and responsibilities within a team. Using this knowledge, participants will network and self-organize into teams during the assigned time.

Judging combines professional panel evaluations (50%) and live/public voting (50%) during the designated voting period.

The public can vote for their favorite projects online from 12th April to 27th April 2025. These votes will influence the final selection.

The grand finale is the program's concluding event, where finalists will present their refined projects or products to a panel of judges, corporate sponsors, and an audience. The event includes:

The program fee for Pathfinder is RM1,286 per person. Together with our corporate partners, GUIDE offers a subsidized fee to students from all Malaysia’s partnering universities. This fee covers all bootcamps, mentorship, materials, merchandise, refreshments, and a certificate.

If you are a student interested in joining Pathfinder from a university that’s not yet our partner, please reach out to collaborate for the opportunity to receive a subsidized fee.

Yes, participants are responsible for arranging their transportation to the program venues. However, transportation support may depend on your university society’s decision. Please check with your own university society to see if they are providing transportation for their members. GUIDE is not responsible for arranging transportation.

Participants are strongly encouraged to attend all days to gain the full benefits of the program.

Yes, participants must attend all sessions unless prior notice is given with a valid reason. Certification will only be provided upon full completion of the program, with a minimum attendance of 4 sessions, including the 3-day bootcamp. Late arrivals of more than 15 minutes without prior notice will be recorded as an absence.

Withdrawals are discouraged as your absence may affect your team and the fairness of the program. Withdrawal from the program must be communicated in writing at least one week in advance. Participants who withdraw without prior notice or valid reason may be blacklisted from future GUIDE programs.

Yes, participants who successfully complete the program and fulfill all milestones will be awarded an exclusive certificate of achievement from GUIDE. Each certificate will include a unique credential ID, ensuring its authenticity and making it a valuable addition to your academic and professional portfolio. This credential reflects the rigorous learning and entrepreneurial skills gained throughout the program and is recognized as a hallmark of excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Yes, university societies can partner with GUIDE to promote the program, manage on-campus logistics, and host the events. Out of the collaboration, the society will receive a special rate for their members/students to join the program. Universities seeking to partner with Pathfinder are invited to access our Program Deck and connect with Neil at (neil@guide.works) or Kar Mun at (int@guide.works) to explore collaboration opportunities.

We welcome all corporation and various sizes of enterprises to collaborate with GUIDE by supporting the Pathfinder program through financial and non-financial support. Partners at higher tiers can propose multiple innovation problem statements or challenges and the opportunity to host the grand finale, while also gaining direct access to a high caliber talent pool of participants. Each tier offers unique opportunities for visibility and engagement with university students and startup teams throughout the program. To explore collaboration opportunities, contact Neil at (neil@guide.works).

You can contact us via email at (int@guide.works).