University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) has become the first tertiary institution in the country to adopt Agentforce, a digital labour platform developed by Salesforce, as part of a wider effort to modernise and simplify the student application experience. The move represents a key milestone in the university’s digital transformation strategy, with a clear focus on improving responsiveness, accessibility, and engagement throughout the admissions process.
At the core of the deployment is NOVA, the Nottingham Online Virtual Assistant, an AI-powered agent designed to support prospective students in real time. Through conversational interactions, applicants are able to receive immediate responses to questions about course eligibility, scholarship availability, accommodation options, and other common enquiries. NOVA can also autonomously schedule appointments, allowing students to book meetings with course advisers or register for campus tours without waiting for manual follow-up.
The introduction of Agentforce is particularly relevant for UNM’s international applicant base, which accounts for more than 50 percent of total applications. Many international students submit enquiries outside Malaysian business hours, when admissions staff may not be available. By offering an always-on digital interface, the university aims to reduce response delays while ensuring that students receive consistent and accurate information regardless of time zone.
Creating an always-on digital touchpoint for students
UNM’s adoption of Agentforce reflects a broader ambition to create a unified and continuous digital touchpoint that supports students at different stages of their university journey. While the initial rollout focuses on admissions and recruitment, the longer-term goal is to extend AI-enabled services to both prospective and current students, delivering a more connected and seamless experience across departments.
Agentforce enables the university to centralise student interactions across multiple channels, reducing fragmentation in communications. The solution is being deployed across the university’s website as well as popular messaging platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook, and WeChat. This multi-channel approach allows students to engage with UNM through platforms they already use, rather than being limited to a single communication interface.
Beyond improving operational efficiency, the university sees Agentforce as a strategic tool to support higher applicant conversion rates and stronger student satisfaction. Faster responses and personalised guidance help prospective students move through the application process with greater confidence. In an increasingly competitive higher education landscape, such improvements in digital engagement can play a meaningful role in influencing enrolment decisions.
The deployment builds on UNM’s earlier use of Salesforce technologies, including Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Digital Engagement, and Einstein. By integrating Agentforce into this existing ecosystem, the university can automate enquiry handling and lead conversion while maintaining oversight by its admissions and recruitment teams. This allows staff to redirect their time towards more complex, high-value interactions such as in-person consultations and tailored academic advising.
Enhancing admissions with AI-driven support
Within the admissions workflow, Agentforce is designed to address common areas of uncertainty for applicants. AI agents provide consistent responses to enquiries related to courses, eligibility criteria, fees, and scholarships, reducing reliance on manual email correspondence. This also helps ensure that students receive up-to-date information throughout the application cycle.
The platform also supports enquiries related to scholarships and accommodation. Prospective students can learn about bursaries or scholarships they may be eligible for based on academic performance or other achievements, as well as explore accommodation options on or near the campus. By consolidating this information within a conversational interface, UNM aims to simplify what can otherwise be a complex and time-consuming research process.
Another key feature is automated appointment booking. Students interested in speaking with a course counsellor or attending a campus tour can self-schedule appointments within seconds. This removes the need for repeated email exchanges and enables students to select times that suit their schedules, regardless of geographical location.
Jagdish Singh Malhi, Director of Student Recruitment and Marketing at University of Nottingham Malaysia, said the university is conscious of the responsibility that comes with being the first in Malaysia to adopt the platform. He noted that the use of Agentforce allows UNM to provide personalised guidance around the clock and in multiple languages, while freeing course counsellors to focus on face-to-face interactions and deeper advisory work. He added that human counsellors remain accessible throughout the process, ensuring that technology enhances rather than replaces personal engagement.
Salesforce described the deployment as an example of how higher education institutions can apply agentic AI to transform traditional workflows. Arun Kumar Parameswaran, Executive Vice President and Managing Director for South and Southeast Asia at Salesforce, said the initiative demonstrates how autonomous AI agents and human expertise can be combined to deliver personalised guidance at scale, while supporting a more borderless learning experience.
Building on a legacy of international education
Founded in 2000, University of Nottingham Malaysia was the first overseas campus established by a UK university. Over the past 25 years, it has developed into a diverse academic community, serving more than 4,500 students from over 70 countries. The university offers globally recognised degrees across disciplines including business, engineering, science, and the arts, and continues to emphasise academic excellence, research, and graduate outcomes.
The adoption of Agentforce aligns closely with UNM’s long-standing vision of being a university without borders. By embedding AI-driven solutions into its digital infrastructure, the institution aims not only to improve administrative efficiency but also to expose students to practical applications of emerging technologies. This approach is intended to help students develop an innovative mindset that can be applied beyond the classroom and into their future careers.
As competition for international students intensifies across the region, initiatives such as this highlight the growing importance of digital experience as a differentiator in higher education. For University of Nottingham Malaysia, the use of Agentforce represents both a technological upgrade and a strategic investment in student engagement, with the potential to reshape how universities interact with applicants in an increasingly digital-first environment.
