Kolej Poly-Tech MARA (KPTM), formerly known as Kolej Yayasan Pelajaran MARA (KYPM) was established as a private higher educational institution under the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555) in September 2003. Managed by Kolej Poly-Tech MARA Sdn. Bhd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), KPTM offers a wide range of educational opportunities in the field of information technology, computer science, accounting, business management, engineering and health sciences.

It all started in January 1983 with the establishment of the Learning Resource Centre in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. In June 1983 Maktab Sains MARA (also known as MARA Community College) in Kuantan, Pahang was formed. At that time, it offered a twinning programme known as the American Associate Degree (AAD). The programme was well accepted by more than 75 universities in the United States and New Zealand as a 2+2 transfer degree programme. This remarkable achievement later led to the establishment of KPTM Kuala Lumpur (1987), KPTM Bangi (1988) and KPTM Kota Bharu (1994).

Other international strategic alliances were formed with the Northern Consortium of the United Kingdom (1988), the Australian Consortium of Higher Education in Malaysia (1994) and the British Consortium of Higher Education in Malaysia (1994) which enabled students to further their studies in a number of reputable universities in the UK and Australia. 1993 saw another alliance formed with the Dublin Business School, Ireland to conduct the ACCA professional accounting programme. A Partnership with Coventry University, United Kingdom (2004) has led to initiatives in producing world class graduates. KPTM’s existing strength was built through its excellent track record and the merging of 2 MARA’s renowned institutions i.e. Kolej Yayasan Pelajaran MARA (KYPM) and Akademi Infotech MARA (AIM). KPTM has grown to be among the biggest Bumiputra private educational institutions with more 12,500 full time students spread over 7 campuses, with Kuala Lumpur as the main campus and branches in Bangi, Kuantan, Kota Bharu, Alor Setar, Ipoh, Batu Pahat and Semporna.
KPTM also established local collaboration with the public and private universities such as Universiti Teknologi MARA (1994), Universiti Putra Malaysia (1995), Universiti Malaya (1995), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (1996), Universiti Sains Malaysia (1996), Universiti Multimedia (1998), Universiti Utara Malaysia and also the Matriculation Centre, Ministry of Education Malaysia (1999). KPTM has stridden through another historical milestone in its excellent journey in academia recently when its Kuala Lumpur branch was upgraded to a full university college status. Today, since October 2015, KPTM KL is proudly known as Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA (KUPTM), offering high quality home-grown degree programmes in the area of Accountancy, Communication, Human Resources, English and Information Security. With this progress, KUPTM is ever ready to produce more quality and professional graduates who are able to function resiliently and effectively at the global stage.