To compete, Malaysia needs 'cradle to career' plan
SUPPORT ECOSYSTEM: It's all about connecting organisations dealing with science and technology
I REMEMBER when I was lecturing at Universiti Teknologi MARA (then ITM) in the late 1980s, one of the ways to ensure I was a few steps ahead of my students was to subscribe to and read articles regarding my subject-matter not accessible to them.
Another was to talk with the industry people on a regular basis. It makes me wonder how lecturers nowadays manage to remain "teachers" when students now have the same or even greater access to information and are able to communicate with people from all over the world.
Globalisation of travel, media, science, teaching and increasingly accessible channels of communication have democratised transmission of science, technology and knowledge around the world.
But these things have also placed increased pressure on developing markets, such as Malaysia, that -- ready or not -- are becoming more deeply exposed to technologies and technology policies implemented both by advanced and other developing economies.
The best option -- indeed, the only responsible option -- is to work towards developing a supportive ecosystem in Malaysia capable of responding to the increasingly global nature of science, technology and innovation.
This means both streamlining and connecting the myriad organisations dealing with science and technology issues in the country and ensuring that Malaysia secures a seat at the table with other technologically advanced countries.
In our own backyard we have seen the rise of technology giants such as South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Increasingly China is moving away from low-cost manufacturing towards world-class research and development.
Of the 1.22 million patents filed by the country in 2010, the intellectual property office granted 815,000 patents, a 40 per cent increase from the year before. Even closer to home, Singapore ranks second on Insead's Global Innovation Index.
There is no reason why Malaysia can't aspire to these heights. The country is already a world-leader in niche areas such as palm oil research supported by the work of organisations such as the Malaysian Palm Oil Board and the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute.
On the private side, we are even leading the region in non-traditional sectors such as advanced materials, with key players in aerospace and dome construction CTRM and DK Composite. But more is needed to ensure research is channelled into commercial uses.
To compete effectively, Malaysia must provide companies with afull value chain of support structures to incubate and grow global champions in fields of science, technology and innovation. Our own ministers of education and higher education have drawn the nation's attention to the increased need for students educated in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The country will need an estimated 1.3 million science and technology workers by 2020; it has an estimated 400,000 today. The Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology recently hosted members of the Prime Minister's Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council, including leading American educator Dr Nancy Zimpher, chancellor of the State University of New York, for talks on improving our own education system for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Dr Zimpher called for coherent "cradle to career" national education systems that better connect primary, secondary and tertiary education. There is much more to be done to foster a world-leading science and technology ecosystem. We must recognise the national importance of our public R&D institutes such as the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia and the Malaysian Institute Of Microelectronic Systems.
On the flip side, we must underscore the importance of providing the right conditions to foster private sector R&D if we are to achieve 10th Malaysia Plan targets of R&D investment of one per cent of Gross Domestic Product by 2015.
Might endeavours to provide a platform for consensus building. With more than 100 members including key government ministries, agencies, government-linked companies as well as both local and foreign private sector companies, universities and research institutes, Might is uniquely positioned to provide a forum for this kind of dialogue. This is arguably one of the most valuable contributions we can make to improving the local landscape for science and technology development.I do not envy my former colleagues at UiTM who are today faced with the growing challenge posed by easy access to information and the highly interactive online world of know-how and know-who that may either help or even humble the unwary.
Paying tribute to my favourite rock group, Queen, my humble advice is, "if you can't beat them, join them" and learn to "play the game", quickly.
Another was to talk with the industry people on a regular basis. It makes me wonder how lecturers nowadays manage to remain "teachers" when students now have the same or even greater access to information and are able to communicate with people from all over the world.
Globalisation of travel, media, science, teaching and increasingly accessible channels of communication have democratised transmission of science, technology and knowledge around the world.
But these things have also placed increased pressure on developing markets, such as Malaysia, that -- ready or not -- are becoming more deeply exposed to technologies and technology policies implemented both by advanced and other developing economies.
The best option -- indeed, the only responsible option -- is to work towards developing a supportive ecosystem in Malaysia capable of responding to the increasingly global nature of science, technology and innovation.
This means both streamlining and connecting the myriad organisations dealing with science and technology issues in the country and ensuring that Malaysia secures a seat at the table with other technologically advanced countries.
In our own backyard we have seen the rise of technology giants such as South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. Increasingly China is moving away from low-cost manufacturing towards world-class research and development.
Of the 1.22 million patents filed by the country in 2010, the intellectual property office granted 815,000 patents, a 40 per cent increase from the year before. Even closer to home, Singapore ranks second on Insead's Global Innovation Index.
There is no reason why Malaysia can't aspire to these heights. The country is already a world-leader in niche areas such as palm oil research supported by the work of organisations such as the Malaysian Palm Oil Board and the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute.
On the private side, we are even leading the region in non-traditional sectors such as advanced materials, with key players in aerospace and dome construction CTRM and DK Composite. But more is needed to ensure research is channelled into commercial uses.
To compete effectively, Malaysia must provide companies with afull value chain of support structures to incubate and grow global champions in fields of science, technology and innovation. Our own ministers of education and higher education have drawn the nation's attention to the increased need for students educated in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The country will need an estimated 1.3 million science and technology workers by 2020; it has an estimated 400,000 today. The Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology recently hosted members of the Prime Minister's Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council, including leading American educator Dr Nancy Zimpher, chancellor of the State University of New York, for talks on improving our own education system for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Dr Zimpher called for coherent "cradle to career" national education systems that better connect primary, secondary and tertiary education. There is much more to be done to foster a world-leading science and technology ecosystem. We must recognise the national importance of our public R&D institutes such as the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia and the Malaysian Institute Of Microelectronic Systems.
On the flip side, we must underscore the importance of providing the right conditions to foster private sector R&D if we are to achieve 10th Malaysia Plan targets of R&D investment of one per cent of Gross Domestic Product by 2015.
Might endeavours to provide a platform for consensus building. With more than 100 members including key government ministries, agencies, government-linked companies as well as both local and foreign private sector companies, universities and research institutes, Might is uniquely positioned to provide a forum for this kind of dialogue. This is arguably one of the most valuable contributions we can make to improving the local landscape for science and technology development.I do not envy my former colleagues at UiTM who are today faced with the growing challenge posed by easy access to information and the highly interactive online world of know-how and know-who that may either help or even humble the unwary.
Paying tribute to my favourite rock group, Queen, my humble advice is, "if you can't beat them, join them" and learn to "play the game", quickly.
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