KL, Jakarta to boost education
JAKARTA: Malaysia and Indonesia will conduct joint research in seven key areas to boost higher education in both countries.
This was announced yesterday following a bilateral meeting between Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh and Indonesia’s Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Professor H. Mohamad Nasir.
The research areas were food and agriculture, health and medicine, information and communications technology, transport, nanotechnology, defence and security technology, and renewable energy.
Nasir said both countries would sign a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the collaborations, which would be developed by higher learning institutions from Malaysia and Indonesia. A roadmap would also be put in place.
“But, publication of research papers is not enough. It has to focus on innovation that comprises invention and commercialisation,” he said here.
Nasir said the bilateral meeting focused on the need for universities to expose their surrounding communities to the importance of higher education.
Idris announced that his ministry would offer 20 scholarships to Indonesia’s top students to further their studies in Malaysian universities.
“This is a bilateral cooperation. We have our students here and vice versa,” he said, adding that the scholarship recipients would be allowed to choose their study.
Idris said the meeting touched on student volunteerism and Indonesia’s waqf system.
He delivered a keynote address titled “Redesigning Higher Education for the Future and the 4th Industrial Revolution: A Malaysia-Indonesia Experience” at an exhibition organised by the Education Malaysia Global Services.