TAKE THE LEAD

are in an era of globalisation, where competition is intense. The only way to survive such an environment, fuelled mostly by business-disruptive technologies, is to embrace such technologies.

One recent phenomenon that has become a hot topic in the country is Industry 4.0, or as some call it, the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Many have debated about the wisdom of embracing this Industry 4.0. Are we ready? What impact will it have on the social fabric of the nation? Will it threaten humanity?

As expected, the discourse has been intense among the nation’s academics. As for the industry at large, many are still clueless about this new animal.

But, the government is ready to move. A blueprint is in the offing. The government is proactive, which is good.

In fact, in the recent tabling of the 2018 Budget, Industry 4.0 was mentioned a number of times by the prime minister. Whatever it is, other countries around the world are joining the bandwagon, too.

A recent report in the United Kingdom strongly recommended the adoption of Industry 4.0 by Britain as part of its post-Brexit plan.

It suggested that contrary to concerns over jobs being taken over by robots, Industry 4.0 may, in fact, create more new jobs.

Many agree on the three key success factors of Industry 4.0 — intensiveness of knowledge, leadership and collaboration.

These were adopted as the main topics of discourse at a recent Asean forum on Industry 4.0, hosted by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. And, undeniably, in all the three factors, the role of academics is critical.

Society has always looked up to professors as a source of knowledge. Some questions raised are: is the credibility of academics eroding in the eyes of society?; are professors reaching out enough, through media, to society?; are they giving more attention to their peers, publishing in difficult-to-understand academic journals?; and are professors forthcoming in commenting and advising on policy actions, which, in the long run, would benefit the nation?

Academics need to address these if the nation is to truly harness its knowledge assets. The industry is hoping for the academics to take the lead in embracing Industry 4.0.