BUILDING AN ECOSYSTEM
ed to serve the balance sheet vestors, especially so in Maademic
research provides logically-and research com- -manpower for the private In Malaysia, R&D is uni-centric because the capacity to carry earch has not been present in the priector and as such it is common to asresearch with universities and not the private sector.
“This is slowly changing but we need catalysts and incentives to hasten the progress. We can overcome this by creating a conducive R&D ecosystem and providing incentives for both sides.”
Noorsaadah said to move the output from academic research to the industry requires different skills and large investment.
For example, in science and technology, academic research tends to be small scale to test a hypothesis and/or prove a concept.
“Once this is achieved, research needs to be carried out to upscale the output. In advanced nations such as the United States and Japan, this type of research known as experimental development research is usually carried out by and at the industry.
“In Malaysia, our small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are not ready for such research or do not have enough funds to invest in such research and convert academic research output into a viable product in the industry.
“In addition, SMEs here do not have enough human capacity skilled enough to do the specialised research required for optimisation and/or up-scaling in experimental development research.”
There is a necessity for an ecosystem that encourages industries to thrive and allow talents to grow. The ecosystem should also support new technologies, which allow industries to develop quickly in this fast-changing world.
Mohd Ekhwan said the industry needs the mirror lab at UKM so that research elements can be felt by industry researchers.
“They need to conduct research at university on rotation to maintain a research culture and carry out impact assessments,” he added.
Mirror lab is a collaboration between universities and the industry, without the need for the latter to develop its own facilities.
At UKM, the Centre for Collaborative Innovation was set up as the driving force in the innovation ecosystem. UKM intellectual property, technology transfer and commercialisation are managed by the centre, which also promotes the culture of innovation and the transfer of UKM-developed technology for the benefit of society.
“It also generates unrestricted income to support research and education, and develop new enterprises from research and technological innovation and create value or multiplier effect in the economy.”
Mohd Firdaus added that talent growth needs to come first before the industry can thrive, thus creating an ecosystem that is able to capitalise on the available capacity.
“In Malaysia, we have a very limited postdoctoral training system. In the West, Australia, Japan and Korea, many doctoral graduates go on to take up post-doctoral positions for three to five years.
“This is perhaps when they are at peak performance capacity of their research careers. After this post-doctoral research stint, they take up faculty posts at university or appointments with more leadership and management responsibilities.
“However, this is not the case here. Doctoral graduates at their peak are in management or faculty positions with responsibilities not related to research. This is what we need to address.”
Noorsaadah said fostering collaborative projects between universities and the industry is a good way to encourage a thriving research ecosystem in the latter.
One way to drive research in the industry