Nurturing technopreneurs

I READ with interest the article “A need to invest in science R&D jobs” ( The Star, Aug 22) by Prof Datuk Dr Ahmad Ibrahim. Throughout my years in providing career guidance to school leavers, I have not been able to paint clearly to students the career path of a science graduate.

While those who study medicine, law, engineering or accountancy know they will one day be a doctor, lawyer, engineer or accountant, a science graduate could probably end up as a science teacher or credit card promoter, insurance agent, supermarket personnel or doing any job they can get. This may be one of the reasons why students and parents are shying away from science stream at secondary school. Unless they feel confident of getting into medicine or engineering or other professional fields which are usually highly competitive, they would prefer to opt for the “safer” options in the arts stream like business, law, accountancy and etc.

The potential of science graduates in contributing to national economic development has yet to be fully exploited. Malaysia’s rich natural resources can be turned into high-value finished products through science and technology.

A graduate in chemistry has the potential of becoming an entrepreneur in a wide range of industries such as processed food and beverages, cosmetics, detergents and surfactants, adhesives and resins, paints and coatings, glasses and ceramics, fragrances and flavour, just to name a few.

A successful example is Top Glove, the world’s number one glove producer. At a Power Talk organised by Star Media Group, Top Glove chairman Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai illustrated how he managed to stay competitive in both pricing and quality by continuously producing higher quality gloves using less materials through R&D.

While Top Glove has the capacity to invest in R&D, this is not the case with our SMEs. The SME Association of Malaysia predicts that 30% of Malaysian SMEs will perish if the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) ever comes into force.

Recently, the association launched a Trade Credit Pledge Campaign in an attempt to overcome problems of lack of trade credit and prompt payment. This reflects the dire situation some of our SMEs are in during the current economic slowdown.

Science and technology can invigorate Malaysian SMEs by adding value to their products and processes.

Many years ago, I attended a Sirim Open Day event for which the theme was developing market-driven R&D. I wonder how effective the effort has been.

The recent initiative by the Higher Education Ministry in setting up the Public-Private Research Network (PPRN) to facilitate and provide funding for the SMEs to secure R&D support from local public universities is indeed encouraging.

Efforts can be intensified to nurture a new breed of technopreneurs. One way to do this is to showcase technopreneur as a career choice to students. It will enhance motivation and interest in studying science.

Youths today are smitten by the career success of corporate leaders as well as film stars and sportsmen. Showing them how science and technology can be an instrument for career success, as exemplified by the corporate giants of the West, can create greater interest.

The recent emergence of e-commerce and Internet technologies also provides a conducive environment to promote science, technology and technopreneurship. Currently, there are pockets of science promotion activities at school level conducted by, among others, the Malaysian Scientific Association’s Public Appreciation of Science, Technology & Innovation (Pasti), Institution of Engineers (IEM), National Science Centre and Petrosains. These activities can be amalgamated to create greater impact among the public.

Efforts can also be intensified to promote science careers online and through social media as these are the youth’s current trend of communicating.

To this end, I have launched a web portal, sciencecareer.asia, which encompasses higher education and careers in science, popular science, scholarships for science and technology study, technopreneurship and international youth programmes.

In the 80s, the then Science, Technology and Environment Ministry used to organise a National Science Week. Perhaps this could be revived by putting together on-going science, technology and innovation activities to give science the necessary boost at national level. WEE HUI BEH Kajang