RM5.5b investment in research varsities pays off
> Success prompted renowned world institutions to collaborate with local universities, says minister
KUALA LUMPUR: Investments amounting to RM5.58 billion by the government in five research universities in the country from 2007 to 2015 had generated returns of RM7.17 billion, said Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh ( pix).
He said the returns were from investments in various areas, including book publication, training and consultancy.
“The success has prompted renowned world universities to collaborate with local universities in various fields of research.
“It also enables research and studies by local universities to be used as a source of reference by foreign universities,” he said in an interview on the Ruang Bicara programme on Tuesday night.
The five local public universities with research university status are Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, reported Bernama.
Idris said besides enhancing the reputation of the country’s higher education institutions at international level, the government also attracted foreigners to pursue studies, as well as foreign lecturers to work in universities in Malaysia.
He said the research universities were known for their respective fields, like Universiti Malaya in bionic prosthetics, Universiti Sains Malaysia in archaeology and Universiti Putra Malaysia for its success in increasing padi yield.
He said the ministry encourages them to continue with their high-impact research, as well as enhance collaboration with industry players to achieve the objective of the Malaysian Education Development Plan 2015-2025.