Higher education in the frontline of battle for growth
Higher education institutions in Malaysia are not just in the business of disseminating knowledge, they are also focusing on coming up with new commercially viable technological products

Malaysia’s universities are already recognised as being among the best in the region. The government wants to take things a step further. Its declared objective is to build a world-class higher education system that both caters for Malaysia’s own needs and turns the country into a regional centre for educational excellence that will attract students from abroad. The process is already under way, reforms and new initiatives are being introduced and funding provided.
In terms of strengthening both Malaysia’s research capabilities and its “human capital”, the universities have a key role to play in advancing progress towards becoming a knowledge economy.

Says Mustapa bin Mohamed, Minister of Higher Education: “The words frequently used in describing today’s economic landscape say it all – borderless economies, service based industries and offshore out-sourcing, to name but a few. Our citizens have to be provided with the best education possible to enhance our competitive position in the world economy.”

The new mission of Malaysia’s universities is not just to disseminate and generate knowledge, but also to translate it into viable products. Billions of ringgit are being poured into the commercialisation of science and technology, and academics – as one put it – are expected to eat, drink and sleep research.

Four major universities have been designated “research-intensive” universities and singled out for additional funding. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia and University Malaya are tasked with pushing the boundaries of science and producing globally competitive new technological products that add value to the economy.

Dato’ Mustapa bin Mohamed Minister of Higher Education

Most of the RM12 million (almost £2 million) allocated to R&D in this year’s federal budget will go to these four institutions. The budget also increases royalty payments for successfully commercialised research to 80 per cent from 50-70 per cent.

Malaysia’s Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) envisages the country producing 50 researchers, scientists and engineers for every 10,000 members of the labour force by 2010. The government is promoting greater collaboration between the universities and industry to ensure that the curricula and research are abreast with national needs.

Standards are being raised. One of the most important reforms currently under way in the tertiary education system is the introduction of a unified system of qualifications in a move to gain international recognition of Malaysian academic awards.

The Malaysian Qualifications Agency, launched last November, has the responsibility of implementing nationally endorsed criteria benchmarked to best practices worldwide. Public and private educational institutions will be audited according to the new standards, including colleges, universities and vocational institutions. The criteria will also be applied to workplace training and lifelong learning.

“We want to ensure that our higher education conforms with the international standards, and our qualifications are internationally recognised,” says Minister Mustapa.

The Minister believes the implementation of internationally accepted standards could turn Malaysia into a centre of educational excellence with foreign students from countries like China, India and Pakistan “flocking” to the country’s learning institutions. The goal is to dramatically increase the number of international students in the Malaysian system from around 40,000 to 100,000 by 2010.

	Billions of ringgit are being poured into designated research-intensive universities

In line with 9MP, at least 60 per cent of the lecturers in public universities will be required to hold a doctorate qualification by 2010. The government is sponsoring hundreds of lecturers per year to do their postgraduate degrees overseas, mainly in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The partnership in higher education between Malaysia and the UK is being further strengthened. Malaysia was the first country to introduce twinning programmes in collaboration with foreign universities, many of them British. More than 350 different UK qualifications are available totally or partially in Malaysia, and around 30,000 students – both Malaysian and international – are studying for them.

In 2006, the Ministry of Higher Education introduced a split-PhD programme between select Malaysian public universities, Imperial College London and the University of Nottingham. In 2000, Nottingham opened the first branch campus of a British University in Malaysia. It includes a Biotechnology Research Facility that the University runs in partnership with Applied Agricultural Resources (AAR), an internationally recognised premier centre in plantation crop research and development. This new centre will be located adjacent to the campus, and will be the first example in Malaysia of a high-tech industry co-locating with a university.

There are plans for other leading UK universities to set up campuses in Malaysia in the near future. Other foreign universities that have already established campuses in Malyasia are Monash University (see page 15), which recently opened a new RM200 million (£31 million) campus in the State of Selangor, and two other Australian universities - Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne University of Technology.