The commercialisation of research and innovation in universities have been a long-standing issue.
Many promising research have failed to be translated into viable products or solutions due to the gap between the lab and marketplace.
The Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) believes this is a weak ecosystem, particularly in financing and global partnership, as well as the poor ability of researchers to “sell” their innovations.
MIGHT president and CEO’s office vice-president Ida Semurni Abdullah Ali, said researchers now have the opportunity to obtain international exposure and pitch their ideas to local and global investors at an invite-only event called Asia Innovates Summit 2019 in Putrajaya.
Running until tomorrow, the summit will also mark the fifth anniversary of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s “Leaders in Innovation Fellowships (LIF)” programme.
“Organised by MIGHT and the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom, the summit is under the Newton-Ungku Omar Fund (NUOF) scheme — a bilateral programme between the Malaysian and UK governments focusing on science and technology.
“The event brings together leaders in the Asian innovation ecosystem of seven countries — China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, with notable British innovators, entrepreneurs and investors. The unique two-day summit will showcase the atmosphere and energy of the LIF programme,” said Ida Semurni.
LIF is a year-long programme targeted at individuals with an interest in entrepreneurship and have an engineering innovation to develop their countries socially and economically.
Malaysian participants will spend two weeks at the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK to be trained by the best consultants in entrepreneurship, business modelling and marketing. They will learn to pitch their ideas effectively and return home to polish and value-add their skills.
“Investors don’t understand what researchers and scientists want to sell, so they will be trained to do so with clarity,” said Ida Semurni.
MIGHT president and CEO’s office vice-president Ida Semurni Abdullah Ali
“Pioneering innovation, combined with a sound business model, can be a powerful driver of change. For the last five years, LIF has fostered innovation leadership among some of the world’s brightest engineers, researchers and scientists.
“There are a thousand-strong LIF community comprising those from energy to medical engineering and agriculture, who hold the potential to shake up every industry.”
The event will feature leading local and UK speakers, who are experts in sustainable development, artificial intelligence and biotechnology.
Besides inspiring participants to exchange ideas and build relationships, the Asia Innovates Summit will feature mentoring and interactive sessions to develop LIF participants along the journey to commercialise their innovations.
The international strategic partners are the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the Indian CIIE.CO, Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education, Thai National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand Science Research and Innovation, Philippine Department of Science and Technology and Vietnamese National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation Development.
Local partners are CIMB Islamic, Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC), New Entrepreneurship Foundation, Beta-Foundation, and Innovation and Technology Managers Association.