IT is interesting to note that in the entire 2015 Budget speech last Friday, universities were mentioned only twice. My first reaction was that it could be bad news for the universities, especially when the expectation of the public is increasing.
Furthermore, Malaysian universities are also expected to climb the world ranking and produce more talented graduates for the nation.
However, upon closer look, there are plenty of opportunities for local universities to take advantage of the 2015 Budget.
These are among the main opportunities:
For students and graduates
Talent Corp will be provided with RM30 million to develop industry-academia collaboration programmes. Universities should take this opportunity to develop innovative programmes through internship and industrial training that are already in-built within most of the universities’ curriculum.
The difference now is that there should be more opportunities to design internship or industrial training programmes that are more systematic, and will enhance the training of students. This is also an opportunity to bring more industry practitioners to universities to contribute in other activities, such as industrial talks, seminars and student assessment. The overall target is to enhance employability of the students.
Universities should also take note of the new programme called Globally Recognised Industry and Professional Certification Programme, or 1MalaysiaGRIP, which is meant to intensify upskilling and reskilling programmes. If such programmes can be brought to campuses, students will have the opportunity to obtain professional certification even before they graduate.
RM300 million in matching grants between the government and the Human Resources Development Fund have been allocated for this purpose.
The government has also extended the MyBrain15 programme that allows more students to obtain postgraduate qualification at master’s and PhD levels.
For next year, RM112 million has been allocated. Thus, more Malaysian students will have the opportunity to pursue higher degrees and universities must be able to provide highly-competitive programmes to enhance the quality of the postgraduates. Interestingly now, the government has agreed to extend the MyBrain programme for civil servants and employees of statutory bodies who are keen to further their studies on part-time basis in local higher-learning institutions.
For research, development and
commercialisation (RD&C)
From RD&C point of view, universities are fortunate since the source will come from two ministries, namely the Education Ministry (MOE) and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti).
MOE has been allocated RM56 billion for various teaching and learning programmes, which should include budgets for universities. It is not apparent how much will be allocated for RD&C, but I am quite certain that a significant portion will be provided for this purpose since RD&C will be the yardstick to improve the ranking of Malaysian universities.
Mosti itself has been allocated RM1.3 billion to implement several programmes related to research and innovation. Among these are:
ESTABLISHMENT of a Research Incentive Scheme for Enterprises (Rise), with an allocation of RM10 million, to encourage companies to set up research centres in high technology, information and communication technology, and knowledge-based industries;
COMMERCIALISATION of 360 high-impact innovative products within the next five years;
ALLOCATION of RM290 million for research funds to implement various high-impact RD&C programmes;
ALLOCATION of RM50 million for a new initiative, namely the Public-Private Research Network spearheaded by MOE in collaboration with the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation; and
ALLOCATION of RM50 million for Technology Commercialisation Platform Programme by Agensi Inovasi Malaysia.
Local universities should take these opportunities to work with local industries and government agencies to enhance the quality of RD&C so that an impactful outcome can be realised.
For networking with industries
and non-governmental organisations:
Local universities can also be an important catalyst for fruitful engagement with local industries and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Most of the universities have established the division for industries and communities affairs.
Through such networking, both the academics and students will be exposed to diversified environments, which will be good for enhancing the teaching and learning quality.
All the initiatives by the government mentioned above will require significant involvement and networking with industries. Furthermore, the government has also announced a more pronounced support for NGO activities. A one-off grant of RM50 million has been allocated to creditable NGOs, including uniformed bodies that are involved in community development programmes, unity, social welfare, consumerism, health and security.
Next year has also been declared the year of empowerment for NGOs and volunteerism, or MyNGO 2015. Again, this is a good opportunity for universities to work together with NGOs in order to provide a win-win situation for both parties.
With all these opportunities, universities should be ready to take the challenge and work more towards realising the prime minister’s vision of the National Transformation Policy that will lead Malaysia to become an advanced high-income economy.