Kuala lumpur: The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) is intensifying efforts to strengthen ties between public universities and industry to boost the commercialisation rate of the country's research output, which remains one of the key challenges in the innovation ecosystem. Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir stated that the government is placing emphasis on an impact-driven research approach to ensure that research outcomes are translated into economic value and deliver benefits to industry.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the approach differs from previous methods, which were largely publication-driven. Dr Zambry emphasized that the current focus is on impact-based research, aiming to make research outputs directly usable. He highlighted the shift in approach, including creating a better ecosystem for industry-university relations, during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat.
He was responding to an inquiry from Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng (BN-Tanjung Piai) regarding the ministry's strategy to enhance high-impact research and development (R and D) in public higher education institutions, including funding policies, technology transfer mechanisms to industry, and the commercialisation achievements of innovations over the past three years.
Dr Zambry noted that over the past three years, MOHE has implemented a strategic plan focusing on research capable of addressing industry and societal challenges, rather than relying solely on academic output. He stated that all public higher education institutions, particularly the five research universities, are being strengthened to lead world-class research in critical areas such as food security, green technology, artificial intelligence, and advanced engineering.
The effort has successfully resulted in more than 200 products developed by public universities being commercialised, while 286 technologies and knowledge assets were licensed to industry players between 2022 and 2024. According to him, the effectiveness of the entire strategy chain, including R and D and innovation funding for each public university, is also measured through the Malaysian Research Assessment.
These initiatives include the Malaysian Laboratories for Academia-Business Collaboration (MyLAB), the Industry Matching Grant programme, and the Public-Private Research Network (PPRN), aimed at reducing dependence on government funding while ensuring that research meets market demand. Moving forward, Dr Zambry announced that MOHE will organise the University Research, Innovation and Investment Summit this September, bringing together industry players and investors to generate investable research and drive frontier innovation, thereby strengthening Malaysia's position as Asia's technology and innovation investment hub.