Strategic Input for Robust STI Ecosystems

To assess the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education)’s effectiveness and the implementation of its programmes, the Ministry of Education (MOE) (following the merging of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education in 2018) mandated ASM to analyse and evaluate the current achievement and significant impacts of the strategies and initiatives under the MEB(HE).

Malaysia had entrusted five of its most established universities namely Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to spearhead R&D activities for the nation. Called the Malaysian Research Universities (MRUs), these universities are important catalysts for transforming Malaysia into a regional and global centre of educational and research excellence and a testbed for leading global industries to undertake innovative R&D activities. ASM was commissioned by the MOE to carry out an impact assessment of the implementation of these MRUs.

ASM as a strategic partner to the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, MEDAC (previously Ministry of Entrepreneur Development) have developed the National Entrepreneurship Policy (NEP) 2030. Through this policy, MEDAC hopes to chart the direction towards creating a holistic, conducive and inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem to support the socio-economic agenda of the country. The long-term plan outlines five objectives, five targets, 19 strategies and 62 initiatives that will be implemented to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem across all industry areas and encompass every level of entrepreneurs and communities.

The incidents of Sungai Kim Kim and Pasir Gudang triggered a nationwide awareness on the poor state of our chemical governance and uncontrolled industrial growth that had posed danger to the community. Malaysians witnessed our first major case of chemical pollution that led to the closure of all schools in Pasir Gudang.

Science Outlook 2020 is a Special Edition as this edition would examine the current and past status of the STI landscape in Malaysia over the last 30 years, since the inception of Vision 2020. It aims to evaluate the progress and development of STI in Malaysia through the perspective of economic, societal and environmental impacts.