i-Connect Mission Mapping Workshop

On 1 March 2023, the Academy of Sciences Malaysia organised i-Connect Mission Mapping Workshop to develop a clear mission statement tailored to each sector’s specific needs and goals to guide future decision-making at the national level.

The i-Connect steering committee attended this workshop with representatives from industries and neutral entities such as the Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science and Technology (CREST), NanoMalaysia Berhad, Halal Development Corporation Berhad (HDC) and International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF).

A well-structured mission map for each sector will be constructed as a product of the workshop, which includes collaborations that can be implemented at the national level.

CREST

CREST has been appointed as the neutral entity for the i-Connect health and wellness sector, an initiative introduced by ASM.

This appointment will allow CREST to steer a consortium to catalyse innovation, nurture talent and increase Malaysia’s competitiveness in developing health and wellness solutions for local and global markets.

The Health and Wellness network is the first to debut, and its key focus areas are healthy ageing, community health, infectious diseases, and non-communicable diseases.

CREST believes that digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, data analytics, blockchain and bioscience technology can be harnessed to create solutions that address health and wellness challenges in areas such as:

• Epidemiology and surveillance for prevention and early detection of an endemic.
• Environmental and community approaches to promote health and support healthy behaviours, including promoting healthy lifestyles.
• Intervention to reduce barriers to care and improves the effective use of clinical and preventive services for patients and caregivers.

INCEIF

The International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) has launched the i-Connect Fintech in Islamic Finance collaboration to create and nurture a conducive, innovative Islamic finance ecosystem in Malaysia.

The i-Connect Fintech in Islamic Finance collaborative network is helmed by 17 founding members. Founding chairman, Umar Munshi, said that by establishing the collaborative network and research grant, the founding members aim to enhance Malaysia’s innovation capacity in Islamic fintech and accelerate the rollout of new solutions into the market to create positive social and financial impact.

HDC

Of about 8,924 Halal-certified companies, only 21% are exporting or involved in the global supply value chain. Malaysia must focus on building competitive, productive, and innovative enterprises in the vital Halal-promoted sectors to meet the increasing global demand for Halal products and services,

HDC supports this objective by working closely with public and private sectors to develop “home-grown Halal champions”. Direct interventions (e.g., grants) are provided to selected high-performance Malaysian-owned companies to connect them to the global supply chain.

Under the i-Connect program, HDC has also been tasked as a neutral entity to coordinate industry demand-driven research to identify gaps, hence the solution for industry players in domestic and global Halal supply chains.

NanoMalaysia

NanoMalaysia Berhad (NMB) was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee (CLBG) on 1 August 2011 under the purview of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI). Overall, NMB is mandated to act as a business entity entrusted to focus on the commercialisation and development of nanotechnology, to facilitate investment in nanotechnology commercialisation and to facilitate the development of human capital (scientists and engineers, researchers, and professionals) in the nanotechnology industry.