Closing the university-industry gap

MALAYSIA’S ambition to move from “Made in Malaysia” to “Made by Malaysia” will remain elusive unless the country fixes a longstanding weakness in its innovation ecosystem – the disconnect between universities and industry.

Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan has highlighted the problem. Malaysia is investing heavily in research and development (R&D), but the gap lies in turning research into commercially viable products.

As he put it, a product may be brilliant, but “if you do not know how to position and sell it, investors will not come in”.

That is where universities need to do more.

There is nothing wrong with fundamental research; it remains the foundation of scientific progress.

But too much emphasis on publications, citations and academic recognition risks creating an ecosystem where success is measured by what gets published rather than what gets commercialised.

Singapore offers a useful contrast.

Universities such as the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have built extensive structures to bring companies into the research process through corporate laboratories, joint research projects and industry partnerships.

NTU, for instance, says it works with more than 800 companies, supported by corporate and joint laboratories.

Instead of asking how to commercialise a technology after it has been developed, industry can help determine what problems should be researched in the first place.

Malaysia needs more of this.

A semiconductor company should be able to approach a university with a manufacturing problem and jointly develop a solution.

A plantation group should be working with researchers on productivity and automation.

Construction companies should be tapping universities for technologies that reduce costs and wastage.

These should not be ceremonial memoranda of understanding followed by photographs and little else.

Of course, researchers cannot be expected to become entrepreneurs, salespeople and venture capitalists overnight.

The ecosystem needs technology transfer specialists, industry mentors, venture builders and investors who can bridge the gap between laboratory and market.

Government funding can also be structured to encourage genuine industry participation and measurable commercial outcomes, rather than focusing predominantly on research output.

Ultimately, Malaysia does not have a shortage of smart people or research institutions – it has a conversion problem.

The real measure of R&D success should not simply be how many papers are published or patents registered, but how many technologies become companies, products, exports and high-value jobs.