Govt committed to develop innovation ecosystems
Published on: Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The Government of Malaysia aspires to make innovation a major driver of national economic growth, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. Therefore, the government is committed to develop innovation ecosystems that will support both university-driven and demand-driven research.He said this in his speech delivered by State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun during the opening of the 10th Asian Control Conference held at the Magellan Sutera Resort here, Monday.
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According to him, the gathering of academics and researchers from all corners of the world in this conference will spur continued excellence in Malaysia's education system."We strongly support the organising of conferences such as this one by providing our assistance and in this instance, through the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) and Sabah Tourism Board," he said. Musa explained although control engineering has always been a 'hidden technology', its impacts are everywhere – in the aerospace industry, oil and gas and process industries, automotive robotics and other fields."Its contributions in these industries have improved production, reduced emissions and power consumption, increased product quality, reliability as well as safety.
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"More importantly, the new control methodologies and technologies have also lessened impacts on the environment," he said, encouraging researchers including at local institutes of higher education to continuously focus on fields that complement or add value to the path that they took towards economic progress and development. "Improving and providing resources for the local population to gather knowledge remains high on our agenda.
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"We work with the relevant stakeholders to set up higher learning institutes, including skills centres to meet requirements for specific needs, such as in the oil and gas sector, and in downstream processing of agricultural products including palm oil," he explained.Apart from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Musa said that they had an education hub in Sandakan and skills centres in some districts, providing access to school leavers intending to pursue higher education without having to travel far.Meanwhile, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Vice Chancellor Datuk Professor Dr Wahid Omar said the number and size of Control Engineering conferences and journals continue to grow. "New societal imperatives highlight the importance of control. Investments in control technology continue to take place in both old and new industrial sectors."Control is not only considered instrumental for evolutionary improvements in today's products, solutions and systems; it is also considered a fundamental enabling technology for realising future visions," he explained. Therefore, ASCC is a good platform for Control Engineering researchers to share experiences and research findings, which can be used for the benefit of mankind.The conference themed 'Emerging Control Techniques for a Sustainable World' was chosen in line with the current technologies in the industry and challenges that need to be addressed to meet the demand of sustainability. Later, there was also a signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) in UTM and Takasago Thermal Engineering (TTE) Co.Ltd in conjunction with the conference from May 31 to June 3. TTE Executive Director Emio Taniguchi during the ceremony also announced their contribution worth RM3 million for five years to establish a new research lab. "The sponsorship worth RM600, 000 annually aims to establish a new research lab that will strengthen education and research activities at MJIIT which will be implemented through the 'i-kohza' system," said Wahid.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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