NILAI: Young Scientists Network-Akademi Sains Malaysia (YSN-ASM) is encouraged to initiate start-up or spin-off companies as well as mentor young scientists to become researchers in the industry.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang said to strengthen the country’s Science, Technology,
Innovation and Economy (STIE) ecosystem, there was a need to increase the percentage of researchers in the industry.
He said at present, 87.5 per cent of researchers in the country served in higher learning institutions and public research institutes while 30.8 per cent of the researchers in Malaysia comprised young scientists.
“For example, Thailand and Singapore has more than 50 per cent of their researchers in industry sectors. Most researchers in our country are either in universities or research agencies in government institutes, so this is not enough and we need to improve.
“That’s why YSN-ASM can play an important role, especially in encouraging young scientists or the next generation as well as science stream students to venture into the industry,” he told reporters after attending the dialogue session in conjunction with 2023 YSN-ASM Colloquium here yesterday.
Also present was ASM president Datuk Dr Tengku Mohd Azzman Shariffadeen Tengku Ibrahim.
Meanwhile, Chang said that the roles of YSN-ASM, especially in carrying out mission-oriented projects involving emerging technologies was crucial, and could be seen in key socio-economic drivers of the 10-10 MySTIE framework, such as smart technology and systems, cities and transportation as well as agriculture and forestry.
Hence, he said young scientists must be ready to face the complexity, chaos, and contradictions of post-normal science and be agile in adapting to these emerging technologies and integrating knowledge from various fields.
According to Chang, the ministry, through its mission of spearheading science, technology and innovation (STI) to address national challenges for societal well-being and sustainable development, provides a few funding schemes, such as the Strategic Research Fund and Malaysia Grand Challenge, that young scientists can apply for.
“MOSTI has also established the Researcher-Industry Scientific Exchange, which is a platform that connects experts in solving industries’ problems through research, consultation, training, and technology transfer,” he said.
He added that the dialogue session with the scientists of YSN-ASM could dovetail the needs of having captivating minds, foster curiosity and inspire the next generation of creative thinkers and problem solvers who would shape the future.
At the event, Chang also presented the prize to the winners of the 2023 Chrysalis Award, won by Francis Tieng Yew Fu from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Chu Pei Hsia from Universiti Putra Malaysia (runner-up) and Chan Jia Xin from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (third place).
Chrysalis is a flagship leadership programme by YSN-ASM that aims to identify, develop, recognise and empower the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students and to inspire them to contribute to society.
Meanwhile, Tengku Mohd Azzman Shariffadeen said the involvement of YSN-ASM was vital in mission-oriented science and emerging technology such as digital twin technologies and complex work on related problems faced in the country.
He said young scientists should continuously uphold a culture of creativity and value creation which could push the boundaries of research and innovation to strengthen the country’s STIE ecosystem.
“Young scientists should not only focus on their area of expertise but embrace different knowledge systems by keeping an open mind. Diversity and inclusivity should be included in the research and to proposed solutions to address arising challenges, locally and globally,’’ he said. – BERNAMA
