Science for a Greater Nation: Wisdom of the Past, Quest for the Future
19 MARCH 2019
PRESS RELEASE
SCIENCE FOR A GREATER NATION: WISDOM OF THE PAST, QUEST FOR THE FUTURE
MELAKA, 18 March 2019: As the world economy moves forward with the next iteration of industrial revolution, so will its drivers. Economies that once relied on land, labour and capital as its drivers, is slowly evolving into a knowledge-based economy, which utilises information, ideas and innovation.
Malaysia’s expenditure in experimental development is relatively low compared to other innovation hubs, such as Korea and Thailand. In 2016, Malaysia’s expenditure in experimental development fell short of the targeted 47% under the 5th Malaysia Plan, only reaching 14.6%.
Therefore, the collaboration between the academia and industry needs to be strengthen to ensure that research can be effectively translated into commercialisation, hence preparing the nation to be ready for a knowledge-based economy.
The 2nd ASM Merdeka Meeting 2019 was organised by ASM’s Southern Chapter in collaboration with the Merdeka Award Secretariat. Malaysia’s bright young scientists had the opportunity to engage with five Merdeka Laureates together with three Guest Experts on one platform to foster scientific exchange, building a mentor-mentee relationship between these generations.
This year, the Meeting carried the theme ‘Science for A Greater Nation: Wisdom of the Past, Quest for the Future’. This theme is an uplift from the past roundtable dialogue and discussion on ‘Elevating Malaysia to Greater Heights through the STI’ during the Inaugural ASM Merdeka Meeting 2017.
The annual ASM Merdeka Meetings is being an important platform in passing the torch of success from one generation to the next. Featuring experts from academia as well as those with a background in commercialisation allows our young scientists to be well-equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills for them to be able to propel and chart our future STI development of our country.
The ASM Merdeka Meeting consists of a keynote lecture, roundtable dialogue, three Masterclasses as well as a Merdeka Lecture. The experts provided useful insight from the perspective of academic, commercialisation and industry.
After the Masterclasses, a Merdeka Lecture titled “Quest for the Future: Positioning Malaysia in a Scientifically Globalised World” was presented by 2015 Merdeka Award Laureate, Academician Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid FASc.
The ASM Merdeka Meeting is the product of collaboration between ASM’s Southern Chapter and the Merdeka Award Secretariat. The annual event emulates the prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, in which young scientists were given the opportunity to engage with Malaysia’s very own distinguished STI experts among the Merdeka Award Laureates on one platform to foster scientific exchange and build a mentor-mentee relationship between these generations.
The ASM Merdeka Meeting is an important platform in passing the torch of success from one generation to the next. This year, the ASM Merdeka Meeting engaged with academics as well as experts with a background in commercialisation to properly equip our young scientists with the necessary knowledge and skills for them to be able to propel and chart our future STI development of our country.
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