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EVENT REPORT: SCIENCE@MALAYSIA 2014 University of Oxford | United Kingdom | 22 Nov 2014
W ithout
a doubt, science has been pivotal in engendering numerous positive changes in society. It has assisted humans to land on the moon, eradicate diseases, communicate with each other across the globe literally within a blink of an eye and achieve countless other magnificent feats. Even so, these scientific advancements along with economic growth could have never been achieved if it were not for the emphasis placed on science by nations. This holds true for any nation, including our beloved Malaysia. As Malaysia is striving to become a high-income nation, technological and economic advancement through science is undoubtedly required. Thus, as part of the effort to promote scientific advancement in Malaysia, the inaugural Science@Malaysia conference was recently organised by Scientific Malaysian and Oxford University Malaysia Club (OUMC) at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. Report by Azilleo Kristo Mozihim OPENING AND KEYNOTE ADDRESSES Conference attendees were greeted with the opening speech by Professor Andrew Hamilton,ViceChancellor of the University of Oxford. In his lively speech, he mentioned several collaborations that have been made between Malaysia and the University; for example, the collaboration with UiTM (Malaysia Technology University) in the field of Mathematics, particularly in industrial applications. He also expressed his hopes in extending the collaboration to other academic institutions in Malaysia. Subsequently, the main issues surrounding the advancement of scientific research in Malaysia were highlighted in the Keynote Address by Professor Tan Sri Zakri Abdul Hamid, the Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia. One of the issues raised was the emigration of local talent to other nations such as Singapore, which reduces the scientific talent pool of the nation leading to decreased economic productivity. He also suggested that the existence of insufficient local scientific expertise was a primary factor for the lack of scientific progress in the country. Additionally, he stated that this factor has led to the inability of local companies to adapt to technological advances, resulting in Malaysia’s reduced global competitiveness.
Academic collaboration was the main theme of the second keynote address presented by Professor Robin Grime, the UK & Foreign Commonwealth Office Chief Scientific Advisor. He informed the attendees about the various international collaborations between Malaysia and the UK such as the establishment of Malaysian-based campuses by several UK universities (e.g. Newcastle University and Nottingham University). He urged for the formation of a bilateral relationship in which ideas are exchanged between Malaysia and UK, along with innovation based on the ideas gained from the partner country. PANEL SESSION 1: ‘THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ADVANCING SCIENCE IN MALAYSIA’ The first speaker of this opening plenary panel session was Tan Sri Dr. Ahmad Tajuddin Ali who is the current President of the Academy of Science, Malaysia. He stressed the importance of the government in scientific education by striving to encourage more students to enter scientific careers. Additionally, he mentioned the role of the government in providing a proper infrastructure for scientific research. The importance of international partnerships was emphasised by the second speaker of the session, Professor Nordin Hassan, the Director for the International Council of Science (ICSU). He used the example of ocean acidification as an I S S U E 10 / A P R I L 2 015
