Enhancing Research Mechanisms and Institutional Processes in Malaysia: A Case Study of Universiti Malaya (UM)

Malaysia’s research and development landscape has grown tremendously over the last decade. The growth of scholarly output in Malaysia has also risen significantly compared to countries such as China, Singapore and Australia. Malaysia has made it a target that research output and quality will increase through an expenditure of 1.3% of the GDP allocated to Research and Development (R&D). Thus far, Malaysia has achieved phenomenal growth within the research sector, with a four-fold increase in the number of citations and has generated approximately RM1.25 billion through 11% yearly growth in the number of patents from Malaysian Universities. This case study aims to provide, firstly, an overview of research governance in Malaysia, and secondly, a discussion of research governance practices at Universiti Malaya (UM). Data is obtained from the 11th Malaysian Plan (2016-2020) and linked to the Malaysian Transformation Program. The Malaysian Education Blueprint for Higher Education (2015-2025) launched in 2015 also outlined a comprehensive transformation for research in higher education programmes. In addition, other published documents on research governance practices by agencies providing research funding were also reviewed. This case study highlights best practices in research management and governance to strengthen and further enhance the current research management and governance in support of the Malaysian government’s initiative towards achieving a high-income nation status.

Fostering Interdisciplinary Research Culture, Challenges and Way Forward: The Universiti Malaya Experience

Interdisciplinary research (IDR) exploring beyond the purview of a single discipline is critical for providing the requisite solutions to real-world issues. Furthermore, the process of translating research that could have a positive impact on and benefit the government, industry and society, typically requires a multipronged approach with inputs and solutions integrated from various disciplines. Therefore, IDR is vital in pushing the different disciplines forward and accelerating scientific discovery in innovative ways. Nonetheless, the move towards encouraging researchers to break away from working in silos to working together has been an extremely challenging task. Doubtlessly, interdisciplinary programmes demand much more involvement and exhaustive effort from researchers per se as they require not only academic scholarship but also soft skills to communicate, network and engage with other researchers from diversified disciplines, various stakeholders and beneficiaries. In addition to that, good leadership and all-rounded teamwork support are required in navigating and ensuring the success of the research programme to deliver its intended outcome and impact. In light of this, this opinion paper discusses some of the challenges confronted in fostering IDR at the Universiti Malaya and suggestions on approaches that could be adopted to garner the interest and move it forward.