Tencent: Malaysian varsities should be at forefront of digital revolution

PETALING JAYA: In the era of digital civilisation, Malaysian varsities should grab the opportunity to reposition themselves as the incubators of new technologies and the technology generations, said China's industry expert, Tencent.

Tencent Holdings senior executive vice president SY Lau (pic) said Malaysian academic institutions must play their part in producing new research findings, amid the rapid growth of the fourth industrial revolution.

"We are counting on our universities to be the arsenal to produce new research findings, working together with industry players surrounding them," he said during his keynote address at Malaysia Higher Education Forum 2017 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Thursday.

The Malaysian-born Lau said there were several methods the universities can practise, including mixing research and technology to source talents.

For instance, he said, Tencent had recently participated in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area programme where the universities in the greater Pearl River Delta were working together to build the next technology hub in China.

Secondly, Lau said, public universities can start by being committed and placing more resources towards ensuring employability of graduates as their ultimate key performance index.

"Thirdly, what about integrating practical experience into the core curriculum by making it mandatory that 30% of our academics staff be former practitioners of their specialty in the professional world," he said.

He said such measures would ensure that Malaysia produce talents that will be relevant to the needs of the industry, as practised by one of the leading American public research institutions, Rutgers University.

"More than 40% of the faculty members from Rutgers business school are ex-practitioners, including the part-time professors," he said.

Lau added that building a culture of entrepreneurships and incubators in the campus were also vital in helping Malaysia compete with the outside world, citing a group of students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia as an example.

"During my last visit to UKM, I was very happy to meet a group of young students who created an app called Jom Tumpang," he said.

Lau said he was glad that the Ministry of Higher Education has identified the fourth industrial revolution as the benchmark for the redesign of the educational blueprint.

Lau said Tencent, which is China's biggest social network and gaming firm, had also established an academy, which serves as their official interface with universities.

"We also have an educational foundation that explores such areas as the future functions of classrooms, the implementation of innovative learning techniques; and even examining ways to close the skill gaps created by an automated world.

"We are constantly on the look out for meaningful ways to invest in future ready education models," he said.