Sunday July 18, 2004 - THE Higher Education Ministry intends to compile acomprehensive record of scientific research projects currently undertakenby private universities in Malaysia.

Data from this record will be used to draw up a blueprint to coordinatefuture research projects so that these can better meet the challenges andneeds of the social, economic and industrial sectors.

Deputy Minister Datuk Fu Ah Kiow said: We want to know how many privateuniversities are involved in research, the kind of research they do, theirobjectives, and how effective these projects are. We would also like tofind out what they can do to help us deal with various issues in thesocio-economic and industrial sectors.

"Ultimately, the Government wants to make Malaysia a centre of excellencenot only in academics, but also in research, innovative inventions and newtechnology,"he added.

"We hope to work closely with the Science and Technology Ministry andgovernment and private universities to come up with technology andinventions that are relevant to the needs of the country. "

The ministry may look into plans to provide incentives for scientificresearch and inventions, he said.

However, we need financial support from the private sector. We are notgetting as much support from them as we would like. We'd like them to playa bigger role he explained.

Fu was on a one-day working visit to Curtin University of TechnologySarawak Campus to launch the 2004 International Annual Conference ofHigher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA).About 180 participants from 15 countries participated in the conference.

He said that the fact that the conference was held in Malaysia reflectedthe confidence of international researchers towards Malaysia in terms ofhigher education and research potential.

Fu also praised Curtin Sarawak for undertaking important projects in soilstudy, palm oil pollution control, and sustainable energy andtelecommunication projects for rural communities.

Deputy director of Higher Education Prof Datuk Dr Sharifah Hapsah SyedHasan Shahabudin, the keynote speaker at the conference, said that moreattention should be given to the moulding of character at university levelas this aspect has not been given enough emphasis or accorded theattention it deserves.

There is a need for more comprehensive measures to develop character,ethics and human values among students in universities instead of justfocusing on their cognitive development.

The ministry wants to introduce programmes on attitude development.Traditionally, university education focused on marks and exams. We mustmove away from such a narrow focus and start producing graduates with goodhuman values, not just intelligence.

And this must be reflected in our educational programmes, she said.

Conference Convenor Prof Dr Barbara Stauble said HERDSA members from the20 member countries agreed that more focus needs to be given to valueseducation since traditional norms of education had in the past emphasisedoverwhelmingly on academic performance and neglected the human aspects.

HERDSA president Prof John Dearn said that Malaysia has the honour ofbeing the first country in Asia to host the conference which, for the past30 years, has been held only in Australia and New Zealand.