Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan

At Your Servicemechanisms are well in place. Of equal importance is the quality of our HEIs: anoften-debated subject is whether they are globally competitive.The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) has been tasked with ensuring andsafeguarding the quality of Malaysia’s HEIs. The internationally benchmarkedareas are curriculum, student intake and management, and staff competency anddevelopment. Another key area is graduate employability. Collegial and aggressiveefforts are taken to ensure Malaysia’s graduate employability rates are high andremain so. Efforts to increase industry involvement with academia are encouragedthrough the curriculum and efforts at collaboration. The impact of globalisationtoday has made the internationalisation of our HEIs nothing short of imperative.Not only has it become necessary for us to attract international students andstaff, but of equal importance is making the HEIs competitive globally. To enhancecompetitiveness and strengthen Malaysia’s position, the country needs to adoptand implement best-in-class practices. This would include internationalizationprogrammes such as exchange of academics, students and courses, collaborativeresearch and networking links with renowned universities.The enrolment of international students from more than 150 countries in MalaysianHEIs has increased significantly from 18,242 in 2001 to 72,000 in June 2009.The Government aims to increase the number to 80,000 by 2010. Research anddevelopment (R&D) remains one area that has not seen its fullest potential.Our R&D must be relevant to industryneeds; it must bring commercial value to ourmarket and economy. It cannot be isolatedfrom the nation’s growth. R&D must be insync with industry to ensure we are ableto cut through new edges and find newinnovations. An increase in the number ofresearchers, scientists and engineers in thecountry will boost our position in the globalinnovation capacity index.106