Universities innovation and technology commercialization challenges and solutions from the perspectives of Malaysian research universities

Abstract

The roles of universities in the context of a nation's shift towards sustainable competitive advantage have changed drastically recently. Universities are now expected to contribute to the creation of new knowledge-based industries, i.e. to support knowledge-based economic growth through the creation of industrially-relevant knowledge/innovation and their commercialization, and to attract global MNCs in new emerging industries; and foster entrepreneurial mindset to support the future knowledge economy where stable job opportunities are no longer guaranteed. As such, there is a need to inculcate the spirit of enterprise as compared to the past where high economic growth has provided graduates with good career prospects as salaried employees, particularly in MNC subsidiaries and the government. The shift requires a bigger role in supporting innovation and commercialization, i.e. to venture beyond its traditional function of teaching, research and publication by incorporating a technology commercialization role which will inevitably help the institution to improve its global ranking. However, there are many national and operational obstacles that impede the progression of research and development to commercialization and entrepreneurship. The main challenges include: (I) lack of connectivity between the industry and academia; (2) myopic perception of the market; (3) inability to evaluate viability from ideas to innovations and beyond; (4) lack of support for investment in new technologies, and (5) lack of positive culture among academic researchers. To overcome the aforementioned obstacles, priority in developing a complete commercialization ecosystem has become a national agenda for most emerging economies.