Malaysia eyes stronger ties with Indian Institutes of Technology

PENANG, MALAYSIA--The organization charged with driving Malaysia's economic transformation hopes to create stronger bonds with India's group of prestigious universities, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). 

Jaffri Ibrahim, CEO of the Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science and Technology Center (Crest), told ZDNet he wants IIT professors and PhD candidates to collaborate with technology companies established in Malaysia, including Intel, Altera, and Avago. This could be achieved via Crest's US$33 million (100 million ringgit) grants program, backed by the Malaysian government, which sponsors electrical and engineering academic research projects implemented by companies, Jaffri noted.

He added that both parties would have to find common ground in areas such as funding, and the sharing of intellectual property and licensing. Typically, Crest will fund the research and take a slice of the licensing and commercialization of any associated products, he explained. 

According to Jaffri, Crest's founders collaborated with IIT academics a few years ago, when they performed on par--or better--than their MIT and Stanford counterparts.

"We do have a link with IIT. They actually sent some of their lecturers to Penang to conduct a couple of courses, and the feedback I got was they really know their stuff. That's something we should rethink--how to engage with IIT," he said.

"The advantage is that we have all the brandname companies that Bangalore may not have access to. That was the IIT's main interest in [Crest] in the earlier days," Jaffri said. 

Mahesh Sharma of ZDNet Asia reported from Penang, Malaysia, on the invitation of Intel.