In its continuous effort to empower the society through education and research, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), through its innovation arm, TM Research & Development (TM R&D), has contributed pre-owned research and development (R&D) equipment, components, and materials to local universities worth RM3.5 million. The contribution aims to rehome high technology equipment to increase students’ interest in science and technology, towards producing high-skilled workforce for the job market.
Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Sharlene Thiagarajah, Chief Executive Officer, TM R&D said, “TM R&D believes that a strong R&D culture is important to elevate Malaysia as a Digital Nation. By exposing students to research equipment, we hope this shall complement the theoretical studies in the classroom. This encapsulates our strategic role as a catalyst in grooming an industry forward talent pool, which is a key component in driving the nation’s digital aspiration.”
The initiative began in November last year, where technology-related equipment and materials were distributed to four (4) local universities namely Multimedia University (MMU)’s Faculty of Engineering; Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)’s Faculty of Engineering; Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)’s Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science; and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)’s Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics (IMEN).
The most recent initiative was to rehome the Low Temperature Co-Fire Ceramic (LTCC) equipment stack valued at RM1.79 million, to UPM’s Faculty of Engineering. The technology is used in the assembly and multi-layer packaging of electronic components for the electronics industry. Notable items that were contributed to UPM include a KEKO Printing System, Ceramic Foil Stacker, Viscometer, and Isostatic Laminator Machine.
The Faculty of Engineering at MMU received specialised scientific equipment for innovative research including the ability to support manufacturing process of medical electronics devices, microelectronics devices, integrated circuits (ICs) and Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), worth RM 1.26 million while UKM’s Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics received a 3-D Contact Optical Profiler worth RM495,000.
“We are happy to support TM Group’s Corporate Responsibility (CR) focus to empower students through innovation and technology. With access to high technology equipment, we hope the students will be able to create solutions to benefit humanity. One of our aspirations at TM R&D is to drive a culture of producers, not consumers. We believe everything we create and produce are indirectly assets of the nation, so through efforts such as this, we aspire to empower the leaders of tomorrow with relevant skills in innovation and technology to make life and business easier for a better Malaysia,” Dr. Sharlene added.
In addition, TM R&D has also contributed cleanroom consumable items such as gloves, lab coats, masks and equipment to the Malaysian Nuclear Agency’s Technology Industry Division. To assist Malaysians to bounce back safer from the Covid-19 pandemic in the new normal period, TM R&D has also developed and deployed an Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) driven contactless temperature screening solution called Early Warning, Alert & Response or “EWAR” at various business premises, mosques, schools towards ensuring the safety of their visitors and workforce.
TM R&D is growing from strength to strength since 2016, winning seven (7) globally recognised awards over the last two (2) years and has raised its innovation adoption rate from 5% to 100% within 2 years. TM R&D has generated more than 2,800 IPRs and 1,400 digital assets to-date.
TM R&D’s innovations, all developed in-house cut across multiple verticals such as Telco, Retail, Logistics, Agriculture, Healthcare and Education with safety and productivity as the top priority. As the organisation continues to expand beyond connectivity and into new value-added digital and smarter platforms, its role in TM has become more prominent and exciting.