PUTRAJAYA: A plan to promote the development of innovative human capital launched today aims to boost innovation in the country besides creating a more knowledgeable workforce.
The plan comprises 45 strategies, 112 action plans and 108 key performance indices (KPIs).
One of its main targets is to produce some 60,000 PhD holders by 2023.
“There’s an urgent need to develop innovative human capital in the country in hopes that they can come up with innovative products,” said Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin when launching the plan here yesterday.
He said the plan would focus on efforts to nurture ‘innovation literate’ graduates who were skilled in research methods and problem-solving, and had the potential to become entrepreneurs.
To further promote an innovation-based economy, Mohamed Khaled said the plan suggested that the government as well as government-linked companies craft a policy that encourage the purchase of products based on local research and innovation programmes.
The minister said the ministry would make available a RM1 million fund to promote innovation and commercialisation activities.
The MyBrain 15 programme outlined in the plan aims to produce, among others, 5,000 PhD holders under the MyPhD project, 40,000 Master’s degree holders under MyMaster and 500 PhD Industry holders, by 2015.
Mohamed Khaled said that 2,122 applications for the three schemes had been approved so far. — Bernama