BAYAN LEPAS, PULAU PINANG, June 9 (Bernama) -– The Collaborative Research in
Engineering, Science and Technology (CREST) Center, set up by the Government to
accelerate economic growth of the Electrical and Electronics Industry (E&E) in
Malaysia, was launched in Penang on Saturday, 9 June, 2012.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop,
officially launched the CREST Center, which is a component of the Economic
Transformation Programme of the Government.
Chief Executive Officer of Malaysian Investment Development Authority, Datuk
Noharuddin Nordin, YBhg. Dato’ Redza Rafiq, Chief Executive Officer of Northern
Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) and Vice Chancellor of Universiti Sains
Malaysia (USM) YBhg. Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman, Executive Director of
Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Yang Berusaha Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi, Chief Executive
Officer of TalentCorp, En Johan Mahmood Merican and Chief Executive of CREST, En
Jaffri Ibrahim were among guests who witnessed the historic event.
The concept of the CREST Center was mooted in 2008 was established by Khazanah
Nasional Bhd as the centre of Engineering Excellence during an industry dialogue
with Tan Sri Mohamed Yakcop. It was subsequently established as a company
limited by guarantee on 30th June 2011, through the efforts of the NCIA.
CREST is a platform for Industry players, Academia and the Government to
collaborate and promote research, design and development activities in the E&E
sector in Malaysia.
CREST will focus on areas to accelerate economic growth of the Electrical and
Electronics Industry in Malaysia and be a specialist in the categories of
Research and Development, Talent Development and Commercialization.
The E&E Industry, which currently contributes RM37 billion in Gross National
Income (GNI) and provides 522,000 jobs, is expected to contribute RM90 billion
in GNI and 679,000 jobs by 2020.
Currently located at sains@usm building in Bukit Jambul, Penang, the CREST
office is within 20km radius of at least 3,000 researchers.
The Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) and Nine (9) companies,
including global players such as Avago Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd, Altera
Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd, Advanced Micro Devices Export Sdn Bhd, Agilent
Technologies, Microwave Products (M) Sdn Bhd, NI Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Motorola
Solutions Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Intel Microelectronics (M) Sdn Bhd, Silterra
Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Osram Opto Semiconductors (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd have signed up
to become Founder Members of CREST.
These companies account for RM25 billion in total revenue and RM1.4 billion in
R&D expenditure, employing 500,000 workers.
As part of its goal to spearhead development of talents for R&D and nurture R&D
institutions, CREST has so far approved RM3.2 million grant for R&D projects.
CREST R&D grant is aimed to accelerate R&D growth in the E&E sector in Malaysia.
The grant promotes collaborative joint research between industry and academia in
areas of cutting edge particularly in niche areas that have been identified.
The research aims to enhance excellence in the generation of theories, new ideas
and innovative creation in the forefront of strategic niche areas for the
development of the boundaries of knowledge.
The launching ceremony also featured certificate presentations to the CREST
Founder Membership, certificates of appreciation to CREST Taskforce members, a
R&D Grant Presentation Ceremony and the graduation ceremony of the inaugural
class of the FasTrack upskilling programme.
FasTrack is a public-private talent development intiative intended to accelerate
the development of the R&D talent pool for the E&E sector. It was managed in its
first phase by PSDC with oversight and funding provided by TalentCorp.
Targeted at high-achieving Malaysian engineering graduates, FasTrack is a
12-month apprenticeship programme which increases industry preparedness of
graduates by providing greater exposure via formal classroom training and
real-life projects with participating host companies. Commencing in June last
year, the first phase of FasTrack brought a total of 98 apprentices together
with 5 host companies namely Motorola, Intel, Agilent, Altera and Silterra.
The launching ceremony also saw the announcement of Phase 2 of FasTrack, which
will launch in June 2012 with oversight provided by the Crest Center together
with funding by TalentCorp. The programme’s second phase will see the
involvement of 6 host companies – Motorola, Agilent, Altera, SilTerra, Clarion
and Infineon – along with a targeted participation rate of 120 apprentices.
“For Malaysia to emerge as a developed nation and a global talent destination by
2020, public-private-sector collaboration is critical to ensure a synergistic
and impactful approach to optimizing our talent pipeline,” said Johan Mahmood
Merican, CEO of TalentCorp.
“FasTrack is a great example of the public and private sectors coming together
to develop collaborative solutions to sustainably address Malaysia’s talent
needs arising from our national economic transformation agenda,” he added.
NOTES TO THE AUTHOR
About CREST
The concept of the collaborative Research in Engineering, Science and Technology
(CREST) Center was mooted in 2008. It has been established as a company limited
by guarantee on 30th June 2011. CREST is a platform for the industry players,
academia and government to collaborate and promote research, design and
development activities in the Electrical & Electronics sector in Malaysia. CREST
focuses on the Research and Development, Talent Development and
Commercialization to accelerate economic growth of the Electrical and
Electronics Industry in Malaysia. CREST office is currently located at sains@usm
building in Bukit Jambul, Penang. The site is within 20km radius of at least
3000 researchers.
SOURCE: Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA)
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
NAME : Mr. Mohd Faisal b. Mohamad
Corporate Communications and Media Relations,
Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA)
Tel : 03-83201301
Fax : 03-83201306
Mobile: 019-3821992
Email : faisal@ncer.com.my
--BERNAMA