KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 (Bernama) -- Outstanding Centres of Excellence at the research universities in the country are in the process of being converted into National Centres of Excellence, said Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
Khaled said these National Centres of Excellence had also been earmarked for international collaborative potential, where beneficial partnerships could be forged in which local researchers and scientists could work with their counterparts from the leading research universities all over the world.
Four public universities upgraded to research university status are Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Sains Malaysia.
"It must be recognised that research, as a purely intellectual exercise, is extremely important because many of the most fundamental discoveries today in the pure and applied sciences are the result of decades-long efforts by dedicated researchers," he said in his speech at the opening of the International Exposition on Research and Inventions of Institutions of Higher Learning 2009 (PECIPTA 2009), here, Thursday.
PECIPTA 2009 was opened by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Khaled said the government recognised the importance of providing the appropriate institutional and financial support for research by universities.
He said that in the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the budget allocated for research was RM1.8 billion, of which only RM250 million was allocated to the ministry under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme.
"This is only about 14 per cent of the total allocated to higher educational institutions and that too, on a competitive basis," he said.
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