MMU & NTIS collaborate on high tech education sandbox

• Collaboration will boost use of local technology in the education sector
• Aims to transform the country from being technology users to technology developers

Multimedia University (MMU) recently sealed an agreement with Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC), the lead secretariat of the National Technology & Innovation Sandbox (NTIS) to pave the way for the High-Tech Education Sandbox.

The Collaboration Agreement (CA) was inked at the launch of the Research Innovation Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship Showcase (RICES) 2021 recently. 

In a statement, MMU said the collaboration with NTIS is to develop the first High Tech Education Sandbox which aims to boost the usage of local technology in the education sector. Through the agreement, local solution providers will be given the opportunity to test and validate their solutions via the sandbox platform.

The CA is in line with the National Policy on Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTIN) 2021-2030 that aims to intensify local technology development and application efforts to transform the country from being technology users to technology developers, it said.

Prof Dr Mazliham Mohd Su’ud, president of MMU said that the move is parallel with the university’s goal of helping transform society through innovation and fits the current national and global situations very well.

“The collaboration will strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship among students where they can maximize technology’s potential to transform the way of teaching and learning in the country. This will enhance students’ interest in learning, improve collaboration among students and teachers, increase teachers’ productivity and prepare students for the digital future."

Meanwhile Dzuleira Abu Bakar (pic, left), group chief executive officer, Technology Park Malaysia said NTIS provides a platform to allow the use of advanced technologies in key sectors such as education that can bring about meaningful social and economic impact, especially given the repercussions of the pandemic. 

“At the same time, we provide an opportunity for local innovations’ commercialisation to be fast-tracked through funding, regulatory facilitation and a live environment where these innovations can be stress tested before going to the market."

Through the NTIS, four National Sandbox test sites have been established across the country namely the Agriculture Sandbox in FELDA Mempaga, Pahang; Robotics and Automation Sandbox in Iskandar Drone and Robotics Zone; Sandbox Logistics for urban delivery drones in Cyberjaya and Area 57 is the first one-stop centre for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV and UAS) innovation at Technology Park Malaysia, Bukit Jalil.

“With the launch of the High Tech Education Sandbox in collaboration with MMU, we invite innovators to make use of the university’s ready facilities as test beds to accelerate the commercialisation of their innovative ideas. For this sandbox, we will be focusing on the solutions that can contribute to improving the effectiveness of teaching and learning pedagogies in hybrid-mode as well as preparing a highly competent and productive workforce with strong leadership and critical thinking hands-on technological skills,” Dzuleira said.

Sandbox High Tech Education project is a fast-tracking innovation programme that champions local innovation and creates a smoother pathway for Malaysian technology to get to market. The project aims to create a testbed for disruptive technologies related to educational activities that would enable Malaysia to solve some of the challenges that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Applications can be submitted here and partnership requests can be made here.