CONFERENCE AGENDA

SYNOPSIS

Since the establishment of the first science park in 1951 by Stanford University, the concept of the science park has undergone several reinventions and redefinitions. Governments across the world have adopted this concept as a popular policy instrument to stimulate economic development through wealth creation from technological innovations as well as the creation of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The question is how to plan, manage and operate science parks that can successfully achieve the desired end goal of stimulating economic development.

This plenary session will deliberate on best practices in the development and operation of science parks including aspects of governance, business strategies, financing and sustainability. Science parks should serve as a catalyst for partnerships. This plenary session will highlight best practices in the design of spaces that create encounters as well as value-added services that promote linkages among resident firms leading to the generation of new technologies and better business results.

SYNOPSIS

Future technologies (also known as emerging technologies) are technologies that are to be developed in meeting future needs for example airports for drones and flying taxis, human-powered wearables, energy storing bricks, and etc. The urge of having these future technologies is driven by the Fourth Industrial Revolution towards new economic landscape. In addition, the pandemic has accelerated the urgency and prove the importance of having these technologies ready as soon as possible to address the demand in the new business norm.

The whole processes require high investment in terms of money, time, resources, competencies and materials in each phase starting from research up to their development. Hence, the “Coopetition” is the ideal way to progress faster, efficiently and effectively. “Coopetition” is a cooperative competition of business competitors in creating value-adding products and services. This “Coopetition” will cause the competitors to keep improving their operation, production and services to maintain their competitiveness and relevance in industry. The improvement can be from many angles such as business model, machines, equipment, infrastructure, worker competencies, and etc. When these competitors are operating at the same level of maturity and language, it is easier to collaborate with each other in supplying to the demand.

SYNOPSIS

Automation, robotics, AI, are having an impact on jobs. They are replacing human tasks, changing the skills that organisations are looking for in their people. But what will the future look like? Or more specifically what will the future workforce will be like? What is it and why does it matter? Leading businesses are reimagining the nature of work, pivoting their workforce to create new forms of value and scaling up “new skilling.” Further, since the pace of change is accelerating, competition for the right talent will be fierce. And ‘talent’ no longer means the same a decade ago. Many of the roles, skills and job titles of tomorrow are unknown to us yesterday and even today. So how can organisations prepare for a future that few of us can define? How will your talent need change? How can you attract, keep and motivate the people you need? And what does all this mean for HR of tomorrow?

SYNOPSIS

While we’ve had our fair share of innovative breakthroughs in the past that have changed the world, the more amazing, incredible and world rattling innovations of the future will change the world even greater in many ways. The tech innovation of the future will also be seen and felt in all segments of our lives. According to experts some tech innovations that will have the potential to shape our future are:

• Personal robot assistants – it was the cartoon Jetsons we’ve dreamt for these robotic household servants of the future.
• Heart-Monitoring Clothes – the next generation of heart health might lie in heart-monitoring T-shirts. These devices accurately measure heartbeats and then load the data into a Cloud server.
• 3D Printing – Though. 3D printers have been around for some time now, but the applications in the future almost seem limitless.
• The AI Revolution – it’s hard to envision an area where AI won’t be put to use though already being used in many fields. A study by Stanford University predicts that AI will completely change how people work, where people live, how people drive and even how entire communities will be organized.
• The Evolution of Smartphones – though smartphones already control much of our lives, many believe holographic displays and communications will become a common feature on most smartphones

SYNOPSIS

The National Technology and Innovation Sandbox was launched in July 2020 as a means for Malaysian researchers, innovators, start-ups and high-tech entrepreneurs to test their products, services, business models and delivery mechanisms in a live environment.

Over the past year the Sandbox has supported and funded more than 70 companies in a diverse range of technologies in key industries such as fintech, healthcare and agriculture. The implementation of the programme has also brought to light some important findings regarding the support and facilitation needed by the start-ups to transition from lab prototypes to successful commercial products. The experiences of the team managing the programme, key lessons learnt as well as case studies of successful and not so successful projects will be shared in this session to serve as a framework and reference for similar programmes in the future.

SYNOPSIS

Science Parks as Enablers of Coopetition Among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Advanced Technology Development

Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of economies as they are considered key drivers of employment, innovation and economic growth. It is therefore imperative for SMEs to adopt and develop advanced technologies to sustain their competitiveness in an environment of rapid technological changes and high economic uncertainties. However, in order to thrive in such environment, SMEs need to adopt strategies that would overcome resource and capability constraints to pursue technological development that entails high investments and risks. Coopetition is an important strategy for SMEs in knowledge- and innovation-intensive, dynamic and complex industries that are typically characterised by short product life-cycles, a need for high research and development (R&D) investments and convergence of various technologies. Coopetition is a business strategy that emphasises both cooperation and competition relations between two or more organizations that combines complementary resources and strengths to create synergies. A key prerequisite of coopetition is mutual trust, especially crucial when it involves competitors. Trust is built through continued successful interactions among the coopetitors. Science parks can serve as trust builders supporting the implementation of SMEs coopetition strategies. This plenary session will highlight the features and functionalities of science parks that enable SMEs to enter into coopetition relationships to develop advanced technologies.