GEORGE TOWN, April 29 — The joint forces of the brains in the universities and the capacity and capabilities of key industries will make a change for a better world through the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0), said Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) vice-chancellor Prof Dr Asma Ismail.

One of the challenges faced in the IR 4.0 era, Asma said, was putting high-tech to high-touch, with innovative technological products applied in the industries and society, especially in the marginalised and under-served communities.

She also highlighted the need to ensure the innovative knowledge and technologies resulting from IR 4.0 which could be the catalyst to achieving sustainable development goals, such as improving quality of life, reduce inequality and raise income levels.

“We (USM) always encourage translational research and put emphasis on creating an impact to society by creating sustainable research products that are eco-friendly, affordable and accessible to the poor and needy,” she said in her opening speech for the inaugural International Conference on Semiconductor Materials and Technology 2019 (ICoSeMT 2019)

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Deputy Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis officiated the conference.

Asma also said that universities and key industries players should work together under the Quadruple Helix Model, which incorporated the involvement of the government, industry, academia and community to embrace Industry 4.0 towards sustainable development.

Meanwhile, Isnaraissah Munirah said the main obstacle for the education sector and research agencies in the exposure of the IR 4.0 roadmap was being highly dependent on the capabilities of the workforce to innovate and apply advanced knowledge and technologies, encompassing autonomous systems fuelled by big data and machine learning technologies.

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“The advancement in electrical and electronic sectors will help the key industry players in the transformation and momentum of IR 4.0 in building the physically interconnected computer systems for that purpose,” she said.

The ICoSeMT 2019 was organised in conjunction with USM’s 50th anniversary, with the objective of bringing together academicians, researchers, scientists, industry practitioners and students to share their latest ideas, knowledge and finding in the field of semiconductor materials and technology.

With the theme “Innovation Towards A Sustainable Tomorrow”, the event has attracted 200 participants from various companies, research and academic institutions from 12 countries, including United States, Japan, France, Australia, Singapore, Korea, Pakistan and Iraq. — Bernama