UWN: Malaysia: Research quality still lagging despite huge expansion

“Malaysia invests much more in tertiary education than its peers in the region,” the report said. “The government has increased public expenditure for higher education consistently over the years.”

Research and innovation capabilities in universities show signs of improving, but mostly in terms of quantity of publications rather than quality and impact. “Responsiveness to industry needs remains an area of concern, as is ensuring quality education in private universities,” the OECD added.

It said: “The quality and relevance of research needs to be strengthened as research impact tends to be low. Much of the intellectual property generated remains on laboratory shelves, and is un-commercialised.”

The OECD also cautioned against a slackening in the country’s emphasis on research. ”Building a well-performing innovation system requires persistent commitment,” the OECD said, sounding a warning on recent government policies to push universities to increase their share of non-government external funding for research.


http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161117143428863

http://www.oecd.org/countries/malaysia/oecd-reviews-of-innovation-policy-malaysia-9789264255340-en.htm

UWN: Malaysia: Structural reform of higher education is needed

With the drastic reduction in operating expenditure, we are worried that the pressure to generate their own income will distract these universities from fulfilling their core mission of teaching, research and service, as well as competing for better positions in global university rankings. - Mohshidi & Wan


http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20161108133430830

VITAE: Negotiating authorship

"Authorship disputes are not uncommon. Even when there are no actual disputes over who did what on a project, there may be lots of authorship resentments. That’s because a lot of folks — by no mere coincidence, junior scientists more often — end up not getting as much credit as they think they deserve when a paper comes out." - Terry McGlynn

https://chroniclevitae.com/news/1604-negotiating-authorship?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=28999ac7da984679a0a20086efb7bb35&elq=9735c678066b4f419132a34667cc4dd8&elqaid=11440&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=4467

SAR: Freedom to Think 2016

https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/2016/10/free-think-2016-states-must-respond-crisis-level-attacks-universities-scholars-students/

Scholars at Risk (SAR) has released Free to Think 2016, a report analyzing more than 150 reported attacks on higher education communities in 35 countries, from May 1, 2015 to September 1, 2016. This is the second installment in a series of reports produced by SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.