Research Frontiers and Way Forward

Abstract

Researchers and academics do research to address the current and future needs of the nation. They have to be alert and sensitive to demands of their surrounding that can be largely be classed into the community, industry and government to complete the quadruple helix that intertwines the three into the fourth segment i.e. the academia. The current buzzwords that ought to catch the attention of academia are Translational Research, Niche Area, Sustainable Development Growth (SDG), Internet of Things (IoT), 4th Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0), Big Data, Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) and Bottom 40% (B40). UiTM’s niche areas that have been declared to KPT are (a) Sustainable Technology and Economy, and (b) Social Engineering and Creative Media. These are very much in line with 17 Sustainable Development Goals declared by the United Nation in 2012 with the goal of integrating planetary stability with the target of fighting poverty and securing human wellbeing. Internet of Things that swarms the globe brings about the seamless integration of physical objects with information network through internet connectivity. This flourishing development hails the advent of 4th Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) that is inevitable where industrial automation and data exchange in the manufacturing technology rapidly includes cyber-physical system through IoT, cloud computing and cognitive computing. IR 4.0 should catapult productivity into hyper-drive to meet the needs of global consumers. The tremendous growth of cyber activities that encompass all aspects of life presents the inevitable progression into the dimension of Big Data. It is a new data ecosystem that is very large and complex, rendering the traditional data processing software inadequate and obsolete. A new breed of ICT experts are required to handle the enormousness of the task of capturing, storing, analyzing, searching, sharing, transferring, visualizing, updating and most importantly, information privacy. Closer to home, Malaysia is rapidly approaching the end of Wawasan 2020 and a new set of targets under Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) have been set to guide the nation’s journey into the year 2050. The goal is to be within the top 20 of world’s nation in economic development, social progress and innovation. There are seven thrusts in TN50 that encompass all aspects of a mature and well- endowed nation. The welfare of the bottom 40% of the people of Malaysia is given a special attention by a dedicated effort the B40 agenda in elevating their socio-economic status. UiTM has designed an approach to develop a lush research ecosystem based on a synergic and concerted move of bringing its workforce in the faculties on a transdisciplinary platform of Communities of Research (CoRe). The effect of CoRe is very much apparent in research spotlights of UiTM competency map that shows a definite healthy growth towards multi- and interdisciplinary research activities.