Sunway 'accelerator' to give Malaysia the good oil
An initiative underway at the Monash University Sunway campus has the potential to revolutionise the way Malaysia takes advantage of its natural abundance of medicinal and aromatic plants.
The MyMAP Accelerator, launched by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak, is a tripartite collaboration between Monash University Sunway Campus (where the specialist development centre is located), the Special Innovation Unit (UNIK) under the Prime Minister’s Department, and the Indian Government’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The collaboration will enable the conservation of plants through sustainable farming and enable the transfer of essential oils technology. In the short-term, the MyMAP Accelerator will examine some of the plant-based products developed by CSIR and their suitability for commercialisation.
UNIK Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Dr Kamal Jit Singh said the initiative had numerous potential benefits.
“The MyMAP Accelerator is an ‘Innovation Accelerator’ developed by UNIK to promote collaboration between government, industry and academia to drive innovation for long-term sustainability and to identify commercialisation opportunities.”
Through the MyMAP Accelerator, project teams consisting of postgraduate students with skills in engineering, the sciences and other relevant technical know-how, will be guided by supervisors with industry or venture experience.
To kick start the project, Monash University Sunway campus has allocated RM1 million ($AUD 308,000).
“Education is moving rapidly which is why we teach our students to embrace the latest technology, and to be flexible in the years ahead through encouraged disciplined courses,” Monash University Vice - Chancellor Professor Ed Byrne said.
The partnership will result in new opportunities to produce revenue for the country. Despite Malaysia’s rich ethnobotanical resources – it is estimated that Malaysian rainforests have over 1200 types of vegetation including herbal and medicinal plants that have commercial value – more than 50 per cent of raw materials used in traditional medicine industries are being imported from neighbouring countries.