PUTRAJAYA, July 2015 - Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) will help to boost the momentum of economic growth and development in the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) by collaborating with the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) to establish a Community Innovation Centre (CIC).

NCIA Chief Executive Datuk Redza Rafiq said the establishment of this centre is in line with the mandate to transform the Northern Corridor socioeconomic as an ideal platform for collaboration in the areas of exchange of ideas, sharing of expertise, learning and exchange of expertise between stakeholders, and also the transfer of knowledge (KTP) which is among the nation's agenda that is currently being emphasised.

"I am very grateful to USM for coming up with the idea of setting up the CIC programme and hope that with the establishment of the centre, the Northern Corridor economic growth can be further enhanced," said Redza Rafiq, who is also a member of the USM Board of Governors.

He added the objective of the CIC is to inculcate a culture of social innovation especially among the university’s academic staff and empower them in driving this effort besides creating a solid foundation that nurtures entrepreneurship and innovation.

USM Vice-Chancellor Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman said through the CIC programme, USM will be allocated RM2 million to implement eight projects within two years for the first phase in the four northern corridor states, namely Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak.

“Through this initiative, USM can help in the economic growth and development of the bumiputera owned Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the four states; furthermore it will also provide USM with the foundation to continue to reach out to the community and act as a facilitator and an expert consultant to help promote this sector," he said.

Omar added that CIC will also assist the local entrepreneurs and traders to build their businesses, which in turn will have an enormous impact on the community.

Earlier at the launching ceremony of the Bumiputera SMEs Entrepreneurship Development Programme for Northern Corridor held at the Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya, NCIA received an allocation of RM15 million from the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju) for its key small and medium enterprise (SME) initiatives.

The fund would be utilised for three people-centric SME development programmes -- the CIC, MCash, and a collaboration programme with Unit Pembangunan Usahawan Negeri Kedah (UPUK) -- with an allocation of RM2 million, RM5 million and RM8 million respectively.

Redza Rafiq received the cheque from the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, witnessed by Teraju Chief Executive Officer Datuk Husni Salleh.

Also present from USM were the Centre for Innovation and Productivity in Public Administration (PiPPA) Director Dr. Musa Ali, National Poison Centre Director Professor Dr. Razak Lajis and USM Community Network Director Syed Yusof Syed Kechik.

Translation: Tan Ewe Hoe/Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah/Photo: Muhammad Firdaus Khiruddin