USM, PENANG, 7 December 2016 - One way of describing sustainability is that, it is about developing innovation to create wealth using two pathways, which are entrepreneurial innovation or social innovation.

This was said by the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Vice-Chancellor, Professor Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail during her keynote speech at the International Conference on Sustainable Development Goals (ICSDG2016) here in USM.

According to Asma, Sustainable Change demands a balance between generating profit with maintaining sustainability itself, and in order to create new thinking in R&D, we need to move from knowledge transfer to knowledge exchange that would really put focus on the community, and which can be measured through the knowledge outcomes and assimilation.

"We can generate knowledge through the Quadruple Helix formula, to connect the perspectives of the industry, government, academia and community and being part of the blue ocean strategy, which can lead to high achievements in KPI and KIP.

"Research, Development and Commercialisation through sustainability can be adopted by us as an approach to the community and in obtaining the data, thus creating the value chain pathways and resulting in a 'hi-tech to hi-touch' manner that would be impactful," said Asma, who is also the Chairman of South East Asia Sustainability Network (SEASN).

Asma added, the Sustainable Development Goals would help to reduce inequality; making things available for the first time; making things affordable; making things accessible and making it appropriate to the culture of the people who need it most.

Others who attended the session were the Deputy Director-General of Higher Education (Private), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, Datuk Prof. Dr. Roziah binti Omar representing the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, MoHE, Datuk Dr. Mary Yap Kain Ching and Director of USM Centre for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS), who is also the Secretary-General of SEASN, Professor Dr. Kamarulazizi Ibrahim.

Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah / Photo: Mohd Fairus Md. Isa