BATU KAWAN, PENANG, 7 January 2022 – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is proud to be the first local university partner to receive funding from Micron Technology, Inc. with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two parties in Batu Kawan Industrial Park, Bandar Cassia here, this morning.

The move aims to spur growth in research and development (R&D) collaborations. Funding will go towards grants supporting research in the areas of semiconductor materials, smart manufacturing and artificial intelligence which are key to the advancement of tech manufacturing in the country.

At the hybrid signing ceremony, USM was represented by its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato' Dr. Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation, Professor Dato' Ir. Dr. Abdul Rahman Mohamed while Micron was represented by its Corporate Vice-President and Country Manager, Amarjit Singh Sandhu.

Witnessing the MoU signing ceremony were guests of honours, YAB Chow Kon Yeow, Penang Chief Minister; and Dato’ Arham Abdul Rahman, CEO of Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA). Also in attendance were Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon, special investment advisor to chief minister of Penang, and Dato' Loo Lee Lian, CEO of InvestPenang.

“I wish to thank Micron for giving USM the opportunity to be the first university partner to receive funding and hope that it will spur research and strengthen the collaborations between both organisations,” said Faisal Rafiq.

“USM is highly appreciative and grateful for Micron's willingness to open more than 300 job vacancies specifically for USM talents, especially to final-year students across programmes of study and alumni as well. It is hoped that his move will further increase the graduate employability (GE) rate of USM,” he said.

He added that the strategic partnership between USM and Micron is in line with the focus area of the National Fourth Industrial Revolution’s policy, and supported by national policies such as the 12th Malaysia Plan and Wawasan Kemakmuran Bersama 2030.

Earlier Micron Technology, Inc. announced an investment of RM1 million to strengthen collaboration, research and development (R&D) projects with local universities over the next five years.

According to Amarjit, Malaysia is critical to our global manufacturing footprint, and we hope the funding and knowledge transfer to local universities will strengthen the local semiconductor ecosystem, advance R&D and deepen science, technology and engineering skills in the local talent pool.

“We aim to use our presence and influence to contribute to Malaysia’s economy, including generating quality jobs and increasing the country’s productivity, efficiency, and global competitiveness, as what we have been doing all this while with USM since we began operations here three years ago,” he said.

For year 2022, Micron is focusing on further strengthening its university relations and engagement endeavors, namely NCG, Internship, STEM, R&D Collaboration and the latest, Curriculum Enhancement.

In lauding the investment by Micron, Kon Yeow said, “I am immensely proud of Penang’s achievements in the electronic and electrical industry, and the RM1 million grant funding to local universities by Micron today further reinforces Micron’s commitment to using its leadership, influence and resources to create positive change, on top of its relentless efforts in employee wellbeing, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility.”

“We are encouraged by Micron’s efforts and contribution to build a resilient semiconductor ecosystem that supports Malaysia’s competitiveness as the destination of choice for future investments,” said Arham, while adding that the partnership between Micron and USM is set to create new growth opportunities and we welcome more of such collaborations to transpire between other various institutors and companies.

Among the USM delegates present at the ceremony were representatives from the Industry and Community Network Division, School of Computer Sciences and School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, together with the senior management members from Micron.

Micron is an industry leader involved in the manufacturing of solid-state non-volatile storage devices, integrated circuit memory, memory modules and test engineering services, and other related activities.

Text: Tan Ewe Hoe/Photo: Courtesy of Micron Technology, Inc.