Conventionally, universities were considered as ivory towers whose members (faculty and students) were less concerned with daily life in the actual world. That has limited the potential impact of the knowledge and talents nurtured from the universities. The universities of today can no longer confine themselves solely to the creation of new knowledge without considering the stakeholders. In fact, Universities must engage more intimately and meaningfully with both industries and communities to remain relevant and extend positive impact to both groups.

The formation of the Industry/Community Advisory Panels (ICAPs) within respective Academic Schools and Centres in USM is in direct compliance with the university’s overall efforts, towards building a closer working relationship with industries, companies and the community. The presence of ICAPs is timely and useful in enhancing institutional and national competitiveness. ICAPs comprise of selected academic staff, senior and technical executives from the private sector and well-respected leaders from the community. The ICAPs functions as a platform and serves as a forum and shall cover the following topics (but not limited to): curriculum, training programmes, solutions for coordinating industry/community expectations and relevance, best practices for industry engagement, and practical approaches to address current issues and other matters of concern to all parties involved.