A higher education roadmap is being developed to pave the way for greater collaboration between Malaysia and Indonesia.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on joint research was also being planned, said Indonesia’s Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Mohamad Nasir.

“We need a roadmap and a big MoU on what we want to do, and a schedule for it,” he told a press conference after meeting with Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh on Monday.

Nasir said the fields being explored were food and agriculture, health and medicine, information and communications technology, as well as transportation.

“Nanotechnology, defence and security, renewable energy and maritime are possible sectors for collaboration, too,” he said.

He said close collaboration between universities, researchers and graduates in the two countries was important.

“We need to do joint research to develop innovations. It’s not enough just to publish papers.

“Innovation must go hand in hand with invention and commercialization,” he said.

To boost bilateral ties, Idris said Malaysia would offer scholarships to Indonesian students next year.

He said 20 Malaysia International Scholarships (MIS) would be given to Indonesians for tertiary education.

“The students can choose what they want to study and where they want to go,” Idris said.

The MIS is an initiative by the Malaysian Government to attract the best brains from around the world to pursue advanced academic studies in this country.

It hopes to attract, motivate and retain talented human capital from abroad.

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