The Malaysian government upgraded its first ‘design-thinking’ school to a university college early this month, aiming to foster creative and innovative thinking and make the nation a hub for innovation in education. Governed under a public-private partnership between the Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM) Foundation and Ancom Berhad; Genovasi University College is also one of only four Hasso-Platner Institute Certified Design Thinking schools in the world.

Design thinking programmes offered by Genovasi will be dedicated to address the challenges of the Malaysian civil society and the impending fourth industrial revolution. It will also focus on the training of civil servants, school teachers and public university students. The government has set a target to train 1,000 students per year over the course of five years. Genovasi’s Design Thinking programmes had benefitted close to 4,000 civil servants since its launch in 2012, ranging from diplomatic officers to in-service personnel. The trainings resulted in improved work processes in several government departments.

Moving forward, Genovasi will collaborate with TalentCorp Malaysia in the nation’s human capital development, running programmes which will address the gaps in Malaysia’s Critical Occupation List. Modules in newly-developed programmes will include entrepreneurship and innovation in knowledge and skills; and will be made available through online platforms, making them accessible to more students.

Commentary by Jennifer Wan, British Council Malaysia

The lack of creative and innovative thinking is another key issue brought up by Malaysian employers when asked about the graduate unemployability in the country. Thus, developing critical and innovative thinkers is a strategic initiative in both the Malaysian Education and Higher Education Blueprints. The establishment of institutions like Genovasi is aimed to address the gaps in critical thinking skills not only among fresh graduates but also in the current workforce.

On the transnational education front, UK institutions with expertise in design thinking or courses with similar modules might gradually see emerging opportunities in these areas. The TNE market in Malaysia has moved beyond the traditional models with more sophisticated collaborative partnerships being established, the most recent being a partnership between a UK university and a corporate training provider to deliver executive-level training programmes.

For more information on the market and how British Council can help promote your institution in Malaysia, please contact Jennifer Wan.