As part of the British Council Higher Education Partnerships Programme for the year 2018/2019, the British Council in Malaysia is seeking expressions of interest from UK universities to participate in a partnership programme around technology transfer and research commercialisation. 

The aim of the programme is to develop a small number of partnerships between universities in the UK and Malaysia, to share good practice and expertise in technology transfer.  Partnerships may develop and undertake a range of activities in support of the overall aim, including:

• shared experience of technology transfer, models and approaches;
• people exchanges and mobility (staff, technology transfer officers, and potentially students);
• the development of links with industry partners of mutual interest and potential;
• mechanisms to support better international uptake of emergent technologies from the UK and Malaysia;
• sector or thematic approaches that support technology transfer collaborations, based on strengths and assets within the UK and Malaysia.

As the starting point of the process, a Partnership Planning Workshop involving UK and Malaysian universities is scheduled for 14^th – 15^th February 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Applications

Interested UK Universities are invited to submit their Expression of Interest (EOI) by completing the attached EOI Form. See EOI Form attached below. The Expressions of Interest should outline the following;

• Details of the organisation and department proposing to engage in the partnership programme. 
• A supporting statement indicating the rationale and any background for the expression of interest, their activities relating to technology transfer and the proposed participants.  This should also indicate the extent to which interest is built on existing partnerships or experience with Malaysia-based organisations.
• A summary of the objectives and activities desired from the partnership

Evaluation:

The criteria for considering the EOI include:

• Evidence of the senior support for engagement in the partnership (UK and ideally Malaysia University);
• the extent to which the objectives in the expression of interest meets the objectives of the HEP programme;
• the promise of an innovative and impactful partnership activities with clear indication of values brought to participating HEIs and beyond, including a clear and thorough application of monitoring & evaluation tools;
• the theory of change that the partnership activities will bring to support a more sustainable technology transfer among Malaysian HEIs;
• the potential of sustainability of the technology transfer beyond the partnerships period; and
• the scale of resources that can be committed to the partnership development and ongoing activity.

Background to the call and programme

The landscape of higher education in East Asia is rapidly changing.  The UK-EA Higher Education Partnership Programme (HEP) is aims to create university level collaboration between UK and EA countries to strengthen the UK’s position as a significant partner in the ambitious education reform in East Asia countries, driving the move towards a knowledge economy.  The overall Programme aims to provide UK greater access to the higher education market in East Asia, position the UK as preferred education and research partner and strengthen its reputation as world leader in higher education.

The Programme will create a framework for the development of UK-EA higher education partnerships, based on themes such as collaborative teaching programmes, transnational education; research and innovation, student and academic mobility and collaborative commercial consultancy.

The British Council in Malaysia is focusing on the sustainability of Technology Transfer and Research Management in Higher Education Institutions through strategic UK-Malaysia University Partnerships.  This project will facilitate partnerships between UK and Malaysian HEIs as well as their industry partners, for the sustainability of Technology Transfer and R&D management. 

This Expression of Interest call relates to the technology transfer element of this work.

Any questions?

All clarification questions and applications should be sent to:

• Prabha Sundram, Senior Programme Manager (Education) at Prabha.Sundram@britishcouncil.org.my, and/or
• Asyraf Saedon, Programme Manager (Education) at Asyraf.Saedon@britishcouncil.org.my