a day ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Zambry: Two northern polytechnics to review courses to meet semiconductor industry needs
GEORGE TOWN: The Higher Education Ministry has directed two northern-region polytechnics to review and restructure their academic programmes to align with the growing demands of the semiconductor industry.
The two polytechnics are located in Balik Pulau and Kulim.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir said the move was part of a broader national strategy to boost the talent pipeline, supporting Malaysia's fast-growing role in the global semiconductor sector.
"I have directed two polytechnics in the northern region, particularly in Balik Pulau and Kulim, to reevaluate and redesign their course offerings.
"This is crucial to ensure they meet the increasing demands in this rapidly evolving industry," he said after the launch of the 32nd IEEE International Symposium on the Physical and Faiure Analysis of Integrated Circuits here today.
In his speech earlier, Zambry had highlighted the need for Malaysia's technical education institutions to evolve alongside advancements in chip development and manufacturing.
He said changes must also take place at the polytechnics and community college levels, especially in areas already embedded in strong semiconductor ecosystems.
Malaysia has been positioning itself as a key player in the global chip supply chain, with institutions like Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) spearheading research and development.
The directive to polytechnics is aimed at ensuring the country's technical workforce is adequately prepared to support front-end semiconductor manufacturing and innovation.
Zambry said Malaysia is now known as the "Silicon Valley of the East" and is among the world's leading countries in semiconductor technology.
He said the sector was expected to continue growing in the future.
"Therefore, the government cannot rely solely, say on USM — we must look ahead and anticipate future challenges and demands.
"Creating a conducive ecosystem for all stakeholders is crucial, not just for USM, but also for other universities.
"For instance, Unimap (Universiti Malaysia Perlis) is also one of the leading institutions in this field.
"Let's not forget our MTUN universities (Malaysian technical university network). There are currently four, and recently, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced the addition of UniKL (Universiti Kuala Lumpur), making it five technical universities specialising in high-tech fields such as engineering, semiconductors, IT and artificial intelligence."
On today's event, Zambry praised USM for working together with various players in the semiconductor and computer chip industries.
He added that what was even more encouraging was USM's progress to an advanced level, including its efforts to develop its own chip.
"We hope that through this chip production process, they will eventually secure their own intellectual property, which in turn will boost Malaysia's image as a chip-producing nation.
"Previously, our role may have been focused on the back-end aspects of semiconductor manufacturing. But now, we aim for Malaysia to move into the front-end space, which includes the actual fabrication of chips."
In addition, Zambry said the country had established strategic partnerships and collaborations with major global players.
He added that these were some of the strategies being implemented to empower universities with expertise in this field.
