A need to bridge gap between industry and academia
PETALING JAYA: There is a lack of awareness and engagement with the industry when it comes to the works and research done by higher learning institutions in terms of market development.
Institute for Capital Market Research director Datin Azleen Osman Rani said the key challenges included getting the industry to utilise the information in research papers produced by universities to provide solutions that are really needed for capital markets.
“This is the conundrum I think we always find. There’s a lot of work carried out in universities but there is a lack of a platform for this kind of sharing of knowledge and engagement.
“What we’re missing is the link to academia, that’s where the knowledge resides. Capital markets, as a whole, has grown and evolved to such a manner that it’s highly complex and a lot of solutions can’t just be from a top-down approach from the policymakers or through industry players themselves.
“There is information everywhere, it’s just making sure it’s pulled together in a holistic manner, ” she said in a panel discussion titled “The New Financial Landscape: Matching Expectations from Industry and Academia” at the 21st Malaysian Finance Association Conference (MFAC) 2019 at Sunway University.
Azleen added that in developed markets, universities played an active role to work closely with industries and policymakers in providing basic and applied research and this is particularly important for Malaysia as it transitioned into a high-income nation.
Recognising the importance of financial literacy, Bursa Malaysia Bhd investor education vice-president A.A. Deepa said it is something the local bourse took seriously and its objective is to ensure investor education is spread across everybody and that those who came into the market are well aware of what they are getting into.
On the recently launched National Financial Literacy Strategy 2019-2023, she said it is timely for academias to be part of the task force to enable a smooth implementation of its strategic priorities.
Meanwhile, Deepa said Bursa is looking at rolling out an e-learning platform next year to cater for the younger crowd who would prefer learning in a digitalised manner and following that, a virtual trading platform for university students to put into practice what they learnt.
MFAC 2019 is sponsored by the Finance Accreditation Agency, the Chartered Financial Analyst Society Malaysia, Sunway TES, Certified Practicing Accountant Australia and the Malaysian Financial Planning Council.
The annual conference provides an open platform for scholars and practitioners in the field to meet and share their current research as well as to exchange ideas and information on new developments in the ares of finance and economics.
The conference was launched by Sunway University vice-chancellor Prof Graeme Wilkinson. Also present were Malaysian Finance Association president Prof Dr Catherine Soke-Fun Ho and Sunway Bhd chief financial officer Chong Chang Choong.
Source: TheStar