Fulbright-MCMC grants for communications and multimedia

THE Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), in collaboration with the Malaysian-American Commission on Education Exchange (MACEE), have established the “Fulbright-MCMC Education Grant” which is open to the industry folk, academia and government servants.
Spearheaded by MCMC, the agency responsible for the development of the communications and multimedia sector, it is aimed at realising two of the national objectives for the industry which is focused on fostering human capital. This is facilitated by the objective of the grant to promote and enhance knowledge, research and development in the sector. According to MCMC head of capital management and competency development, Khaneeza Khalid (pix), MACEE was the ideal partner in achieving the objective based on its credentials and contributions. As the administrator of the prestigious Fulbright programme in Malaysia for more than 50 years now, MACEE also presented an avenue for MCMC’s intention, to place its students and scholars among the top world-ranking innovators and specialists in the industry. “Besides the fact that all the telco companies listed in Fortune 500 are headquartered in the US, it is also home to 71 or the top 200 universities in the world in producing technology and engineering graduates,” Khaneeza added. In addition, MACEE also has great influence and knowledge of the US higher education system.
THE “FULBRIGHT” NAME
The Fulbright programme is an educational programme, which facilitates the “exchange” of Malaysian students and scholars to the US and vice versa, every year. Since 1963, the Fulbright programme has been offered in Malaysia. To date, about 1,200 Malaysians have participated in it. MACEE director Dr James Coffman shares, “The real goal behind the Fulbright programme, which is offered in 175 countries worldwide, is to improve relations between people in the US and the people from these countries, at the level of science, study, research and so on. So the idea is twofold, helping Malaysians and Americans understand each other and also to develop competency of the Malaysian and American participants.”
Unlike any US education programme, the advantages of the Fulbright programme include admission into top universities in the US, the chance to be offered real-world working experience in the US for a maximum 1.5 years (for Masters and PhD students), lifetime access to the Fulbright database of journals and reports and more.
“The Fulbright name also opens up a lot of doors. I’ve had many students tell me how great it was to be given access to conferences or events for free. They’ve met the US President, even gained access into circles that might have been difficult to enter,” adds Coffman.
FULBRIGHT-MCMC GRANTS
Designed to be industry-driven, the grants are specifically tailored for professionals from private or public sectors and academicians in the industry. Besides the Malaysian graduate study grant which is aimed at individual applicants, eligibility for the Malaysian senior researcher and US senior specialist and researcher grants require applicants to be part of an institution or company.
There are four types of grants:
* Malaysian graduate study
Aimed at individuals/applicants for Master’s degree or PhD.
* Malaysian senior researcher
For individual academicians or professionals from the private or public sector who are interested in research study of a specific topic.
* US senior researcher
Invitation to US researchers in relevant subject matters, to assist in areas such as curricular development and emerging technology.
* US senior specialist
Grants US citizens to come to Malaysia to assist host institutions in research, training, evaluation or consulting.
“We designed the grants to complement the industry needs. It was important that we seek out the requirements of the industry so we can help fulfill the current demand as well look into requisites to develop the industry for the future,” shared Khaneeza. The same methodology was applied to determine the three primary categories of research studies. By approaching their licensees such as the telcos, the agency posed these questions: What help do you need, What human skills and capabilities you require and so on.
“According to a World Bank study, it was revealed that agencies in the future need to operate in collaboration with industries. So it’s about the industry letting the agency know its wants and needs in order that we may help fulfill their requirements in the name of development. This is the approach we took in establishing this grant.”
The categories of research studies that resulted from this collaboration include (but are not
limited to):
1. Digital civil society
Exploring subjects like media literacy, digital social connections and engagement, new media and social impact, and more.
2. C&M technology and technical competency
Including emerging technology, network security and infrastructure, data collection and more.
3. Regulatory and policy
Undertaking and promoting good regulatory practice as part of improving regulatory governance, developing and improving self regulation in communications and multimedia – theory, practice and awareness, risk management, assessment on the effectiveness of convergence policy and regulation in Malaysia.
“Out of the four grants, three are especially focused on the industry’s current demands. The research and specialist grantees will be focused on a specific project based on industry requirement which will help address particular issues,” informs Khaneeza. “Recipients for the US specialist and researcher grants will be identified based on the type of expertise the industry wants. Then we will secure the suitable candidate for the position. We really want to fit the exact needs here,” adds Coffman.
This Malaysia-US collaboration could lead to future partnerships as well. “A lot of institutional collaborations between Malaysian and American universities start from one person going either from Malaysia to US or vice versa. So definitely, it’s a seed for greater collaborations in the future,” shares Coffman.
For more information on the Fulbright-MCMC grant, log on to www.mcmc.gov.my