THE STAR, SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2015

special

INNOVATIONS
Building the
nation from
ground up

THE STAR, SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2015

2 innovations

Flexible entry a proven success

OPEN University Malaysia (OUM)
upholds the philosophy of
democratising education and
making it accessible to everyone.
This is why OUM is the first
university in Malaysia to be
granted approval and adopt the
open entry system.
The system was launched by the
Higher Education Minister in 2006
and was later renamed the flexible
entry system.
The flexible entry system is an
alternative path to gain entry into
OUMs academic programmes
through less restrictive entry
requirements compared with
conventional university entries.
It leverages on an individuals
prior learning acquired through
formal/informal training, life or
work experiences and as an
alternative to academic
qualifications.
Hobbies, independent studies
and even volunteer work can also
be taken into consideration.
The system complements OUMs
identity as an open and distance
learning institution. The blended
pedagogy employed at OUM is a
multi-mode strategy that combines
online learning with face-to-face
interaction and self-managed
learning.
Learners are provided with print
modules to read on their own and
take part in online forums with
their tutors and peers.
They are also required to attend
tutorials, which are held twice a
month, four times per semester
and are conducted over the
weekends.
In addition, an integral part of
OUMs pedagogy is its learning
management system called MyVLE.
This learning platform was
internally developed.
For the system of flexible entry
and blended mode of learning
to be effective, working adults
must first ask themselves these
questions:
Do I want my prior
learning to be recognised?
Do I have the skills,
knowledge and prior learning
experience relevant to the
course of my choice?
Do I have evidence to
support my prior learning?

Learners are provided

with print modules
for self study and are
able to take part in
online forums with
tutors and peers.

Admission criteria
Criteria outlined by the
Education Ministry as
approved by the Malaysian
Qualifications Agency (MQA):
l Diploma
Malaysian citizen
More than 20 years of age
in the year of application
Relevant work experience

l Bachelors degree
21 years of age (as of
January 1 in the year of
application)
PMR/SRP/LCE qualification
or equivalent
Relevant work experience

l Masters degree
35 years of age (as of
January 1 in the year of
application)
STPM/Diploma/A-Levels
qualification or equivalent
Relevant work experience

OUMs flexible entry system allows anyone to continue studying while they work.

Extracurricular
activities
Active interest
in a particular
area
Hobbies

Formal
qualification

Prior
experiential
learning

Work
experience

Free online
courses

Volunteer
work

Skills
Abilities
The various methods of learning that can be considered as prior
experience for entry into OUM.

It allows learners and tutors to

communicate, share information,
access course materials and
e-content.
They will also be in the loop
regarding academic matters and

developments taking place within

the university.
Overall, the culture at OUM is
aimed at making it easier for
working individuals to further
their studies by removing the

The flexible
entry system is
an alternative
path to
gain entry
into OUMs
academic
programmes.
obstacles they face.
For example, when they were
younger, baby boomers lacked
educational institutions to choose
from.
The scarcity of institutions
offering undergraduate
programmes caused many of them
to enter the job market after
graduating from secondary school.
Although the number of
conventional universities
eventually grew, individuals
needed to fulfil strict traditional
requirements to enrol in tertiary
programmes.
Moreover, the programmes were
conducted on a full-time basis,
which was a hindrance for
working adults.
Many who entered the job
market without tertiary
qualifications had heavy work and
family commitments. This left
them with neither the time nor the
privilege to forgo their jobs in
pursuit of educational
opportunities.
This is why both the blended
mode of learning and the flexible
entry system adopted by OUM is a
blessing to many underqualified
working adults.
Furthermore, learners can rest
assured that irrespective of the
means of admission, they will
receive the same learning services
and assessments right up to
graduation.

To become an OUM learner,

candidates who fulfil the necessary
admission criteria must also pass
the Flexible Entry Assessment
conducted by the university.
The Flexible Entry Assessment
comprises an entrance test and an
aptitude test. Candidates must pass
both tests before they are allowed
to enrol in an OUM programme.
The assessment fees for
admission into the diploma/
bachelors and masters
programmes are RM125 and
RM150 respectively.
A self-preparatory programme is
available on OUMs website to help
students who wish to enrol
through the flexible entry system
prepare for the assessment.
These stringent measures are
necessary to ensure adherence to
the guidelines set by the Higher
Education Ministry (now merged
with the Education Ministry) as
well as in upholding the quality of
the assessment mechanism.
Tremendous improvements to
the assessment methods have been
ongoing to better cater to OUM
learners experience, readiness,
interest and motivation in
pursuing a tertiary education.
Since 2006, more than 13,000
learners have been enrolled
through the flexible entry system,
proving the effectiveness of OUMs
system.
All these efforts to provide
education to those who need it are
in line with the development
initiatives emphasised through the
recently launched Malaysia
Education Blueprint 2015 2025
(Higher Education), in which OUM
played an active role.
Part of the blueprint outlines the
Education Ministrys strategy for
ensuring equitable access to
lifelong learning by providing
more flexible learning
opportunities.
This comprises clear accredited
qualification pathways for lifelong
learning, including credit banks
and recognition of prior
experiences.

n For more information, visit

www.oum.edu.my

THE STAR, SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2015

THE STAR, SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2015

4 innovations

IN the upcoming Design Thinking

Bootcamp by design thinking
school Genovasi, Stanford d.school
educators Perry Klebahn and
Jeremy Utley will be present to
teach new participants about the
powers of innovation.
Did you know that some
mothers in Nepal travel more than
15 hours by bus to get their babies
to an incubator at a hospital? asks
Utley, lecturer and director of
executive education, Stanford d.
school.
It makes sense that if you cannot
bring a baby to a warm pod, you
bring the warm pod to the baby.
This thought process is exactly the
kind of thinking that stems from an
innovative mind to go where no
one has gone and make an
impactful difference.
In the case of simple inventions
that are low-cost yet yield
tremendous value, not only does
innovation changes lives, it literally
saves lives.

Genovasi is a design thinking school

that adopts a human-centred
approach to innovation.

Changes that matter

There was a company that went
to Nepal to redesign incubators
that ended up designing a product
that would keep babies warm like
an incubator. In fact, it looks like a
sleeping bag for babies, says Utley,
describing a breakthrough product
design, the Embrace baby-warmer.
This project was a result of
d.schools flagship class taught
at Stanford called Extreme
Affordability. The class imparts
lessons on product innovations to
alleviate extreme poverty in the
developing world.
Utley cites another interesting
result of the Extreme Affordability
class a solar-powered lantern
called d.light.
There are families living off the
electrical grid. To get some light
into their homes, they have to burn
kerosene, candles and lanterns
indoors, which is incredibly
unhealthy, says Utley, who worked
on the d.light project in India.
Utley mentions that the d.light
project was enormously impactful,
not only because of the reduction
in carbon emissions but because it
eliminates carcinogenic waste in
the home and reduces risks of
home fires.
On top of that, the cost of d.light
is comparable to the cost families
pay to buy kerosene.
The invention demonstrates that
simple solutions can be used to
address real problems.

Benefits of diversity
In recent years, the word
innovation has become popular
in Malaysia.Organisations have
been borrowing this term, labelling
their products and services as
innovative.
Innovation is about looking at a
problem from a completely new
perspective and coming up with
breakthrough solutions, says
Klebahn, consulting associate
professor and director of executive
education at Stanford d.school.
Innovative solutions that involve
fresh, compelling and efficient
thoughts sound like an ideal way to
solve problems.
However, in any organisation, a
cohesive team is also needed to
carry out the problem-solving
process. A motto that Klebahn
upholds is You cant do anything
significant on your own you need
a team.

Jeremy Utley, lecturer and director of executive education (middle), Stanford d.school, with the participants of
Genovasis Design Thinking Bootcamp.

Rethinking design
This is where design thinking
comes into play. Design thinking is
an efficient, empathetic and
productive way to innovate.
Genovasi, which is organising
the Design Thinking Bootcamp for
the third year running, describes
design thinking as a humancentred approach to innovation
that employs multidisciplinary
teams, flexible environments and
a creative process.
The idea is to generate userfocused products, services or
experiences. Acting as a common
denominator, design thinking is the
process through which radical
teams can collaborate.
It is linked to innovation through
the belief that to generate
breakthrough ideas, there is a need
to get the best possible mileage out
of diverse experiences,
perspectives, backgrounds and
functions.
We believe that this enables
input to be leveraged to a
maximum impact, says Utley. He
currently plays an advisory role in
helping top-notch organisations
implement design thinking.
Both Utley and Klebahn will be
leading trainers in Genovasis
Design Thinking Bootcamp. The
three-day programme, happening
from Aug 11 to 13, is a high-impact,
hands-on workshop that combines
theory with real-world experience.
The programme is aimed at
nurturing innovators, as it did in
previous years for some of
Malaysias top organisations.
According to Utley and Klebahn,
organisations that make innovation
part of their DNA are more
successful in the long run than
those that treat innovation as a
trend, moving on to other things
once an objective has been
achieved.
Utley emphasises that innovation
is a major factor for creating value
in any organisation.
In Malaysia, generating

We teach a process in our

d.leadership classes a class that
Genovasi will soon be offering
about how to embrace resistance
and learn from it by using tools of
design, empathy and prototyping
to understand where the resistance
is coming from.
Once the source of the
resistance within the organisation
has been identified, we can begin
to customise the design thinking
process to work in the context of
the organisation, says Klebahn.
Some of the organisations that
have undergone transformational
changes through design thinking
are Procter & Gamble, JetBlue and
Fidelity Savings, among others.

Unleashing potential

Stanford d.schools consulting associate professor and director of executive

education Perry Klebahn sharing tips with the bootcamp participants.

economic value is of primary

importance. To train people to
generate this value routinely, it is
critical to make innovation a part
of the culture, he says.
Cultures that are only capable
of exploiting existing knowledge
arent capable of creating and
sustaining long-term economic
growth.

Long-term sustainability
As far as sustainability is
concerned, Utley opines that it
is best to start innovating in
small steps.
Things that require a lot of
work are unlikely to be
implemented and sustained in the
long term, but whats useful is to
boil things down to very specific
steps so that they are imminently
scalable and engageable.
However, one single act of
innovation does not make a
companys success.
It is unrealistic to assume that
the organisation will never
encounter problems, so innovation

should be an ongoing effort, says

Utley.
Innovative organisations are
able to continuously engage in a
cycle of examining themselves and
the market as well as generating
breakthroughs. Innovation is not a
one-off practice. It should be a
culture to solve problems as they
arise.
It may seem like a gargantuan
task to get employees to change the
way they seek solutions.
Yes, there is usually resistance
as were changing the way people
operate, says Klebahn.
That is one of the reasons
organisations want to bring design
thinking into their organisation.
They want to innovate and
produce better products for the
market.
Klebahn believes that innovative
leaders get more out of their
employees than leaders who utilise
very little of their employees
capabilities. An organisations
mission can be achieved by
empowering employees with
autonomy and a sense of purpose.

It can be uncomfortable at first

to fully accept the approach of
innovation.
This is where the bootcamp can
help. We take people through a
process called guided mastery.
Expert coaches at Genovasi whom
Jeremy and I have spent time with
are trained to help participants
through their first few experiences
using design thinking and its tools,
says Klebahn.
Its not difficult. Id say its more
about unleashing peoples
potential, which includes being
naturally empathetic and curious
as human beings. Basically, you
train people to become catalysts of
success.
The Design Thinking Bootcamp,
which aims to create innovative
leaders, is designed for
professionals and executives,
especially C-level executives who
tackle strategic challenges in their
organisations.
The bootcamps participants will
be part of a hands-on
multidisciplinary team that will
work on a real-world innovation
challenge from start to completion.
Through the bootcamp activities,
participants will gain insights into
consumer needs and behaviours.
They will be able to work towards
breakthrough innovations and
build a collaborative working
culture based on design thinking.
Participants will also have a
strong understanding of the key
tenets of design thinking, its
execution and impactful results.
Utley and Klebahn agree that
while design thinking is not the
only way to innovation, it certainly
is a great way to innovate.

n For more information, visit

www.genovasi.my

THE STAR, SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2015

CREATING

INNOVATIVE
LEADERS

DESIGN
THINKING

BOOTCAMP
11-13 August

2015

BY
PERRY KLEBAHN
AND
JEREMY UTLEY
EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
STANFORD D.SCHOOL

Following the success of the Design

Thinking Bootcamp in 2014,
Perry Klebahn and Jeremy Utley return
to Malaysia to lead a high-impact, hands
on workshop that combines theory and
real-world experience to kickstart the
innovator in you.
Sign up now at www.genovasi.my/
programmes/executive-education
Registration closes 30 June 2015.
For enquiries, email
bootcamp@genovasi.my

www.genovasi.my
Copyright 2015 GENOVASI. All rights reserved.

Genovasi Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. 1011506-D

THE STAR, SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2015

6 innovations

Tapping into the grassroots

THE term inclusive innovation was coined
by the World Bank to encourage
innovations that create social impacts and
are useful to the bottom of the socioeconomic pyramid.
For Yayasan Inovasi Malaysia (YIM), an
agency under the purview of the Ministry
of Science, Techonology and Innovation
(Mosti), there are five criteria that qualify
an innovation as an inclusive one: it must
be of high quality, affordable, targeted to the
bottom 40% of the Malaysian economic
pyramid, have a large reach, and be
sustainable.
According to Abdul Razak Ahmad,
programme director for YIMs High Impact
Programme 6 (HIP6), sustainability is
usually not difficult to achieve if the first
four criteria are met.
He also clarifies that inclusive innovation
is not exclusive to the bottom 40% but
inclusive of them.
Besides those living below the poverty
line, the targeted group for inclusive
innovation comprises single mothers, the
disabled and youth.
In other words, inclusive innovation
leads to affordable and extensive access to
good-quality products and services,
including for the bottom 40% on a
sustainable basis, says Abdul Razak.
The HIP6 is one of the six high impact
programmes under SME Corporation
(SMECorp) Malaysias master plan to create
globally competitive small or medium
enterprises and achieve high income status
by 2020.

Inclusive innovation
leads to affordable
and extensive
access to goodquality products and
services, including for
the bottom 40% on a
sustainable basis.
Abdul Razak Ahmad

Scouting, scaling and sustaining

creative ideas
YIMs involvement in SMECorps master
plan did not come about until last year. YIM
is a foundation under Mosti that was set up
in 2008. The minister at that time was Dr
Maximus Ongkili.
He was a very grassroots-level politician
and familiar with the needs of those living in
the rural areas, especially in Sabah where he
is from, says Abdul Razak.
YIM was thus set up and modelled after
Indias National Innovation Foundation,
which was founded by Dr Anil Gupta,
renowned for his interests in grassroots
inventors and innovators as well as the

The HIP6 team engaging with Chinese and Indian communities to understand them better and
to know their problems

protection of their intellectual property

rights.
Using a method called innovation tracking,
YIM goes to the rural areas to explore
innovations at the grassroots level and help
the community improve its innovations.
Since its inception, this has been YIMs
main mission.
Last year, on our path to sustainability as
a foundation, we wanted to explore other
forms of collaboration to boost our impact.
That was when SMECorp came into the
picture. Since we were well connected with
the grassroots and have a good track record
doing so, we realised that we were the
perfect fit to roll out SMECorps HIP6, says
Abdul Razak.

Improving inventions
To further enhance its efforts in seeking
innovative ideas, YIM recently organised the
inaugural Inclusive Innovation Challenge in
conjunction with the Karnival Kreativiti and
Science4U in April.
The challenge helped YIM identify
potential talents and provide suitable
motivation to ensure that they follow
through with their innovations. Besides that,
the challenges objectives include
assisting the innovators with
the product development.
The event was also an
effort to create awareness
for grassroots innovations.
The key areas
identified by YIM for the

Abdul Razak Ahmad,

Yayasan Inovasi
Malaysias High Impact
Programme 6 (HIP6)
programme director.

challenge are innovations that can improve

health care, utilities, education and
productivity.
These areas were chosen based on a
survey the foundation conducted to identify
the most pressing issues faced by the urban
and rural population.
There is a long list of problems but we
are constrained by resources. So we focus on
issues that are a balance between economic
impact and problem solving, explains Abdul
Razak.
Once identified, innovators under YIMs
programme are each assigned an account
manager who will oversee their portfolio so
that their requirements are met. The job of
the account manager includes monitoring
the development of the products or services.
The innovators are solution-seekers. They
identify a need in their community and
develop practical solutions, usually using
recyclable items and crude designs.
They use a tried-and-tested formula. We
do not interfere with that process because
they would know better, he says.
What we assist in is with the bigger
picture such as developing a business plan
so that it can be marketable and eventually
commercialised.
For machinery products, YIM assists with
prototyping and obtaining intellectual
property rights so that the innovators are
protected from intellectual property theft.
YIM also ensures that it has an
engineering drawing so that it can be
replicated for larger scale production.
At least six innovators are finding
success with YIMs assistance,
including Henry Charles and his halal
ginger-based products, Hamid Jasmin
and his mini-hydro, as well as Sopa
Yahya and his pineapple seeder machine.
Abdul Razak hopes that more grassroots
members of the society are actively
partaking in community
building to solve common
problems for the common
people.
With YIMs experience
and expertise, he believes
that the grassroots
innovators will be able to
contribute to the
betterment of the society
and thus, nation.

n For more information,

visit www.yim.my

THE STAR, SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2015

innovation 7

Curtin Sarawaks Turbulence and Energy Research Laboratorys water

tunnel facility.

Generating
energy
IN line with its aspirations to be
a research-focused university
that fosters innovation in its
graduate students and academic
staff, Curtin University, Sarawak
Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) has
set up the Turbulence and
Energy Research Laboratory.
As part of the energy and
environmental research at its
Faculty of Engineering and
Science, work at the laboratory
focuses on the potential of
turbulence phenomena to
generate renewable energy and
its effects on crude oil flow
transport.
Establishing the laboratory
was initiated by the head of the
facultys Petroleum Engineering
Department, Assoc Prof Dr
Sharul Sham Dol.
It is operated by the Advanced
Fluid Mechanics Research
Group, which comprises six
academics, four higher degree by
research students, an
undergraduate student and a
research officer.
According to Dr Sharul, there
has been an interest in studying
turbulence since the early
experiments of physicist Vincenc
Strouhal in 1878. The practical
importance of turbulence
research was further recognised
after engineer and dynamicist
Theodore von Krmn produced
his first paper on the theory of
vortex streets in 1912.
Its practicality applies to
many areas, such as pipeline
hydrodynamics, vehicle
aerodynamics, structure and
building design and meteorology
application.
However, despite hundreds
of publications on the subject,
there is still little fundamental
understanding of the flow, says
Dr Sharul.
Vortex-induced vibration (VIV)
is the turbulent motion induced
on a bluff body that creates
irregular lift forces and results in
alternating movement of the
body.
At Curtin Sarawaks
Turbulence and Energy Research
Laboratory, a water tunnel
facility has been constructed to
study the capability of VIV in
generating alternative energy for
offshore oil and gas platforms.

Dr Sharul says VIV-powered

systems are viable alternative
sources of energy as they can
take advantage of low watercurrent speeds.
Turbulence can also have a
significant impact on oil and gas
field flow transport. Typically,
crude oil has to pass through
different processes before it can
be refined into more useful
products. Throughout these
processes, agitation occurs and
leads to the formation of
emulsions due to turbulent
kinetic energy.
Dr Sharul says an emulsion
formation in pipelines will have
negative effects as the presence
of emulsions in crude oil leads to
different flow regimes. This
affects the transportation of the
mixture because different flow
patterns require different power
inputs to pump the mixtures.
Emulsions reduce the crude
oils quality and occupy volume
in pipelines, leading to economic
losses. They can also cause
corrosion in the transport system
and contaminate catalysts used
in the refining process.
To address these problems, the
Turbulence and Energy Research
Laboratory is equipped with a
flow loop facility that replicates
emulsions for in-depth study.
The facility focuses on the
formation of emulsions in a
continuous flow loop, in which
emulsification is induced by
constriction in pipeline and flow
shear instead of using external
shearing power.
This research work is funded
by the Education Ministry under
its Exploratory Research Grant
Scheme and a Collaborative
Research Grant Scheme between
Curtin Sarawak and Petronas
Carigali Sdn Bhd.
Dr Sharul believes that the
Turbulence and Energy Research
Laboratory will be a catalyst to
attract more industry
involvement in academic
research projects and a research
hub for the universitys
commercial and industrial
consultancy projects in the near
future.

n For more information, visit

www.curtin.edu.my

THE STAR, SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2015