Sunway’s non-profit incubator and accelerator, Sunway iLabs, launched its Sunway iLabs Makerspace with five initial industry partners, Google, NEC, Hitachi Sunway, Xperanti, and GE, which aims to equip students and entrepreneurs with a collaborative space and tools for innovation.
The event also saw Sunway iLabs announcing three new international collaborations - the European Commission-funded South East Asia Social Innovation Network (SEASIN), the University of California, Berkeley; and Silicon Valley accelerator, A3 Global Collider, which will provide students and entrepreneurs with additional sources of capital; mentorship and links to international markets.
Director General of Higher Education Datin Paduka Ir. Dr. Siti Hamisah binti Tapsir and Founding Trustee of Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah launched Sunway iLabs Makerspace with Director of Sunway iLabs, Matt van Leeuwen.
University of California Berkeley’s (UC Berkeley) Industry Fellow and Faculty, Gigi Wang; INSEAD Professor of Entrepreneurship, Virginia Cha; GE Malaysia CEO, Datuk Mark Rozario; NEC Malaysia Managing Director, Chong Kai Wooi; and Sunway Group’s senior management were also present at the event.
Siti commended Sunway iLab’s commitment to advance the higher education industry to include the development of entrepreneurship and innovation skills.
“Sunway iLabs’ initiatives and the launch of the Sunway iLabs Makerspace facility ensures the availability of future talent by equipping students with the necessary skillsets, preparing them for the fourth industrial revolution; aligned with the Ministry of Higher Education’s commitment to equip our students holistically to enable their success in the 21st century.”
Cheah said that the new Sunway iLabs Makerspace is a way to equip students with the right mindsets and right tools for the rapidly changing environment.
“Equipping our youths with the right education, the right tools, and the right mentors is now more important than ever before. Globalisation, urbanisation and digitalisation are powerful forces that are re-shaping our world by blurring national boundaries. We are no longer competing just amongst ourselves, but with our neighbours, with the entire world.”
The Sunway iLabs Makerspace is located on the Ground Floor of Sunway University and is accessible to students and entrepreneurs. The state-of-the-art space has all the right tools for innovation – 3D printing machines, laser cutters, and electronic gadgets.
Initial industry partners for the Sunway iLabs Makerspace are Google, NEC, Hitachi Sunway, Xperanti, and GE. The partners will be actively involved in getting Industry 4.0 related innovations produced in the University to the market.
Launched in 2017, Sunway iLabs is a non-profit incubator and accelerator that is a smart partnership between Sunway University, Sunway Group, and its corporate venture capital arm, Sunway Ventures. Sunway iLabs intends to foster entrepreneurship and stimulate market-driven innovations to drive the nation’s competitiveness. It is also a Malaysia Digital Hub™.
