University-Industry Collaboration in R&D: A Comparative Study of Malaysia and Taiwan

This paper looks at R&D collaboration between university and industry in Malaysia and Taiwan. These two economies were selected for the study as both economies started at similar development stage in 1970s but ventured to different level of development as of today. One of the explanations is the different practices adopted in these two economies in term of technology management, particularly on R&D collaboration between university and industry. This paper examines science and technology development in both economies and highlights the challenges experienced. Due to differences in expectations, experiences and resources available, there are considerable gaps between university and industry in R&D collaboration. The main finding reveals the importance of intermediary as the medium of communication between two major stakeholders in R&D, i.e. university and industry.