can technopreneurs be developed

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1 Can Technopreneurs be Developed? Students Experiences of Formal Technopreneurs Academic Program in Malaysia Murni Norestri Mohd Nordin, Mohd Khairuddin Ramliy, Mohd Iskandar Illyas, Mohd Zaidi Abdul Rozan, Rose Alinda Alias Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor

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Page 1: Can Technopreneurs Be Developed

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Can Technopreneurs be Developed? Students Experiences of Formal Technopreneurs Academic

Program in Malaysia

Murni Norestri Mohd Nordin, Mohd Khairuddin Ramliy, Mohd Iskandar Illyas, Mohd

Zaidi Abdul Rozan, Rose Alinda Alias

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor

Abstract

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One of the MSC Malaysia's key strategic thrusts has been the development of Malaysian

information and communication technology (ICT) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that

can become world-class players in the future. The SMEs are seen as substantial contributors to

economic growth as they create new wealth and job opportunities in the knowledge-based

economy. As drivers of new wealth and job creation in a knowledge-based economy, successful

and sustainable SMEs will be crucial in helping Malaysia take its place amongst world-class

high-tech nations. The Government acts as the catalyst and facilitator in providing the right

environment in Malaysia for technopreneurs to blossom and create success of their products on

the global marketplace. To realize this vision, in 1999 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and

Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) embarked on a collaborative Masters of Science (IT

Entrepreneurship) graduate program.

The primary aim of the program is to nurture and develop highly innovative

technopreneurs in the area of ICT who will eventually be able to compete in the global market.

The program also aims to boost the development of commercially viable ICT projects and to

provide a conducive environment in the creation of new local SMEs in ICT. Ever since its

inception, this program has gone through various changes and modification in curriculum and

structure in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Until now, 5 batches (cohorts)

of 70 students have been successfully graduated from the program with another 2 cohorts of 22

students still undergoing intensive training and activities.

This paper describes the experiences of candidates going through the program with the

emphasis on the activities conducted and outcomes that have been achieved. Furthermore, it

presents the overview of the overall structure of the program and how each of the activities

supports the development of technopreneurs. It also provides some insight of the current

curriculum and highlights some suggestions to improve the program. Based on this proposal it is

hoped that many more such academic programs for technopreneurship development will be

introduced in Malaysia in the future. The technopreneurship development programmes can be

expanded to other Science & Technology (S & T) areas and be offered at secondary as well as

tertiary level academic institutions.

Keyword(s): Technopreneurs, Postgraduate, Academic Program, ICT.

INTRODUCTION

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Nowadays, awareness among Malaysian citizen about entrepreneurship is high and many

young citizens have gone through formal education on entrepreneurship. In fact, recently

Malaysian government is realized and work towards high technology entrepreneurship

(technoprenuership). In 2004, Ministry of Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development (MeCD)

was developed as the main agency responsible for the development of Bumiputera entrepreneurs.

Before that, in 1996 Malaysian government has established Malaysian Development Corporation

(MDeC) whereby it is responsible for the management of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC

Malaysia) in Malaysia as a world-class technology industry and commerce zone and attracting

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) businesses to set up shop in the MSC

Malaysia, and providing them technical and administrative assistance in doing so. These two

institutions are mainly established in order to produce more Bumiputera entrepreneurs or

technopreneurs in ICT business.

According to MSC annual report for 2007, currently there are about 1477 Malaysian

owned companies which has established as MSC Malaysia status companies and 25.5% of them

are companies with 30% or more shareholders. This scenario shows entrepreneurs environment

is going towards the target of MeCD whereby to expose Bumiputera in economic growth and

help to achieve the target of 30% equity shareholders of Bumiputera at 2020.

Figure 1. Statistic of MSC Malaysia Status Companies. Source from MSC Malaysia update

progress report 2007, page 2.

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Figure 2. Statistic of Bumiputera Companies. Source from MSC Malaysia update progress report

2007, page 4.

Besides, about 70% of1994 companies which has awarded as MSC status companies in

2007 are locally owned companies largely made of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME).

However, only 80% of the awarded companies are still active as be illustrated in table below.

Table 1. MSC Malaysia Status Companies by Technology Cluster. Source from MSC Malaysia

impact survey 2007, page 7.

From the table, Application Software (AS) business cluster has catered big percentage in

2007 about 850 companies and 85.6% of them are still active. Then, follows by Mobility,

Embedded Software and Hardware (Mesh) business about 428 companies and only 78% of them

are still active. Currently, there are about 83 active Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) and

Incubators like Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Utara Malaysia. These two IHLs

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provide formal technopreneurs academic program in Master’s Degree called Master of Science

(IT Entrepreneurship) and Master of Science (Technopreneurship).

Malaysia needs its SMEs to be strong, prosperous and competitive. There are more than

half a million SMEs in Malaysia and they make up nearly 99% of all business establishments in

the country. SMEs assume an important role in the advancement of Malaysia's economy. In

2006, SMEs contributed 32% of the nation's real gross domestic product (GDP) and 19% of the

total exports. It is clear that SMEs are the backbone of the national economy and have great

potential to d rive its growth. At the core of all successful SMEs is its human capital, including

entrepreneurs. Many countries around the world are placing increased emphasis on the

development of entrepreneurs following the shift towards knowledge driven and SME-dominated

economies. Malaysia too recognizes this shift and is focused on strengthening its SMEs,

fostering a vibrant entrepreneurship culture and creating a new generation of resilient and

competitive entrepreneurs through a myriad of supporting policies that include funding, physical

infrastructure and advisory services.

The Malaysian Government has always encouraged entrepreneurship and has assumed a

major role in its development. Overall, particular emphasis has been placed on the development

of Small and Medium Industry (SMls) and SMEs, with the Government taking steps, such as

providing a positive business environment, tax incentives and various financing schemes. In the

early days however, the large number of ministries, agencies and financial institutions involved

in the entrepreneurship and SMIs development programmes led to lengthy approval times for

processing applications, leaving entrepreneurs frustrated. To overcome this, the Small and

Medium Industries Development Corporation (SMIDEC) was established in 1995. Its

responsibilities include handling, supervising and streamlining loans, incubator premises, vendor

development programmes, entrepreneurship training and use of technology. This helped to

reduce bureaucratic delays for entrepreneurs and increase their participation in the programmes.

A key step taken by the Government in strengthening entrepreneurship was the

establishment of the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development in 1995. This ministry serves to

build bumiputera entrepreneurship as well as acts as a co-ordinating body for entrepreneurship

matters. It functions as an information and resource centre and provides training, financial

assistance and subsidised business premises for qualified entrepreneurs. The Malaysian

Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), set up in 1992, provides technical advice,

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premises and capital to enhance technical capabilities of entrepreneurs. Its services were further

upgraded in 1998 when it established five incubator centres in collaboration with universities.

The majority of businesses being incubated are from high tech sectors such as software and

biotechnology. Various development programmes have also been established to upgrade the

performance of SMls. These are in line with Malaysia's industrial policy to create inter and intra

industrial linkages.

SMI development programmes initiated include the Vendor Development Programme,

Integrated Market Programme, SMI Expos and Industrial airs, the Subcontract Exchange

Scheme, Human Resource Development, Foreign Technical Assistance for SMls, Product and

Market Segment Study, Industrial Technical Assistance Fund (ITAF), Soft Loan for

Modernisation and Automation/Soft Loan for Furniture and Food-based Products and

Infrastructure Development Programme. The Government also lends its support by creating a

business environment that is entrepreneurship friendly. This is done by specifying in advance

what direction the Malaysian economy will take and where major allocation of funding will be.

For example, in 2000, the Government announced the "Knowledge Economy Master Plan"

which was aimed to create a knowledge and information-driven economy through nurturing high

tech and knowledge intensive businesses. By taking heed of this information, entrepreneurs can

focus their attention on specific areas that best suits their situation, thus reducing their risks in

investing in future technologies.

The Ministry of Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development (MeCD) was established in

2004 as the main agency responsible for the development of Bumiputera entrepreneurs. MeCD’s

history can be traced to the establishment of the Ministry for the Co-ordination of Public

Corporations (KPPA) in 1974, later renamed Ministry of Prime Industries (KPA) in 1976. The

KPA was responsible for overseeing the administration of various public enterprise agencies

such as Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and State

Economic Development Authority (SEDCs).

The Ministry of Entrepreneurial Development established on May 8, 1995 superseded the

KPA’s role in focussing on the development of Bumiputera entrepreneurs, in tandem with the

government’s objective of establishing a Bumiputera Commercial and Industrial Community

(BCIC). Subsequently, in a restructuring exercise on March 27, 2004, the Ministry of

Entrepreneurial Development was renamed the Ministry of Entrepreneur and Co-operative

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Development (MeCD), entrusted with the additional responsibilities of overseeing the Co-

operative Development Department, the Co-operative College of Malaysia and Bank Kerjasama

Rakyat Berhad. The objective of the MeCD is to provide an environment that is conducive for

the development of genuine entrepreneurs who are innovative and progressive; possessing the

quality, resilience and competitiveness in all sectors; and to inculcate an entrepreneurial and co-

operative culture amongst Malaysian citizens.

Bank Negara Malaysia's priority in the development of SMEs is to ensure that they have

adequate access to financing. Bank Negara regards access to financing at all stages of the

business cycle as an important prerequisite for successful SMEs. Recent developments have seen

the introduction of micro-financing arrangements through commercial banks, credit co-

operatives and development financial institutions such as Bank Simpanan Nasional, Bank

Pertanian Malaysia and Bank Kerjasama Rakyat. Due to the initiatives undertaken by Bank

Negara, all banking institutions now have a dedicated SME unit and have become the main

source of funds for SMEs.

To complement its efforts at facilitating access to financing, Bank Negara has also set up

advisory services, such as Bank Negara Malaysia Laman Informasi Nasihat dan Khidmat (BNM

LINK) and its call centre (BNM TELELlNK). These services provide assistance on loan

application processes, advice on solving problems and information on sources of financing

available to SMEs. Apart from financing, Bank Negara also assumes a key role as the Secretariat

to the National SME Development Council, which was established in 2004. As Secretariat, Bank

Negara is responsible in ensuring each year that a comprehensive programme for SME

development is devised, co-ordinated and effectively implemented. These programmes focus on

strengthening the capabilities of SMEs, enhancing their access to financing and providing

support for developing infrastructure and a healthy business environment.

While previously greater attention was put on providing business support policies to

stimulate general SME development, the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) places more emphasis on

training and preparing budding entrepreneurs. This is in line with the Government's focus on

developing human capital to generate a knowledge-driven economy and sustain economic

growth. Measures are underway to instil entrepreneurial spirit and provide entrepreneurial

training at various levels of education from high school levels to universities and graduate school

levels. MARA is also shifting its focus from vocational training to entrepreneurial training.

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Its target under the 9MP is to produce 11,000 entrepreneurs covering 28 fields of

business, with particular potential seen in beauty care, reflexology and automotive repair. Also

included in the five- year plan is increased funding for the promotion of franchise business in

Malaysia. According to Deputy Secretary General of MECD, Azmi Abdullah, this allocation will

exceed the RM50 million provided in the Eighth Malaysian Plan and covers financial assistance,

management courses and consultation services for entrepreneurs in local and foreign franchises.

The 9MP also intensifies efforts at stimulating enterprise creation, with a special

entrepreneurship programme established for unemployed graduates. Overall, the Government

hopes to educate the population on entrepreneurship, instil an entrepreneurship culture and

change public perception of entrepreneurship into seeing it as a viable alternative to salaried

employment.

Agencies in Malaysia under the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Ministry

such as Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNS) should become master franchisors to foreign

companies, said its minister Datuk Noh Omar. He said this could be achieved through

cooperation between the agencies and foreign franchise holders. Previously, most foreign

franchise holders either dealt directly with local companies or appointed them as representatives,

he told reporters at the Kapar Parliamentary Constituency Entrepreneur Showcase 2008. As the

master franchisor, it is easier for PNS to develop the franchise industry because entrepreneurs

need only deal with PNS when choosing the franchise they are interested in besides getting the

advisory services and funds or becoming their partners, he said.

He said PNS would assist more local franchisors to expand overseas and hoped the

number of franchisors would be increased from 38 companies at present to 50 during the 9MP.

Noh, who attended an international franchise exhibition in Manila yesterday where eight

Malaysian companies took part, said several of them would form partnership with Filipino

companies in an effort to enter the Philippines franchise market. He said an academy to train

entrepreneurs on the franchise industry would be set up soon in an effort to develop the industry

in a systematic and aggressive way. At the function, Noh presented RM1.5 million in loans to

franchise entrepreneurs.

Background The Malaysian Entrepreneurship Development Centre (MEDEC) was

established within MARA University of Technology (UiTM) in 1975. The mission was to

facilitate the growth of Bumiputera entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Specifically, it was set up for the

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purpose of planning and implementing entrepreneurship development programs such as training,

education, research and consultancy.

Today, MEDEC is known as one of the prominent centres for entrepreneurship training

and education in the country. In addition, MEDEC is planning to expand its academic programs

to include entrepreneurship courses at the postgraduate level. Among the programs to be offered

are Postgraduate Certificate in Technology Entrepreneurship, Postgraduate Diploma in

Technology Entrepreneurship and Master of Science in Technology Entrepreneurship. The main

objective of the programs is to increase the supply of Bumiputera Technopreneurs in the country.

Although entrepreneurship training is its core activity, MEDEC has never neglected its primary

functions in the related areas of research, education, business advisory and consultancy services.

MAJLIS AMANAH RAKYAT (MARA) or Council of Trust for the Bumiputera was

incorporated as a statutory body on March 1, 1966 under an Act Of Parliament, No. 20, 1966.

MARA was entrusted with the responsibility to promote, stimulate, facilitate and undertake

economic and social development of the people particularly in the rural areas thereof. The

objective is to encourage, guide, train and assist Bumiputera to enable them to participate

actively and progressively in small and medium scale commercial and industrial enterprises

towards creating a strong and viable Bumiputera Commercial and Industrial Community

(MPPB).

One of the strategies is to create and increase the number of Bumiputera entrepreneurs

and upgrade their level of participation in the small and medium scale commercial and industrial

enterprises towards creating a strong and viable Bumiputera business and industrial community.

Then, to participate actively in specific commercial and industrial enterprises through

investments and management in companies as a means of nurturing and promoting Bumiputera

participation in commerce and industry. After that, to increase the number of trained Bumiputera

manpower at all levels and in various fields for the need of the nation's commercial and industrial

sectors. Lastly, to provide other facilities and services where appropriate and become trustee in

areas which can help raise the social and economic standard of the bumiputera community

directly or indirectly.

UDA Holdings Bhd (UDA) is a Malaysian company engaged in property development,

property management and the leisure industry. The Company's property development division is

involved in the redevelopment of new townships, public housing, recreation, hotels, commercial

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centers and industrial premises. UDA focuses in the area of planned urban development. UDA

Urban development programmers have created business and office complexes, which require

efficient management, maintenance and security services. UDA Leisure division operates hotels,

golf resorts, cafe and recreational sector. Established by the government on November 12, 1971,

the Urban Development Authority (UDA) was given the responsibility to promote planned urban

development. After 29 years of successfully fulfilling its responsibilities UDA was incorporated

on September 1, 1996 and became known as UDA Holdings Sdn Bhd.

The drive to firmly establish the company was achieved when it changed its status to that

of a public limited company with effect from July 14, 1999, to be known as UDA Holdings

Berhad. The company was listed on the Main Board of Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE)

on November 18, 1999. Today, led by a board of experienced directors and highly qualified

professionals, UDA is committed to enhance its competitiveness and to partake a bigger role in

urban development thereby contributing to entrepreneurial growth in line with the national

aspiration. The principal activities of the Company are in investment holding and property

development while the principal activities of the Group are in land and property development,

property management and leisure industry.

Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad (BPMB) is a development financial institution

(DFI) owned by the Malaysian Government through the Minister of Finance Inc. The Bank is

mandated to provide medium to long term financing to capital-intensive industry, which include

infrastructure projects, maritime, and high technology sectors. In addition to the provision of

financing, the Bank also made a number of strategic investments and amongst its subsidiaries are

Global Maritime Ventures Berhad (GMV) and Pembangunan Leasing Corporation Sdn. Bhd.

(PLC). With a combined asset value of more than RM27 billion, the Bank Pembangunan Group

is well positioned to meet the financing and business development needs of Malaysian

entrepreneurs in priority sectors from start-up to expansion.

The SME Bank - or Bank Perusahaan Kecil & Sederhana Malaysia Berhad - started its

new function on October 3, 2005 as a development financial institution to nurture and meet the

unique needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). As a one-stop financial centre

responding to the funding and business growth needs of Malaysian SMEs, the Bank

complements existing products and services offered by commercial banks through a

comprehensive and integrated financial and business advisory services. Its primary role is to

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contribute towards the growth of a more robust entrepreneurial community in Malaysia. The

Bank operates through its head office in Kuala Lumpur and 19 branches nationwide

Bank Rakyat was established in September 1954 under the Cooperative Ordinance 1948,

following an expansion of the cooperative movement in Peninsular Malaysia. The objective is to

facilitate the expansion of the cooperative movement, the co-operatives set up their respective

union banks provide financial needs to their members.

In high school, students have been exposed to science and technology environment.

There are some exhibition are held such as Science and Technology Exhibition whereby teachers

and students perform group to produce an innovation product. This invention process will train

and develop technopreneur’s behavior whereby it involved idea generation, innovation and

presentation or promotion. This platform actually gave awareness to the high school student

about technopreneurs but it lack of business elements which is the main element in

technopreneurship.

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STUDENTS EXPERIENCES OF FORMAL TECHNOPRENEURS PROGRAM

In order to achieve MeCD target for 2020, there are many entrepreneur’s courses are

organized by government agencies. The general objective of the courses is to expose, teach and

develop entrepreneurs and technology entrepreneurs. In this paper, it focus on student

experiences of formal technopreneurs academic program in Malaysia; Master of Science (IT

Entrepreneruship) - SKIT. This program is joint venture joint venture program initiated by the

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and MARA. Its main objective is to produce IT

entrepreneurs (IT technopreneurs) at the postgraduate level. It is an effort to increase the number

of highly skilled local IT technopreneurs and software developers.

This program is conducted as a taught course where the instructors are those from the

UTM graduate faculty members. Where necessary, guest speakers from the industry will be

invited.  In addition, industrial involvement is eminent to the success of this program, thus,

technopreneurs will be engaged to industrial mentors through the Mentoring & Coaching concept

introduced. To further equip the technopreneurs to become more competent, innovative,

versatile, and possess ethical entrepreneurial values, they will be exposed to various kinds of

external entrepreneurial programs such as seminars, series of short courses, business discourse,

workshops, business forums & networking, business competitions, business visits etc.

Until now 5 batches (cohorts) has been successfully produced from the program with

another 2 cohorts still undergoing intensive training and activities. The 5 cohort consists of 69

students who has been produced since 1999 and currently there are about 23 students of the 2

batches are still undergoing the course. Since it was established, the syllabus has changed 4 times

to suit with environment changing and university’s mission. Now, cohort 7 is using the new

syllabus whereby the total credit is increased to 40 credits and the program duration is reduced to

one and half year with 4 semesters to be completed.

One of the cohort 7 student, Mr. Chairil Anwar said he join SKIT because he wants to get

higher education status, to be an independence entrepreneur and to be trained to become a

technopreneur. Then, he also agrees that this course help him in business area because before this

he does not have any business background but he has high technology skills. When he joins

SKIT, he learnt professional communication skills, negotiation skills and marketing skills which

are very crucial behaviours that a technopreneurs must have. In fact, he said this program is good

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initiative but it was not implemented in all IHLs in Malaysia and these students did not get good

support from government sectors.

Miss Raja Norasyikin from cohort 5 said overall this program is good whereby it expose

students with real technopreneurs environment and help she improves her communication skills

and expand her networking. Then, she comments that this program should emphasized on mentor

mentee program in order to help students plan their business. Besides, Miss Monalissa from

cohort 4 said she has gone through lots of valuable activities, courses and seminars and student

must proactive. Moreover, this program has helps her lots such as expand her networking and a

platform for her started her technopreneur journey with her company’s project that she is doing

now.

Then, Mr. Kamaruzaman from cohort 5 said as a director of his company, he has improve

and learn lots of business strategy, business networking and achieve his target to be

knowledgeable entrepreneur (K-entrepreneur). He also enjoys meeting entrepreneurs and

successful mentor and sharing experience with them. Then, he comments that this program is

good and need to maintain but it lack of practical implementation.

Starting from cohort 6, SKIT was accepted students with no IT background to pursue this

program. This scenario gives opportunity to them to learn new knowledge. However, they faced

a lot of problem to suit with the syllabus. Mrs. Ismairiyanti from cohort 7 said at the beginning

she has a lot of problems like hard to adapt with the syllabus and friends, hard to understand the

IT term and so on. But now, she thinks that she already can follow the trend and program with

support from lecturers and friends. This program also helps her to improve her professional

communication skills, expand her networking and develop self technopreneurs behaviours.

Then, Mrs. Norshifah also from cohort 7 said as a mother and student at the same time

make her very tired. In fact, she also does not have any IT background and this make her life

become more busy and tired. She joins this course because she has intended to learn about IT as

a business. She comments this course is a very good program but to teach and guide student with

no IT background is not an easy task. However, at the end it will give effective result if these

students get supports and helps from lecturers and friends. Apart from that, this program also

needs to expose more to the public to get attention from venture capitals, government agencies

and student from other universities.

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Lastly, Miss Nurrul Aini said entrepreneurship is not a theory itself but it also a

combination of practical and theory. As a student without IT background she felt not comfortable

at the beginning but as time goes on, she can adapt the environment. She said this program is

good and has changed herself from ordinary thinker to extraordinary thinker and she hope her

vision to a technopreneur in the future will be achieved.

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FUTURE ENVIRONMENT OF TECHNOPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM

In order to achieve vision 2020, more technopreneurs program should be organized.

Awareness of technopreneurs should be exposed starting in primary high and school with several

programs such as Science and Technology Exhibition whereby some simple business elements

need to be applied in the program. Then, government should plan several formal

technopreneurship programs for disable peoples. Currently, there are many of them who have

high education status but low job opportunities for them in government and private sectors. If

they are trained and given the opportunity to be develop as technopreneurs thus they can helps

their family, other disable peoples and also helps in the economic growth. Moreover, existing

formal program need to be improved so the main objective of the program will be successful

achieve and shows the effectiveness of the program.

In general, all the students that shared their experiences said the SKIT programs need to

improve in term of the management and practical implementation. It is because, technology is

rapidly changing so the management and courses offered should suit with the current business

environment and need to expose student in real business situation. Then, they also suggest that

this program should emphasized more on mentor mentee program in order to help the new

entrepreneurs develop and sustain their business. Besides, they agrees that more academic

programs should be constructed to helps encourage more people to join in technopreneurs field.

According to the government allocation on ICT and Science, Technology and Innovation

in Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), there are about RM18142 million is allocated for both sectors for

5 years duration. This allocation includes funding, grants, infrastructures and research and

development (R&D). This amount shows that government is very serious involved to courage

people to join these sectors and take the opportunity to develop businesses in those areas based

on allocation for SMEs industry about RM1100 million. The expenditure and allocation for ICT,

Science, Technology and Innovation and SMEs are illustrated in tables below.

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Table 2. Development Expenditure and Allocation fro ICT- Related Programme (RM million).

Source from Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), chapter 5, page 154.

Table 3. Development Expenditure and Allocation for Finance (RM million). Source from Ninth

Malaysia Plan (9MP), chapter 7, page 190.

Table 4. Development Expenditure and Allocation for Science, Technology and Innovation (RM

million). Source from Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), chapter 12, page 279.

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Table 5. Expected Outcome 2010. Source from Mid-Term Review of 9MP 2006 - 2010, page 69

- 70.

From the table above, government are planning seriously to achieve the target of 30%

bumiputera equity shareholders towards year 2020. Then, several entrepreneurs programs for

bumiputera are planned and should be handled later to ensure the expected outcomes will be

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achieved. It shows government always supporting development of entrepreneurs and

technopreneurs in the future.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, with all the facilities, government support, funding and awareness is

believes that a technopreneur can be developed. The current scenarios and result from formal

academic program which has been produced several successful technopreneurs proof the

statement. All the new successful technopreneurs can help to provide more job opportunities

through their companies. These all SMEs have good potential to become mentors to the new

comers and help to develop them.

However, the existing academic programs need to be improved in order to make sure the

effectiveness result can be achieved and will be established in the international level. Then, more

formal technopreneurs academic programs should be planned especially for the primary and high

schools, disable people and young generation. A establish curriculum must be construct to make

sure the quality of all the formal academic programs is on the track and promise a good result at

the end of the programs.

Lastly, more development allocation must be given to technopreneurs programs so that

more facilities can be provided to ensure the student and people who join the program have the

benefits from the programs. Thus, it also will helps the economic growth and achieve the vision

2020.

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References

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http://www.utm.my

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http://www.franchise-pitstop.com.my

http://www.uitm.edu.my

http://www.mara.gov.my

http://www.udaholdings.com.my

http://smebank.com.my

http://www.bankrakyat.com.my

Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006 - 2010. (2006). (P. M. s. D. Economic Planning Unit)

Mid- Term Review of Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006 - 2010. (2008). (P. M. s. D. Economic Planning

Unit)

Malaysia Super Corridor, M. D. C. (2007). MSC Malaysia Impact Survey 2007)

Malaysia Super Corridor, M. D. C. (2007). MSC Malaysia Update Progress Report 2007)

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Bernama. (27 January 2007). MARA to train 11,000 entrepreneurs under 9MP Star Online.

Bernama. (31 March 2006). Greater emphasis on human capital during 9MP Star Online.

Zeti. (5 October 2007). SMEs are important engine of growth New Straits Time.