Article courtesy of The Network Magazine

The 21st century will witness many new industries that were not known or not recognized in the previous century. These industries are created when new fields of study become matured and create opportunities for business and there are potential for the business to be growing exponentially.

The 20th century has witnessed the emergence and tremendous growth of aviation industry from mail delivery service and small scale exclusive passenger travel before World War 2 to more than 100 million passengers every year travelling on international flights.

Now space tourism or civilian space travel industry has emerged and growing and when the first affordable space liner starts its service in a couple of years, most probably this industry will at least imitate the growth of the aviation industry in the 20th industry, and forever change the phenomenon of astronautics and space travel, which traditionally only limited to government funded and very expensive missions.

Generally space tourism industry started about a decade ago when the first space tourist or private astronaut, the millionaire Dennis Tito travelled to the International Space Station (ISS) and stay there for more than a week, which had cost him about RM75 million. However, space tourism also is associated with affordability, and when defined as, “affordable space travel by the general public”, this “out-of-this-world” activity actually started about 5 years ago when there was a serious investment on the development of a passenger suborbital spaceplane which prototype had flown to space a couple of years before that, and resulted in the establishment of Virgin Galactic, the first private suborbital flight provider started and owned by Sir Richard Branson that had sold about 500 tickets to upper middle class and celebrities worldwide.

Suborbital spaceplane is the most economic space vehicle to build and operate, as it can operate from conventional airport without extra infrastructures, and is not capable of reaching orbit because its momentum is not high enough to escape Earth’s gravity, but can fly high enough to qualify its passengers as astronauts and experience brief zero-gravity when its momentum is being cancelled by the gravity at its maximum ceiling. Eventually, there will be hotels in orbit and also on Lunar surface, but before that, suborbital spaceplane will rule the sky, becomes the most important component of the industry. Now there are about 10 organizations worldwide trying to develop suborbital spaceplane, including an international group lead by Space Tourism Society Malaysia Chapter.

Today, space tourism is not an unheard phrase, and is becoming popular day by day as worldwide development is being reported and interest grows exponentially. In Malaysia, the only organization seriously promoting space tourism is Space Tourism Society Malaysia Chapter, a chapter of Space Tourism Society, a not-for-profit organization registered in the State of California. The Malaysian chapter, however is an international pioneer and leader in space tourism, since the organization is now a Board Member of International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety, an international organization comprise of spaceflight safety managers, engineers and scientists patronized by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and ESA (European Space Agency), representing Asia, developing countries and the international space tourism community.

Space agencies have their reason to response quite slowly on the progress of space tourism, since NASA, ESA and other major space agencies already had their own transportation infrastructures decades before the emergence of space tourism, but are slowly giving the attention and support as space tourism vehicles like suborbital spaceplane have been accepted as a potential low cost and effective zero-gravity and astronaut training platform which will be useful for the space agencies. The aviation, scientific and spaceflight safety sectors however are very keen on supporting the development of space tourism industry and currently become the catalyst for the total acceptance of private spaceflight initiative and space tourism as a major component of space industry in the near future.

For a developing country like Malaysia, which has limited capability and technology to build massive space travel infrastructure as in the USA and Russia, space tourism industry may be the most practical approach to venture into space travel. The most logical steps would be the government to encourage non-governmental organizations and private agencies to explore the opportunities in the industry in Malaysia.

Article courtesy of The Network Magazine

Malaysia will be celebrating its 54th birthday this year with much fanfare and pride. Pride of country and its people who have experienced a transformation that has seen the country grow from a commodities dependent economy to a low cost manufacturing base to the fledgling high-tech hub that it is today.

Without doubt, the high-tech industries springing up in the corridors of Cyberjaya will be the catalyst for further growth, but engines of growth rely on the economic ecosystem to thrive. Without manufacturing, agricultural, financial and public services to support it, the nascent high-tech industry will wither. With competitive threat from cheaper labour pools encroaching on the country’s more established economic sectors, the only way Malaysia can thrive is through strategic productivity growth by continuously upgrading the skill sets of its workforce.

In a relentlessly evolving global landscape, areas and skill sets needed in order to be ahead of the pack is constantly changing, thus new knowledge has to be persistently acquired to remain competitive. This is where the symbiotic nature of the economy comes into play as technology infuses new life into mature sectors.

The call for increased productivity is not new. What was missing is a sustainable mechanism for continuous learning that would lead to productivity growth.

At the heart of this productivity growth would be an integrated life-long learning programme that starts at the kindergarten level and extends all the way to retirement and beyond which is made possible by advances in the local technology sector. Enter the Integrated Learning Environment, a concept that could possibly tie together the various education and training initiatives into a whole that is more than the sum of its parts.

The Integrated Learning Environment would consist of a technology assisted teaching and learning programme at the primary and secondary levels, a networked learning grid for tertiary education, an Integrated Multimedia Content Development facility and a professional learning grid.

While two components of the Environment have already been started namely the Smart School programmes and to some extent the Open University, the other components have largely yet to be developed on a national scale.

The creation of an Integrated Multimedia Content Development facility is key in this Environment as it enables the development of high-quality content at lower cost and provides jobs for graduates.
The networked learning grid for tertiary education is a repository of multimedia content that provides a means for universities to share content for common courses. A first year mathematics course for example, is based on a common syllabus for most universities. By being part of the grid, universities can concentrate on building content that is unique to a particular university and not have to re-invent the wheel.

One of the most important aspects of increasing competitiveness of our workforce is skills training at the working level. Upgrading of skill sets and knowledge is paramount for a worker to adjust, adapt and respond to the competitive environment. However, workers face various limitations in the pursuit of new skills, and those limitations are not just monetary but also time and convenience.

In order to facilitate continuous training of our workforce, a professional training grid can be formed. The grid would consist of training courseware and access facilities for workers to conveniently take courses at home or on publicly accessible computer terminals.

The advent of cheaper broadband services, would make it feasible for rich-media courses in public speaking, increasing rubber yield and engine servicing for instance to be made available when and where it is convenient for the worker.

This is not to say that professional training services and trainers will be made redundant. To the contrary, for most types of skills, self-paced learning would require a period of hands-on time with a trainer before successful learning can take place. The advantage with having self-paced multimedia courseware is that new skills can be upgraded expediently.

For example, a mechanic would need hands-on training for his initial education on engines, but learning about a new injector and its repair techniques can be done using training courseware that can be accessed at his leisure without disrupting working time.

The same situation applies for white-collar workers where the upgrading of skills in software applications, policies, regulations and languages can be done through self-paced training courseware.

This constant cycle of skill upgrade would mean that the nation would have a labour pool that is competitive and can respond quickly to shifting market demands for a particular service.

A potential contributor to the Integrated Learning Environment that is sometimes left-out where workforce planning is concerned is the retiree segment of the population. These are people who have had twenty or more years of experience in a particular area and are prime candidates to be Subject Matter Experts in the area.

With these retirees connected via the Internet to the Multimedia Content Development facility, their knowledge and experience can be captured and encapsulated into training courseware that imparts not only information but also values and best practices.

May it be a traditional farmer who could increase the yield of his crops by employing a new planting technique, or a government officer who could service twice as many customers by utilizing a new process, or factory worker who could cut down the assembly time of a furniture by using an improved gluing technique, the key to productivity is upgrading off skills and the key to making it feasible on a nation-wide basis is the establishment of an Integrated Learning Environment.

Article courtesy of The Network Magazine

Naturally, as a first article for the first issue of this most promising magazine, I would like to write about the Bumiputera Technopreneur.

As a sub-set of the Bumiputera entrepreneurial community, the Bumiputera Technopreneur (BT) is a much misunderstood bunch of people. Unfortunately, without really knowing the peculiar problems and concerns of the BT, the public assumes that the BT exhibits all the short-comings of Malays in general.

As we are told ad nauseam, the Malay community needs the NEP as a crutch, they display bad habits like not repaying loans, they are lousy at meeting targets and deadlines, they fall short of their promises, their time-management is generally bad, they are too dependent on Government hand-outs, are mostly passive-aggressive in the handling of criticism and are secretly proud of the Ketuanan Melayu theory….and the list goes on.

For the Bumiputera entrepreneur, negative perceptions hold no bounds. Without constant help from the Government, it is said that no Malay would succeed in business today. If there are a few who have risen to the top, the reason often given is that they are politically connected and therefore enjoy all the “benefits” that come with such connections, or that they have rich non-Malays partners. Hard work and ability are hardly ever the reasons for the success of any Malay.
Well, I am tired of hearing all this. I am also tired of telling people that as a race, we are considerably far behind the Chinese, for example, who have handled money and dabbled in entrepreneurial activity for more than 5,000 years. And yes, we stumble and make mistakes, but who doesn’t?

From time to time, even I succumb to such stereotypical views of the Malay, especially when I encounter them in the lower rungs of the civil service. When I expect a lebih-kurang attitude and instead meet a Malay civil servant, businessman or a technopreneur who is courteous, meticulous and works fast, I am not just thankful but hopeful and optimistic once again.
Couple of years ago, I met a bunch of BTs who permanently altered my view of this sub-set of Malays. In my previous capacity as a newspaper editor, I had a fortnightly column and was wondering what to write about that particular week when I remembered the young man from Skali who wowed me with his enthusiasm.

He rounded up a couple of friends and they came over for a Saturday morning chat with me. All struggling in their respective businesses, they were distinctly different and also very funny. Had I been in their situation, I would have been spending entire days feeding my depression with chocolate cake. But they were determined to clear the path before them.

Ironically, although the Government had specific loans and grants to fund technopreneurial development work, the systems and processes were tied up in red tape and gridlocked by meaningless rules and regulations.

They each talked about how they were handling their problems. Yes, it was tough but we will get there, one of them said. Today, all of them have advanced in significant ways. They are still making mistakes but they have not given up.

A number of them sit on the NEF council and they remain as hopeful as they used to be. More recently, at the NEF AGM, I met more BTs – and their stories tell me that the Bumiputera technopreneurial community is still struggling to be heard and noticed. No one, however, is expecting handouts. Instead, they are looking for ways to help one another – and themselves, of course – up the ladder of success.

This tells me that it is time to change that old story about the Malays, don’t you agree?

Remember when they used to sell kuih door-to-door? Well, this business was managed single-handedly thanks to a marketing tool – word of mouth. This reliable marketing tool is still available today.

Today, this marketing tool is a medium everyone calls, Twitter.

Twitter is one of the famous social media marketing tools. Social media marketing is the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites like Twitter or Facebook and encourages audiences or customers to share and spread news, events or discounts within their social networks.

Picture source: http://7.mshcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/twitter-graph.jpg

With around 5 million Twitter users to date, this little birdie holds a lot of opportunity. Twitter, also known as ‘micro-blogging’ is a platform for you to update or share ideas, information, and resources. It allows you to ‘tweet’ as often as you want, limited to 140 characters (not words). Simply follow someone to start reading their tweets and they follow you to read your tweets.

So, how will twitter benefit your business?

Create valuable network
Twitter open doors that connect you – as a business owner to other business owners. The best thing about this is that it is localized. By just writing, reading, retweeting and replying each other’s tweets, you can create and build valuable networks. You can meet up with potential collaborators, vendors and new business leads with people who share the same interest as you do.

Connect with your customers
Getting in the groove is easy. After several followers, you’ll find that you know who they are as a person, where they have been and understand what makes them tick.  As you get to know them, you get to dig up insights to gauge their interest. This will help you better understand them as potential customers.

As you build relationships, your followers will more likely spread your name along to someone else. But remember there’s a fine line between sharing and spamming.

The power of ‘Retweet’
It is in our nature to trust the opinions of people we know more than anyone else’s. Think of it this way, the next time you want to get a haircut of course you’d trust a friend to recommend a good hair dresser. This is the same as a retweet. A follower share tweets by retweeting a tweet, causing it to spread from one network to another.  Imagine this, plus the power of push technology - contents are available on mobile devices where everyone is almost always online, information can rapidly spread faster.

To end this, one has to remember that Twitter requires more than just latest discounts, specials or offers, it’s about building relationships. Share more information, respond and help them with their questions, keep their best interest at heart, this in the end will build continuous trust. As the voice of your business, remember to be yourself and just have fun with it!

So, start tweeting today!

These days, as the competition gets more vicious, the younger generation has to work harder to succeed. Thus, young entrepreneurs are born. Getting ahead now means, starting your own business, as Malaysia is moving towards becoming a high income nation, the government seek to start them young and in turn shaping them into becoming the leaders of tomorrow.

"You don't have to be rich in order to become an entrepreneur", said visiting professor at Asia-Europe Institute, University Malaya, Professor Reimund Sidelmann. The former political science professor of Giessen University, Germany said people should particularly support the spirit of improving innovative thinking. The students should be encouraged to ask questions and come up with their own innovative ideas, to nurture the entrepreneurial culture in higher education.

Recently, the National Entrepreneurship Council of Higher Education was launched to strengthen and enhance the efforts to promote entrepreneurship values in higher education institutions.  The inception of these efforts will start from primary level, to cultivate innovative and independent young thinkers who can put their ideas on the right track.

Amongst the obstacles faced by lecturers and experts, is the lack of entrepreneurship facilities to attract students that can guide them to become successful entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship education not only teaches the skills of creating products but to also help students understand marketing and promotions as well as idea development and teamwork. "Entrepreneurship is about difficulties that new beginners have to learn in running their business. Education about entrepreneurship, therefore, is extremely important," said Prof G.T Vinig, University of Amsterdam's Professor of Entrepreneurship. He suggested that young entrepreneurs should establish many strong business networks within the business industry for the success of their business careers.

The president of University of Wales, United Kingdom, Professor Marc Clement said every university had the ability to help their countries generate economic growth through knowledge economy. In universities, we have the access to those who have talents in subjects such as global perspective, multi-disciplinary environment, entrepreneurial mindset and open innovation approach, which can help to develop young entrepreneurs," said Clement.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said "We hope that the council will act as a bridge between academics, industry, entrepreneurs and relevant agencies and be able to coordinate the development of entrepreneurship education to be aligned with national policies,"

Reference image taken from: http://wollytech.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Entrepreneurship.jpg

We see them everywhere - that funny looking square-like maze. It's on business cards, direct mailer, advertisements and even at the side of a bottle, just waiting to be decoded. But what exactly is a QR code? What is it for? As smart phone becomes a daily necessity for everyone, more businesses are using QR Codes as part of their marketing communications. This article addresses just that and from what a QR code is and how small businesses can leverage on this little wonder.

Short for quick response, the QR code is a 2-dimensional barcode that stores data and can be scanned both vertically and horizontally with a smart phone. The QR code can store a variety of data beyond numbers like web addresses and contact information.

You need a 2D barcode reader app in your phoneto decode the encoded data in the QR code.  Usually, the 2D reader is available on your mobile app store for free.  It's easy to scan a code, take out your phone, open the app and then scan the QR code, wait for the app to decode and it will redirect you the content encrypted inside. It's that simple.

Picture source: http://blog.avivo.si/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/How-to-scan-qr-code.png