One of them was Jamilah, a very bright student. On returning home, she found that jobs did not abound in Malaysia.

Frustrated, she sought ways to return to Britain to further her studies. There were a number of scholarships she could take advantage of. She secured a scholarship and pursued a Master’s degree. She left for Britain and did not return home.

Twenty years on, she is still working in Britain. She has since moved to other companies over the years and is now heavily involved in research and development. She returns home for her yearly pilgrimage to visit her aging parents and family.

Married with children, she even gave up her Malaysian citizenship to enable her to receive all that Britain could offer. But she now wants to return to Malaysia.

This story can be repeated with David, Jane, Muthu, Zamani and many more who leave our shores for better opportunities and quality of life.

This is the classic cycle of how brain drain starts – the quest for better employment, better salaries, better working environment and generally, a better quality of life.

The majority of the Malaysian diaspora reside in Singapore, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Canada.

The Government needs Malaysians living abroad back in Malaysia. They can contribute immensely in building up Malaysia for the 21st century and beyond.

The Science, Technology and Inno-vation Ministry has put together several initiatives to encourage Malay-sians living and working abroad to return home.

This is to ensure that the skills they have acquired from their years of living and working abroad are used to enhance domestic technology capability and the market.

Gaps in skills and expertise at home can be filled by Malaysian scientists and researchers residing abroad. The country requires this for its next stage of growth and development.

The ministry has introduced flexibility to the Brain Gain programme. They can return for short-stint assignments from two weeks to one year per visit. They will not need to physically uproot their families and relocate back to Malaysia.

What is of importance ultimately, is the transfer of knowledge and technology from Malaysians back to Malaysia. We need our scientists and researchers to come back home.

Those who meet a minimum requirement of five or more years of research experience in any science, technology and engineering discipline are eligible to apply. The quality and innovativeness of their research proposals are equally crucial.

The ministry also gives priority to scientists and researchers who wish to undertake research and development in emerging technologies that serve national needs.

This would include areas like climate change technologies, bioinformatics, alternative or renewal energy, biotechnology (food production), biomass, nanotechnology and cyber security.

Those who return can consider various roles – collaborator, consultant, or adviser – offering their skills and expertise. They can collaborate with local institutions of higher learning, research institutes or industries. They can identify their own collaborators or seek the help of the ministry if they do not have one.

For their contributions to the country, the programme offers them attractive incentives such as sustenance, return airfare, accommodation and medical insurance during their stay in Malaysia.

Furthermore, to enable them to undertake research and development with local researchers, the programme also provides some “top-up” of research expenses.

The main challenge in the implementation of the programme, is the lack of a database on Malaysian scientists and researchers residing abroad.

We have scant data on who and where these brains of ours are located although we know that the majority of them reside in Singapore, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Canada.

We have sought the assistance of Malaysian missions overseas to locate and promote the programme to these scientists. In addition, we also seek the assistance of the Malaysian community associations abroad.

Malaysia is on its path to growth as a developed nation. For those who have resided abroad, there is much that you can do in sharing your experience and years overseas, in building your homeland.

The programme is a start. It will not be the only programme. As we bring people back, this programme can be improvised further to serve the needs of our talent abroad. Where there are weaknesses in the programme, we will strengthen further with their assistance.

In the final analyss, you are the ones who will make the next phase of Malaysia. Malaysia gains when its brains from abroad return.

Datin Madinah Mohamad is the secretary-general of the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and she is keen to get in touch with those who are living abroad. So contact her at madinah@mosti.gov.my.

Source: theSTAR Opinion (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/25/focus/4393052&sec=focus)

Winners will have an internship at Deloitte, and receive a few thousand ringgit in cash prizes.

Universities of winning teams will also receive cash prizes.

Registration will close on July 21 for the team category and July 27 for the individual category.

For details, log on to
www.deloittechallenge.com.

The Ministry of Education proudly present National Career & Entrepreneurship 2009. This event will be the largest career and entrepreneur fair in the country entering the Malaysia Book of Record. The participant company as usual will conduct interview, giving talk and also features Entrepreneurship opportunities in Malaysia.

The details of National Career & Entrepreneurship 2009 as below:-

Event : National Career & Entrepreneurship 2009

Venue : PWTC

Date : 15th – 17th May 2009

Time : 10 am – 7pm

Organised by : Kementerian Pengajiaan Tinggi

For details, visit Graduan 2u portal.

This will be shared and elaborated further by veterans in both respective fields during the upcoming Star Education Fair 2009.

According to the head of Sime Darby Nursing and Health Sciences College, Shanaz Jamal, graduates in nursing are highly demanded in the market and jobs are virtually guaranteed upon them finishing studies. The shortage of nurses in Malaysia at the moment means that nurses do not have to look far beyond the country’s shore for job opportunities.

Shanaz will be speaking on nursing scholarship, institutions offering related courses and the career path waiting for a nurse during the education fair.

As for pharmacy, John Chang, who represents the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society, will be speaking to audience. John went on to say that a salary for a fresh graduate in pharmacy can range between RM3,700 and RM4,000, a relatively high pay for new grads.

The Star Education Fair 2009 will be held between 10 and 11 January (Saturday and Sunday) at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, KLCC.

The programme is open to final year students from any discipline and and those with up to 24 months of working experience are also encouraged to apply.

So hurry up and grab this opportunity to soar higher in your career!

Closing date for applications: 30 June 2008

Further details of this exciting world class programme are available at www.standardchartered.com/graduates.