Newton Fund Institutional Links success story
Cities are central to Malaysia’s economic development. However, urbanisation creates environmental challenges alongside pressures on existing infrastructures. Using big data on a local level could make Malaysia’s cities smarter, greener and more productive.
To address these challenges, experts from the UK and Malaysia, supported by a Newton-Ungku Omar Fund grant, developed a capacity building programme for Malaysian city officials and local authorities. The programme demonstrated how big data can be used to improve policy-making locally. A series of joint workshops was carried out to help officials make data-driven decisions and to discuss their innovation needs with UK experts.
The collaboration resulted in a new open data policy which was presented to the Melaka State Government in May 2017. The policy contributes to the Green Technology City Framework 2020, supporting Melaka's ambition to become a sustainable urban state. UK partners have been able to build strong links with companies in Malaysia to explore innovative city solutions relevant to both countries.
"We have successfully built capacity on big data by creating awareness, sharing information and building trust among the partners." Professor Mohd Hamdan Bin Ahmad, Universiti Teknologi, Malaysia.