Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) and the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology E.P.E. (CDTI), Ministry of Science & Innovation, Government of Spain, are the nodal implementing agencies from Malaysia and Spanish sides, respectively.
Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) is an agency under the purview of Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) in charge of the development of the high technology industry in Malaysia. Its key role is building and driving partnerships in technology through a consensus building platform between the private and public sector and providing strategic advice and alliances to shape high technology studies, capacity building through policy interventions as well as flagship programmes and strategies for the country.
On the Malaysian side, the Department of Higher Education (DOHE), a government department under the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) overseeing higher education matters in Malaysia has decided to join in as additional funding agency. Higher education institutions under the purview of DOHE are public universities and private higher education institutions. DOHE is the key department responsible in developing policy and programmes in pushing the Malaysian higher education excellence. DOHE is also responsible in strategizing and realizing the initiative to strengthen Malaysia’s research capacity through various programmes. Since 2007, DOHE has introduced programmes to develop and strengthen research foundation in Malaysia. DOHE is now pursuing international collaboration to intensify research and innovation.
The CDTI is a Public Entity under the Ministry of Science & Innovation, Government of Spain, which fosters the technological development and innovation of Spanish Companies.
This Call for proposals is open to collaborative R&D projects in the following thematic areas:
SUSTAINABLE CITY DEVELOPMENT:
- Smart Cities (sustainable cities and transport networks, smart grids): smart energy systems, building and space sustainability, intelligent transport and mobility, societal challenges - inclusion, education, health, tourism, etc. - electronic, open, and participatory government.
- Access to safe, affordable, and sustainable housing, transportation and basic services;
- Integrated technologies towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change and resilience to disasters;
- Cyber Security, Smart / Intelligent Solutions for smart city management, smart community development.
KNOWLEDGE BASED ECONOMY (k-Economy):
- Waste to Wealth - reduce adverse environmental impact of cities, paying special attention to the quality of municipal and other waste management; innovative business models and or technologies on products / processes / services of recycled and or by products, innovative technologies / solutions on waste separation, etc.
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING AND MATERIALS:
- New and enhanced processes to manufacture existing products; design and manufacture of new products through the development and adoption of advanced technologies, materials, management systems and processes; servisitation of products and life cycle management.
HEALTH:
- Health research is prioritized to gather the clinical and epidemiological evidence necessary for the development of new diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines. Digital health solutions to support healthcare professionals and patients manage illnesses and health risks, as well as promote health and well-being
ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS:
- The future trends for electrical and electronics that involved extensive research, design & development are IoT, 5Gs applications, wireless power transfer, electrical safety, drones, artificial intelligence, sensor technologies, autonomous cars, to name a few. The solutions will enable adoption to fourth industrial revolution (IR4.0) elements by the industries and help them to move up the value chain.
AEROSPACE:
- The aerospace industry is among the leading industries embracing fourth industrial revolution (IR4.0) technology. The core sub-sectors such as MRO, aerospace manufacturing, systems integration, engineering & design are among the sectors identified to boost the aerospace industry ecosystem.
SMART AGRICULTURE:
- Smart farming is an emerging concept that refers to managing farms using technologies like IoT, robotics, drones, and AI to increase the quantity and quality of products while optimizing the human labour required by production. This is the driving force behind the rise of Smart Agriculture technology.
Industry-driven and market-oriented R&D projects, joint technological co-operation projects between companies, research organizations, academia in Malaysia and industrial partners (start-ups, SMEs, and large companies), in Spain consisting in the development or substantial improvement of new products, processes or services will be considered.
In Malaysia participation from industry is a must, but either industry player or academia can be the project lead.
Project Duration: 2 years
The proposals must cover the thematic areas mentioned in point 2 to enhance bi-regional co-operation and develop new partnerships as well as strengthen existing one.
TIMELINE
- Launch of Call for Proposals: 18th September 2023
- Deadline for Submission of completed applications: 18th January 2024; 12:00 CET / 19:00 Malaysia time
- Eligibility feedback to applicants: 25th January 2024
- Label concession (estimated): June 2024
Eligible Spanish Applicants
Spanish consortia should include at least one company. Participation of research institutes/universities and other organizations is welcome as self-funded participants or subcontractors.
Eligible Malaysian Applicants
Projects can be either business or research organization-led but must involve a Malaysia business of any size and involve a Malaysia academia and collaborate with Spanish eligible partners.
Key Malaysian academic eligibility criteria include:
- Research Organizations (ROs) eligible to apply are Public Universities. Researchers based in other ROs can be a Co-Investigator but not eligible to apply as a Principal Investigator.
- The Malaysian PI must have been awarded a doctorate at the time of application. Applicants working towards a PhD or awaiting the outcome of their viva/submission of corrections are not eligible to apply.
- Applicants must be Malaysian citizens and hold a permanent or fixed-term contract in an eligible university or higher learning institute in Malaysia. Applicants with fixed terms contracts finishing before their grant end-date must secure confirmation from their RO stating that their contract will be extended to cover the duration of the award if their application is successful.
- Contact between the Malaysian PI and other collaborators prior to the application is essential. This contact should lead to a clearly defined and mutually beneficial project proposal. Please note that MOHE will not assist in locating external collaborators.
- The Malaysian applicant’s employing organization must be willing to agree to administer the grant.
First stage - Common International phase:
- Joint R&D&I proposals must be submitted to CDTI and MIGHT, by 18th January 2024; 12:00 CET / 19:00 Malaysia time in order to consider the eligibility. Unilaterally submitted proposals shall not be considered.
- In Spain the participants will have to submit a formal R&D international project application through CDT’s website https://sede.cdti.gob.es/
- In Malaysia, submission must be done through MIGHT’s online application system https://applications.might.org.my/e/mysip/my_submission
Documents Required:
1. Malaysian and Spanish co-applicants must elaborate a single project proposal application (Annex 1 – Application Form). The Bilateral Co-operation Form must emphasize how the proposed collaboration adds value, main technology highlights and innovations, activities to be developed by the Parties involved underlining the collaborative work being carried out on each side, their expertise, etc.
Please note that this Application Form must be sealed and signed by all co-applicants at the end of the document, expressly indicating the name and designation of the authorized signatory in the organization. Any other relevant information not expressly mentioned on the form and that the applicants consider relevant may be included as Annexes.
2. In addition to the Application Form, co-applicants must submit the following documents as relevant appendices:
- Draft Consortium Agreement (template provided)
- Malaysian companies will have to submit specific documents required by MIGHT:
- MOA Form 9, as proof the business is registered with Companies Commission of Malaysia
- SSM Documents
- Company Profile
- Audited Financial Account
- Funding Proposal required by MOHE & MIGHT:
Projects must be collaborative, containing at least 1 business from both Malaysia and Spain, due to their bi-lateral nature, projects should demonstrate equivalence in efforts from the Malaysian and Spanish partners. The proposal should have one common work plan with both the Malaysian and Spanish partners having key roles and responsibilities, equating to the equivalent time and costs accrued in both countries. The proposal and other supporting documents must be in English language.
- Malaysian ROs will have to submit specific documents required by MOHE (Cost Proforma).
Second Stage - National level
Only those proposals which have positive eligibility by CDTI and MIGHT are allowed to submit the individual R&D&I proposal in its own language established by each agency.
In Spain: the funding Proposal in Spanish required by CDTI:
Only industrial partners, individually, are able to summit the funding proposal and other required documents through the electronic services at https://sede.cdti.gob.es/AreaPublica/home.aspx Application must be submitted within 20 working days after receiving the communication of eligibility. The complete details of the Call are available on MIGHT’s and CDTI’s websites: https://applications.might.org.my/e/mysip/my_submission and http://www.cdti.es. Proposals selected for funding by MIGHT, MOHE and CDTI will proceed to the project implementation phase for the duration of 2 years.
The funding will be committed/disbursed at this stage. Beneficiaries must submit:
The funding will be committed/disbursed at this stage. Beneficiaries must submit:
- Final Consortium Agreement in English whereby the consortium should agree upon the ownership, access rights and exploitation of intellectual property generated during the co-operation, to be submitted to CDTI and MIGHT. The Consortium Agreement needs to be sealed and signed by all applicants.
The project must clearly specify the costs of each and all the activities pertaining to the project and specify the costs to be respectively borne by the Spanish and Malaysian partners. The cost of the Malaysian and Spanish partners must be eligible under the laws that may be applicable in each country and under internal regulations of CDTI, MOHE and MIGHT respectively.
The funding conditions from MOHE and MIGHT are set in MYR and the ones from CDTI in €. Budgets must be expressed in the local currency of each applicant. All figures and budgetary conditions in this Call refer to the value of both currencies on the date of the launch of the Call.
None of the countries´ budget (namely the budget of its entities participating in the proposal) can have more than 70% of the global budget.
The Spanish company will be funded according to the International Technological Cooperation Projects’ conditions identified on CDTI’s website. CDTI can only provide funding to Spanish companies subject to budget availability.
MIGHT will fund 1 project for each thematic area, with MYR500,000.00 for each project which is equivalent to €106,120.00. The funding for your eligible project cost would be:
- up to 70% if you are a micro or small business
- up to 60% if you are a medium-sized business
- up to 50% if you are a large business
As for the collaborators from the academia, MOHE will fund up to MYR500,000.00 for each project. Malaysian academics will be funded according to MOHE funding guidance in Annex 2 and Annex 3.
MIGHT and MOHE will fund the Malaysian partners while CDTI will fund the Spanish partners.
All received proposals are peer reviewed and processed independently by both sides. After having received the recommendations of the respective evaluation panels, MIGHT, MOHE and CDTI will jointly arrive at a mutual understanding on the projects to be funded.
The evaluation criteria are the following:
- Crucial Criteria
- Financial capacity of Partner
- Formal Agreement between Partners
- Basic Assessment Criteria
- Partnership and Partners
- Well balanced partnership
- Added Value through co-operation
- Technology Capacity of all Partners
- Managerial Capacity of all Partners
- Project Structure
- Methodology and Planning Approach
- Milestones and deliverables
- Cost and financing structure
- Financing commitment of each Partner
- Technology and Innovation
- Technological Advance
- Degree of technological maturity and risk
- Technological Achievements
- Innovation
- Degree of innovation
- Geographical / sector impact
- Market and Competitiveness
- Market and profitability
- Market size
- Market access and risk
- Return on investment
- Competitive advantages
- Strategic importance of the project
- Enhanced capabilities and visibility
MIGHT, MOHE and CDTI will, after having formed their mutual understanding on the projects to be funded, make their funding decisions according to their normal procedures and rules and on a non-exchange of funds basis. CDTI and MIGHT/MOHE will inform the beneficiaries about the funding decisions according to their normal practice.
Funding granted by MIGHT, MOHE and CDTI will be governed by the general terms and conditions of each funding organization, respectively. Both parties will carry out an international follow-up until the completion of the projects and inform their counterpart about the success or failure of the international cooperation at the end of the project.
If required, each participant should submit financial and technical reports to their national funding organisations, according to national regulations. The progress and final results of each individual contract/letter of grant will be monitored by the respective national funding organisations.
Additional specific project output required by MOHE:
- Human capital/Talent
- 2-year project: Projects are expected to train at least 1 post-graduate student (full-time research mode)
- Publications
- Researchers must publish at least 2 publications in indexed journal
- Acknowledgement towards Malaysia & Spain Innovating Bilateral Industrial Technology Cooperation Program (MYSIP) grant must be stated clearly in every publication
- Intellectual Property (Including Patent, Copyright, Industrial Design, layout Design of Integrated Circuit & Trademarks)
- All rights and governance of IP should be made in accordance with Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) / Consortium Agreement between partner in Malaysia and Spain
- Filed IP must be proven with IP approval’s letter
- Commercialized output
- Commercialized output from MYSIP grant shall be distributed according to the agreement of all parties in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) / Consortium Agreement.