KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 — Malaysia and China are expected to begin an exchange of 10 scientists and researchers from each country in the third quarter of 2025 as part of efforts to foster expertise sharing in science, technology and innovation between the two countries.

Academy of Sciences Malaysia chief executive officer Hazami Habib said the initiative under the Malaysia-China Science and Technology People-To-People Exchange Programme 2025 will see the scientists undergo six-month training in priority areas common to both nations.

“Among the fields to be explored by scientists from both countries are artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, energy, space, vaccines, advanced materials and semiconductors,” she told Bernama recently.

Hazami said the selection of scientists would be made in the second quarter of next year, with priority given to young and mid-career scientists, who will be expected to develop valuable projects upon their return to Malaysia.

Malaysian scientists will be funded by the Malaysia Science Endowment, an alternative national fund for Research, Development, Innovation, Commercialisation and Economy (RDICE) activities in Malaysia, she said.

She added that the exchange programme is one of the outcomes of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and China’s Ministry of Science and Technology in June 2024.

The MoU aims to strengthen cooperation between scientists and research institutions in Malaysia and China.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang had previously stated his intention to see both countries continue their efforts towards research excellence under the second group of the Strategic Research Fund-Request for Proposal (SRF-RFP) Malaysia-China Joint Research Programme 2025. — Bernama