AsianScientist (Mar. 23, 2011) – The government of Malaysia is partnering with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) to create a global center for supply chain education and research.
The joint initiative, linking the Higher Education Ministry, MIT and local University Technology Mara (UiTM), will build and develop the Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (MISI) in the city of Shah Alam.
Shah Alam, a strategic location 15 miles outside of Kuala Lumpur, is home to the largest and busiest port in Malaysia, Port Klang.
During the signing ceremony yesterday in Putrajaya, Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, said that the government of Malaysia was pleased about this partnership, and also that the MISI will be the “key” to Malaysia’s latest five-year plan to position Malaysia as a global leader in logistics and supply chain management.
The MISI will feature an independent degree-granting academic institution. According to Eric Grimson, Chancellor of MIT,
“Our experience in other countries has shown that creating a world-class institution of this type in conjunction with large-scale logistics investments can have a powerful positive effect on the economic development of a region.
Malaysia’s forward-thinking government has laid out powerful new academic and research initiatives making it the ideal location for our newest partnership. We look forward to joining Malaysia in this next phase of their evolution.”
MISI will serve as the Asian center of MIT’s international network of centers, known as the Global SCALE (Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence) Network. The other centers are the Zaragoza Logistics Center in Spain, and the Center for Latin American Logistics Innovation in Colombia.
MIT CTL director Yossi Sheffi said that MISI could be the penultimate center in the network as a final center in Africa would allow MIT to cover each continent.
The center is slated to open in the spring of 2011 with its first Masters students matriculating in the fall of 2012. Postdoctoral degree courses are also planned, including a portfolio of professional courses for executives.
On July 19th, MISI will host the Global Supply Chain Summit at the Shah Alam Convention Centre. Leading academics from top institutions around the world such as Harvard Business School, London Business School, MIT, and Stanford have been invited.
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Source: MIT CTL.
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