She said the four main objectives of the festival was to enable the sharing and generation of new ideas; encouraging collaboration between the government, academics, industry partners and the society;

Preparing a platform and space for students and the community to devise solutions to problems and issues as a result of the partnership of experts from universities and higher education institutions; and also to create opportunities to improve the quality of life.

The Festival of Ideas 2021, which is being held for the first time, is a result of collaboration between the KPT, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)

Meanwhile, Noraini said the KPT also welcomed applications for research grants based on current problems and issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

“We encourage research based on science, technology and social science in helping the communities affected by the pandemic,” she said.

Previously, a total of 25 projects had been chosen to receive the post-COVID-19 Special Research Grant that was implemented from Aug 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency