MCMC recognises 10 digital society research grant recipients for Cycle 1

• Received 125 proposals from 33 local universities
• Research aims to identify gaps hindering universal digital connectivity

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) hosted the 2023 Research Symposium under the theme "Building Awareness and Participation in Facilitating Malaysia’s Digital Society." The objective was to foster greater inclusivity and awareness of the digital society through the implementation of the Digital Society Research Grant (DSRG).

In a statement, the commission highlighted the active participation of 150 attendees representing diverse sectors. These included professionals from the communications and multimedia industry, civil servants, and academicians, all driven by a commitment to drive innovation in the digital society for the betterment of future generations.

It said this year’s DSRG 2023 Cycle 1 focused on addressing various aspects of digital society and generating actionable outcomes in the domains of digital citizenship, digital cyberwellness, and digital inclusion. The research scope also aimed to identify regulatory and developmental gaps that hinder equal access and challenge the goal of ensuring universal digital connectivity.

The commission received 125 proposals from 33 local universities for DSRG 2023 Cycle 1. From these submissions, the MCMC-led technical panel selected 10 research projects for DSRG awards, spanning a range of topics, including:

• Examining Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) adoption levels among communications and multimedia industry players with a focus on providing a comparative ESG benchmark, identifying challenges and opportunities and assessing potential impacts of the ESG implementation among MCMC licensees.
• Investigating the Consumer Perspective and Experience concerning postal article safety throughout last-mile delivery in the postal and courier industry. This research aims at enhancing quality of service and consumer satisfaction in the last-mile delivery.
• Exploring digital healthcare adoption among Malaysian senior citizens, which aims to address the gaps, challenges and future needs that would improve the lifestyle quality among the aging citizens of Malaysia.

Currently, the call for proposals for DSRG Cycle 2 is ongoing and will continue from August 1 to the closing date on August 31, 2023. MCMC encourages academicians and researchers to develop and submit their proposals in areas relevant to digital cyberwellness and digital inclusion. For further details on DSRG Cycle 2's call for proposals, please visit this link.