GNSS education and training programs in Malaysia can be grouped into formal education programs, shortcourses and other programs.

Formal GNSS education programs

Formal GNSS education programs are carried out through taught course and research, leading to an academic award. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) is probably the only local university offering taught courses in GNSS. Masters in Science (Satellite Navigation) contains subjects such as Navstar GPS, GPS Navigation, Navigation Systems, and Intelligent Transportation System. While Masters in Science (Satellite Surveying) contains subjects of GPS Surveying, GPS Geodesy, GPS Navigation, and GPS Applications in Surveying and GIS. Two other programs, Masters in Science (Geomatic Engineering) and Masters in Science (Hydrographis Surveying) contain a couple of GNSS
related subjects (FKSG, 2003).

UTM is also teaching several GNSS subjects in their Bachelor Degree of Geomatic Engineering, namely GPS Surveying, Satellite Navigation, and Hydrographic Positioning Systems. Post Graduate program through research works related to GNSS are also offered in areas of Satellite Navigation, Satellite Surveying, Geomatic Engineering, Hydrographic Surveying.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) teaches subject of Satellite Surveying in their Bachelor of Civil Engineering as well as subject of GPS in their Masters of Engineering (Remote Sensing and GIS) (Mansor, 2004). Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) are teaching topics of GNSS in subjects such as Physical and Satellite Geodesy, Geodetic Surveying, and Hydrography, under their Bachelor of Surveying Sciences and Geomatic, as well as subject of Geodetic Surveying under their Diploma of Geomatic Science program (Rosdi, 2004). Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) teaches topics of GNSS in subject Geomatic under their Bachelor of Civil Engineering, while Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM) also teaches topics of GNSS in their subject of Electronic Navigation Aids (ENA) (Matori, 2004). Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is also teaching GNSS and related topics in their Bachelor of Civil Engineering program (W. Ismail, 2004).

Short-courses

The institutions mentioned earlier, from time to time offer short courses in GNSS and related topics. Apart from that, Institut Tanah dan Ukur Negara (INSTUN), under the Jabatan Ukur dan Pemetaan Malaysia (JUPEM) also offers short courses in GNSS and related topics, which are primarily for their own staff in-house HRD programs. These courses are mainly focused on subjects or topics. The other parties that offers short-courses, which on the other hand focuses on instrumentations – hardwares and softwares – are GNSS related local vendors.

Other GNSS education programs

Local institutions also organize seminars and meetings on GNSS and its related fields.

Such meetings are (just to mentioned several of them, for example);

In this era of the so-called GNSS era, knowledge and innovation is considered as a crucial input in the industrialization and development of any nations. The GNSS economy is strongly influenced by the liberalization of international trade system worldwide where emphasis is given to competitiveness. With this scenario, the importance of knowledge as a factor determining the growth of nations is critically important. Malaysia, as a developing nation, sourced out its quest for high-tech knowledge from abroad, especially in the early stages of her development.

But the New Economy changed how businesses are conducted and the new rules of the game require speed, flexibility and innovation. A metal casting firm uses computer-aided manufacturing technology to cut cost, time and energy. A farmer who sows genetically altered seed and drives a tractor navigate by the GPS satellites. Or a toy manufacturer that uses the Internet to take orders from customers all over around the world. The New Economy gives birth to industry giants such as the Apple Computers from Steve Job’s and Steve Wozniak’s garage and Dell Computers from the trunk of Michael Dell’s car. A nation’s economic success will increasingly be determined by how effectively they can spur technological innovation, entrepreneurship, education, specialized skills, and the transition of all organizations— public and private—from bureaucratic hierarchies to learning networks.

It is well known fact that the innovative activity which, is the primary source of knowledge generation, concentrated only in a number of developed nations. Within these developed nations, these activities are only concentrated and dominated by only a small number of corporations.

In developing nations, the primary mode of promoting technology advances is through technology acquisition. However, in this new era of economy, the focus is on innovation and the creation of new technology and higher valueadded activities by increasing basic and applied research. Malaysia, for example in the early years of its development has placed its primary emphasis on technology acquisition. As its per capita income increases, Malaysia is putting in place major fundamental research & development programs in the public and private sectors in an attempt to attain world leadership in key areas.

Table 1 shows two indicators of innovative activity for key Asian nations. These two indicators cover both knowledge 'inputs' as well as 'output'. R&D expenditures are considered the ‘input’ indicator of the innovative activity. The knowledge output indicator considered in this study is patents obtained by inventors from different nations at the US Patent and Trademark Office over the past 25 years period (1975-2000). There are other forms of knowledge generation activities such as copyright and trade secret. However, because patenting is the primary form of intellectual property protection, patent data are considered to be the most available, objective and qualitative measure of knowledge output. Thus, a nation's patenting activity is an indicator of the strength of its research enterprise and technological strengths, both overall and in particular fields of technology.

The table reveals that an extreme form of knowledge generation concentration with just three nations of Asia, which account for the bulk of all innovative activities in Asia. This top three nation’s of Asia, that is Japan, Taiwan and South Korea account for as much as 80% of Asia resources spent on R&D activity annually. In terms of knowledge output, the same top three nations have the most number of patents issued. They account nearly 98% of the knowledge output in terms of patents taken out in the US. Hence, the concentration in terms of knowledge output is even more uneven than for the knowledge inputs. But the obvious trend is that the control over knowledge is directly related to the amount of fund allocated to its R&D. Malaysia for example, allocated only 0.20% of its GDP for R&D purposes and this is reflected in the number of patents awarded for the past 25 year period, which amounted to only a meager 384 patents. The trend shows that Japan is way ahead in their innovation activities with a total of 426, 702 patents issued to them.

Besides the patenting activity defined by a nation of the inventor in all type of sectors, trends were also analyzed by the number of patents issued that are related to the Geomatic field. Keywords related to this field such as GPS, GNSS, mapping, remote sensing, triangulation, spatial, and photogrammetry are among others that are used in the definition. Table 2 shows the number of patents produced for the Geomatic field for a period from 1982 to 2001.