Hi guys, I'm in need of some help.

I'm considering a Ph.D. in Biotechnology (applied areas such as Industrial, Biomedical, Enzymology) in a university in M'sia. Currently looking at universities based in the Central region (Klang Valley area) such as IMU,UPM, UKM, UM, etc. I'm currently based in the northern region but would like to relocate to Central, hence my interest in these unis. Otherwise I'd join USM in a heartbeat .

To make my decision, I'd be grateful for some input from current students or PhD grads about their research groups. Among the things I'm looking at to decide where to go/approach is:

- how are the principal investigators/academicians like? genial/helpful/territorial/petty/approachable/aloof etc.
- working environment
- research funding
- accessibility to equipment/resources/training
- presence/absence of internal politics
- productivity of research group


Looking forward to some input from you all. Cheers!

Interestingly enough, no I'm currently running a biotech startup

Molecular diagnostics, primarily. Its a whole different ball game from academia I must say.

PCR detection of organisms/microogranisms/pathogens, in as much as me and my company are concerned.

Thank you kindly! Yeah, not much interesting biotech jobs out there - mostly academic. Really if u want to do R&D, join public academia - nobody else will bother to invest in ur upskilling and R&D work. Hardly any private R&D outfits shelling out the dough, save places like ACGT and the like, with big parents and deep pockets. HAving said that though, the whole idea behind knowledge-based economy - or any economy really - is still entrepreneurship.

Shoe string biotech startup like mine, definitely need support. Tax exemption comes in the form of BioNexus status, but that's 2 years down the road. As for clients, well, that's the point of having a business kan?

This post has been edited by pleasuresaurus: Jan 3 2014, 07:47 PM

Bro, no point asking opinions la, everybody's got one. If u have the urge, the entrepreneurial spirit, u will want to do it no matter what ppl say.What IS valuable is experiences of ppl who r neck deep in enterprise. Knowledge can be bought, experience is priceless.

I think ur idea is sound - start somewhere, work for sumbody, pick up some good habits (bad ones too, cant be helped hehehe), build contacts (its not who u r, its who you know), save sum capital, keep learning. Also, from a sci tech geek point of view, don't get too attached to ur ideas - if it cant sell, its useless. Move on. This is easy to say but hard to do, believe me.

While money is an issue, its not really THAT big an issue. If ur running a tech startup, there are a number of ways for you to secure your funding, from pre seed, seed, pre comm and commercialization. Just need to know where to look and how to sell. Even technical skill is not a deal breaker. Like I said, knowledge can be bought. Whats most important is the sellability of the idea. I've met sum pretty otai tech biz ppl and they all tell me the same thing - think sales marketing first.