Page 16 www.ijiras.com | Email: contact@ijiras.com International Journal of Innovative Research and Advanced Studies (IJIRAS) Volume 7 Issue 4, April 2020 ISSN: 2394-4404 A Critical Outlook On The Role Of Research Practices In Laboratory Towards Student Skills Development In Malaysian And Japanese Public Universities Atiqurrahman Rosdi Dr. Suzana Ariff Azizan Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dr. Zul Ilham Socio-Environmental Research Alliance, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dr. Ayako Fujieda 3 Faculty of Humanities, Kyoto Seika University, Iwakura, Sakyo-ku Kyoto, Japan Dr. Asyraf Isyraqi Jamil Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dr. Shaikh Mohd Saifuddeen Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dr. Mohd Zulkefeli School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I. INTRODUCTION Universities has been long recognized as the ‗engine‘ for the country‘s economic development due to its important role in shaping the human capital formation and substantial beneficiaries for research and development (R&D) in the country (Mellander & Florida, 2006; Ponomariov & Boardman, 2010). According to the article in ―The Economics‖, university is characterized as the knowledge factory (Florida & Cohen, 1999). This is due to the knowledge production delivered in many ways, either through formal or non-formal education system. The strong combination between formal and non-formal education would be able to deliver lifelong learning skills among graduates (Biao, 2015). This is truly important to encounter the increasing worldwide complexity and problem day by day. Therefore, graduates are ought to be equipped with lifelong learning skills to adapt to the evolution of technology and knowledge. In this study, the focus on the students‘ development is expressed through talent transference, particularly on the skillsets that prepare them after graduating. In universities, research laboratory is the indispensable part of a university that practices both science and humanities (Affeldt, Tolppanen, Aksela, & Eilks, 2017). In universities, Abstract: Developing talented graduates to fulfil market challenges is a formidable task for higher education today. By using qualitative method, Malaysian and Japanese professors in selected public universities were interviewed in order to investigate how research practices in laboratory contribute towards student skills development. The result shows that laboratory practices such as group work, mentoring and closed monitoring in organization enhance student employability skills. It is suggested that chain mentoring system from professors to junior researchers to be practiced as a succession planning in developing potential leaders. Closed monitoring between principal investigator, senior and junior researchers is also significant to support not only for professional skills, but also for personality growth and emotional support. Keywords: Research practice; Research organization; Laboratory; Student skills; Public universities brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by UM Digital Repository