PETALING JAYA: Top Glove Corp Bhd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Alumni Association of National Taiwan University Malaysia (AANTUM) last Saturday as part of its drive to attract more leading talent as it works towards its goal of becoming a Fortune Global 500 company by 2030.

The MoU signing marks the beginning of a three-year partnership, which would enable the glovemaker to tap into AANTUM’s network of National Taiwan University’s (NTU) Malaysian students, fresh graduates and alumni with expertise in research and development that are specifically related to the healthcare manufacturing industry, and provide them with gainful employment with the company.

Top Glove managing director Datuk Lee Kim Meow is confident that its collaboration with AANTUM will enable it to thrive in a complex and everchanging future.

“Accordingly, as the company and our workforce continue to scale in global recognition on key aspects of business sustainability which include research and development, patents, and innovation. In addition to attracting experienced talents in those fields, we also hope to provide gainful employment and lifelong education and learning to young and bright Malaysians; enabling them to be equipped with the right skills as the country transitions to a high income economy within the next five years.”

In February 2021, Top Glove’s research and development unit Top Glove International Sdn Bhd was accorded recognition by the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), under the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, as the second highest Malaysian patent applicant for 2020. The company, which is the only glovemaker to be included in the top 20 list of patent applicants, had filed 52 patent applications in Malaysia and 97 patent applications overseas, related to gloves, formers, dental dams, and chemicals used in the glove industry and automation systems, which enhances product quality and improves production efficiency.

NTU, in the meantime, is widely considered as a top university in Taiwan and is placed among the top 100 universities in the world by the prestigious QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education Rankings World University Rankings. AANTUM has over 2,000 active alumni members nationwide, and 600 Malaysian students are currently pursuing studies at the university.

Top Glove is looking to similarly collaborate with other world leading universities and alumni associations around the world, especially in the Asian region, to support its expansion plan, which would see the company increasing capacity by an additional 100 billion pieces of gloves from FY2021 to FY2025.