Kuala Lampur, July 20 -- When universities hire only people with PhDs (or certain PhDs) and only people who have published academically, this isn't always good news and, in fact, may contain hidden risks.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning.

Nowadays, in most Malaysian universities (both private and public), having a PhD and being well-published is almost a matter of necessity when it comes to hiring new employees. These two criteria are often even used for screening purposes.

When someone applies to an academic department to be a lecturer, one of the first things HR or the Dean or Head looks at is whether you hold a PhD in that particular field you're applying to teach and whether your H-index (university tal...