When they advertised for the position, they did not indicate that it was Swinburne. It was just an advert for a Finance and Admin Manager. I decided to give it a try and find out more. It was only when I got there that I realized what it was for. But coincidentally, my brother-in-law graduated from Swinburne in Melbourne. Professor Ken Heskin (the first Pro Vice-Chancellor of Swinburne Sarawak) interviewed me. The interview was not conducted on campus because, although G Building was already there, our office was not yet ready. There was only a small hut, which is no longer there - genuinely, a hut - just double the size of my office now.

My first day on the job was filled with interviews for staff. When I walked in, there was a charming Australian lady by the PC, with mountains of applications that she was keying in, sitting on the floor. It turned out she was Ken Heskin’s wife – not even a staff member! She was helping us to do things because we were so shorthanded back then. The first five years were definitely not smooth sailing as we had to do everything from scratch, though it was fascinating.

We had very limited knowledge in terms of the education market domestically. I joined in March and two weeks later, I had to attend our first education open day at the Civic Centre. We had minimal experience and we had to grab anyone who looked our way! But, over that weekend, our Foundation programme was born.

Over the years, I have seen many changes, especially in the staff. I remember one student from our first batch intake and now she is a staff member who is a PhD holder, a senior lecturer and a mother. She also met her husband here. That is how impactful we have been in people’s lives. I think we have been very lucky that our shareholders have been very supportive. Without them, none of this would have materialized.