I was the 79th staff member who joined Swinburne Sarawak on 2 January 2003. I shared the same office at G3.13 with my colleagues Mr Ooi, Michael Lee, and Adriana Lai. We had many good memories.

Collegial relationship has been most precious to me since I started work at Swinburne. Looking back, we were like a family working under one roof. Building G, surrounded by big trees, a mini basketball court, a shaded car park and a small canteen, was the only building at that time. Everyone knew each other then and we had active interactions during school meetings, staff and recreational activities, festive gatherings, annual dinners, and the like.

After 17 years, Swinburne is now a well-known university in Sarawak and Malaysia. It has grown from a local institute into a multi-national university. Students from over 50 countries have studied on this campus and we have the luxury of having academics from different countries and backgrounds contributing significantly to nurturing our students. This rich cross-cultural composition is definitely the strength of the university. I often tell others that Swinburne is akin to an international airport located in the middle of the city. Cross-cultural interaction on campus is a value-added learning experience for our students.

Having graduated from universities in Toronto and Melbourne, I enjoy cross-cultural learning experience and it has enriched my life. I often encourage my students to take the opportunity to work with their peers of different cultural backgrounds during group assignments to learn from one another. This cross-cultural learning experience can better prepare our future generation for the challenging and borderless business environment.

I believe the university will continue to be a blessing to Sarawak and students from all over the world. Happy 20th Anniversary to Swinburne Sarawak.