KUCHING – About 400 alumni including their family and friends packed the Main Hall of the Old Courthouse at the “Swinburne Alumni and Friends Cultural Night” on 9 October.
In her speech, Swinburne University of Technology Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Linda Kristjanson heaped praises on the 2014 achievements of the Sarawak campus.
Among these was the recent accreditation of the campus’ engineering courses by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency, growth in research funding, and winning third place in the Freescale Cup Worldwide Finals in Seoul, South Korea, in August.
She also shared some of the developments at the Melbourne campuses, including making it to the top 400 in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and 75th in the world for physics research.
This means that a Swinburne qualification becomes more valuable, Kristjanson said. “It truly is a recognised qualification in an international platform and it continues to improve.”
Chancellor Graham Goldsmith spoke on the direction of Swinburne and its 2020 plan to be Australia’s leading university in science, technology and innovation.
Cultural performers from secondary school SMK Tun Abang Haji Openg entertained the audience and lucky draws were held.
Joining in the evening of local Malay culinary fare and fun were Datuk (Dr) Philip Ting, a strong supporter of the Swinburne University of Technology Malaysia Alumni Association (SAAM) who is also the university board and council member, his counterpart Dato (Dr) Haji Abdul Rashid bin Mohd Azis and Datuk Wan Ali Tuanku Yubi, Swinburne Sarawak Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Professor Anthony Cahalan, Swinburne Australia Vice-President (Engagement) Andrew C. Smith, and 2014 SAAM Outgoing President Edgar Ngiam.