KUCHING – More than 30 senior delegates from nine state foundations in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah had an insight into the Australian education Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus offers when they visited on 12 September.
The senior officers were welcomed by the university’s Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor and CEO, Professor Ajay Kapoor.
Accompanying the delegates, headed by the Affiliation of National Academic Organisations (Pembina) Executive Director Tan Sri Hashim Meon, was Yayasan Sarawak Deputy Director (Corporate Services and Finance) Mr Mersal Abang Rosli.
In his address, Professor Kapoor said that as a branch campus university in Malaysia, Swinburne Sarawak offers courses identical to those of its home campus in Australia, which is ranked as one the top 100 universities in the world under 50 years old by the Times Higher Education in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
“Our programs in business, computing, design, engineering and science range from foundation to bachelor, master and PhD levels. They provide access to opportunities that allow students to learn in innovative ways.
“At the end of their studies, our graduates are awarded the same internationally recognised degree as their peers in Australia. This means they have a qualification highly valued by industry and could pursue their career in any part of the world.”
Business Development and Liaison director Mr James Ho presented an overview of Swinburne’s only international university branch campus, namely its establishment, programs available, focus on industry engaged learning, student diversity and population as well as the impressive employability rate of Swinburne Sarawak graduates.
Research, Consultancy and Future Projects director Associate Professor Wallace Wong delivered on the research capabilities, collaborations and achievements of Swinburne Sarawak.
Both Mr Ho and Professor Wong acknowledged the significant role and support provided to the university by Yayasan Sarawak, which together with the Sarawak Higher Education Foundation, owns 75% of the branch campus. Swinburne Melbourne holds the remaining 25%.
The delegates toured the 6.77-hectare city campus and its facilities including its science research laboratories, digital research centre, library and student lounge before departing.
The visit was part of the 27th Foundation Leadership Cooperative Conference (Mesyuarat Majlis Kerjasama Kepimpinan Yayasan Ke-27) held from 11 to 13 September. The conference was organised by Pembina and hosted by Yayasan Sarawak.