KUCHING – Swinburne Sarawak has appointed Ir. Professor Lau Hieng Ho as its new Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer effective 1 July 2021.
A passionate academician, Professor Lau has over 18 years of extensive experience in teaching, research, and leadership at the higher education level. He had contributed significantly to academic and professional development, transnational education, and university-industry linkage.
His qualifications include a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Civil Engineering and a PhD from the Oxford Brookes University, UK, and a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching from Curtin University. He is also a Professional Engineer with Practicing Certificate registered with the Board of Engineers, Malaysia (BEM) and a Chartered Professional Engineer with Engineers Australia (EA).
Professor Lau is an active and internationally respected researcher. Professor Lau’s expertise is in cold-formed steel construction with broader research interests in construction waste management and sustainable development. He has published over 90 journal papers, conference papers, book chapters and conference proceedings, and technical articles in these research areas.
Professor Lau succeeded Professor John Wilson following the latter’s retirement last month. Professor Wilson expressed his pleasure in Professor Lau’s appointment, which will ensure that Swinburne Sarawak continues on its mission to be one of Malaysia’s leading private universities with a SETARA 6 and MyRA 5 ratings in the coming years.
Professor John Wilson, outgoing Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer.
Professor Wilson also noted that he had thoroughly enjoyed his experience at the Sarawak campus over the past four years working with a great team and looks forward to an ongoing involvement as a member of the Board and Council. He thanked all his colleagues for their exceptional efforts, external partners for their ongoing collaborations, and Swinburne Sarawak Board and Council members for their ongoing leadership, dedication and service, which will be continued under the guidance of Professor Lau.
Meanwhile, in her message on Professor Lau’s appointment, Vice-Chancellor and President of Swinburne University of Technology Professor Pascale Quester said as an outstanding academic with excellent leadership skills, Professor Lau will continue to chart the success of Swinburne Sarawak in the coming years.
Prior to this appointment, Professor Lau served as the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of the Sarawak campus. He led Swinburne Sarawak’s academic team through the learning transformation to online learning and teaching since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Professor Lau was also instrumental in broadening the courses offered at the Sarawak campus, reshaping the academic profile in learning and teaching, and forging paths for an industry immersion experience to prepare graduates to thrive in this changing world.
For more information about Swinburne Sarawak, visit its website www.swinburne.edu.my, Facebook page (@swinburnesarawak), Instagram (@swinburnesarawak), Twitter page (@Swinburne_Swk) or YouTube channel (Swinburne Sarawak).