Monash in Malaysia bolsters brand

MALAYSIA has announced an ambitious plan to snare 100,000 international students and become a regional education hub, placing it squarely in competition with Singapore andAustralia.

MALAYSIA has announced an ambitious plan to snare 100,000 international students and become a regional education hub, placing it squarely in competition with Singapore andAustralia.

Higher Education Minister Dato' Mustapa Mohamed revealed a road map for universities that would improve standards, give institutions more autonomy and double the number of foreign students by 2010.

The development of EduCity in the country's south, where different faculties and schools from international universities will be on the one site in Nusajaya, will be the jewel in the crown of the move to lure international students away from neighbouring Singapore.

Mr Mustapa, a University of Melbourne graduate, said bringing renowned foreign universities to Malaysia was a key way of attracting students.

He said the affordability of higher education in Malaysia, combined with the cheaper cost of living, was also a strength in competing with Singapore and other more expensive countries such as Britain, the US and Australia. "Competition is good for everyone," he said.

"It is what education is all about."

Mr Mustapa said doubling the number of international students to 100,000 could be done over time by gradually building up public universities, improving standards and allowing more foreign universities to set up campuses in Malaysia.

The minister made the comments at the official opening of Monash University's new $80 million Malaysia campus in Sunway, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. Monash vice-chancellor Richard Larkins said the expanded campus, which included an Australian accredited medical school, would contribute to Malaysia's development as a regional education hub.

"It will encourage more of Malaysia's brightest students to remain in Malaysia for their education and make quality education available to a wider range of students," he said. Professor Larkins added, however, that helping Malaysia become a more significant higher education player in the region did not pose a threat to Monash's intake of international students.

"It's having exactly the contrary effect," he pointed out.

"We are finding that having a high quality campus in Malaysia has actually led to an increase in the number of Malaysian students choosing to come to Monash in Australia."

Professor Larkins said more universities needed to head offshore to help promote brand awareness of the high quality of Australian education and to build key relationships with governments, businesses and industry.

He said building foreign campuses was not for the faint-hearted, as it required considerable amounts of money, patience and commitment. He said the failure of international endeavours such as the University of NSW's Singapore campus did not help Australia's reputation across the globe.

"There has been a negative fallout in general terms," he said.

"And I think what is happening with Monash in Malaysia offsets a lot of that fallout."

Milanda Rout travelled to Malaysia as a guest of Monash University.