Published December 21, 2010

EduCity well on its way to becoming M'sia's education hub

It is targeted at being the base for at least seven higher education institutes

By MALMINDERJIT SINGH

EDUCATION is increasingly becoming an important sector for economic growth, and like many of Asia's economies, Malaysia too is positioning itself as an educational hub in the region.

One does not have to travel very far from Singapore, itself an educational centre, to reach EduCity at Iskandar, Malaysia's hope as a hub for higher education.

Situated within Iskandar Malaysia, which is a government-initiated development zone announced in 2006 to increase investment in the country, EduCity is spread over 123 hectares of land and is targeted at being the base for at least seven higher-educational institutes.

At present, Newcastle University Medicine (NUMed) Malaysia is the one institution that has already begun building its physical presence, a RM90 million (S$37 million) campus, in EduCity and its success will be a benchmark that is likely to attract more institutions and students there.

'The building will be completed by May next year (2011) and handed over to us. It will be fully functional by then and include the facilities that staff and students need,' stated Chris Brink, vice-chancellor of the university.

Prof Brink explained that the institution admitted 20 students last year as part of the first cohort of NUMed and followed this with another 44 students for the second cohort in September this year.

Since the facilities at NUMed are not ready yet, Prof Brink clarified that these students are currently undertaking their pre- clinical studies at the Newcastle campus.

For the next intake in September 2011, Prof Brink expects a full complement of 100 students - all to be based at the NUMed campus in EduCity.

Besides the medical programme, Newcastle University also announced in October a plan to broaden its curriculum offering to include biomedical sciences degrees and a postgraduate education programme.

'We will start taking on the biomedical and postgraduate students in 2012 with a view of expanding the total student population at our EduCity campus to 1,000 students by 2017,' Prof Brink said.

Prof Brink hinted that the university was keen on expanding its relationship with EduCity and its presence there. 'The infrastructure has been put in place for EduCity to grow as a regional education hub and NUMed Malaysia is primed for long-term success in Asia,' he stated.

Prof Brink added that the university would certainly also look toward developing a research presence in EduCity over time and this will include establishing working relationships with the hospitals in the region.

Khairil Anwar Ahmad, chief executive of Education@Iskandar, said: 'NUMed Malaysia is a reflection of the value private sector partnerships play in the development of Malaysia, advocating knowledge sharing and skills transfer, as well as the creation of employment and business opportunities for the community. Iskandar Investment remains committed to forging new international partnerships as we strive to create value for our partners, businesses, and the nation.'

Besides NUMed, EduCity will also include a campus for the Netherlands Maritime Institute of Technology, which will commence at the initial location in Kotaraya, Johor Bahru in 2011, before the institute moves to its permanent campus in the Multi-Varsity Enterprise Building in EduCity by 2012, and a campus for the Management Development Institute of Singapore, which will open in 2013.

Singapore-based Raffles Education is conducting a feasibility study to develop Raffles University which will offer undergraduate programmes in business, technology, arts and design, health science, education, and social science specialisations.

Mr Khairil said he would soon announce the signing of a deal with a 'prominent UK university for an engineering school', reported the New York Times.

The report also quoted him as saying that Iskandar Investment had recently signed a memorandum of understanding with an American film school with a view toward setting up a partnership with a local private university and is also in negotiation with an Australian hospitality school.

'Hopefully a deal should be announced next year,' Mr Khairil said, according to the report.

'We had originally planned for EduCity to host 12,000 students when it's completed,' Mr Khairil said. 'But judging by the response, I think we will end up with 16,000 students.'