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Monash University Malaysia

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The Sunway Campus of Monash University opened in 1998 and is located within the Bandar Sunway township in Malaysia. This campus is one of two Monash campuses outside the state of Victoria in Australia. Monash University also operates two other overseas centres in Prato and London. It is currently home to approximately 3,300 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The current head of the campus is Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Robin Pollard. While other Australian universities have struggled to compete in Asia, Monash Malaysia has returned a surplus since 2003, which is re-invested in the campus.[1]

On September 2007, the University opened its new RM200 million campus, including a new medical school. The new campus was officially opened by the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak. Currently, Malaysia is the third largest campus of Monash University after the Clayton Campus and the Caulfield Campus. The new campus means that Monash Malaysia can now accommodate up to 5,000 students. The next phase, which begins in 2008, will double that capacity.[2]

As one of the eight Monash campuses, the Sunway campus is subject to Monash University for all matters related to academic development, teaching and support. The Monash University Act, rules and regulations are observed to ensure that the academic quality expected of Monash University is met. Monash University aspires for its campus in Malaysia to be a medium-size university by 2015, distinctive for its quality of teaching and research.

The Pro Vice Chancellor is Prof Robin Pollard.

History

In the early 1990s, Monash University established a partnership with Sunway University College. Under this arrangement, Malaysian students would enrol and spend their first year in Malaysia, before transferring to one of Monash's Australian campuses to complete their degree. Demand increased for these places rapidly and the potential to expand the program was clear. Monash itself had ambitions to develop a comprehensive international campus from the beginning of Mal Logan's term as Vice-Chancellor. However, this proposal was complicated for the Malaysian Government, which was hesitant to allow a foreign university to establish itself in Malaysia. Nonetheless, as the strength of Monash in Malaysia grew, the case for a Monash campus became increasingly persuasive.

In early 1996, it was reported that the Australian Prime Minister had been involved in the signing of a memorandum of understanding to establish the campus. In 1998, the Malaysian Government formally invited Monash to develop a comprehensive campus, making it the first foreign university in Malaysia. In July of that year, Monash University's newly founded Malaysia campus opened its doors to its first intake of 261 students. Since then, the campus has expanded rapidly. It developed postgraduate courses within a few years, and began to expand its research capacity.

By 2007, it had 3,300 students, and had established a new, purpose-built, fully independent campus. The University has stated that it intends the campus to eventually hold around 10,000 students and that it will develop its research strengths to make it a research hub of South-East Asia.

Research

Research activity is central to the Sunway Campus. The campus has research strengths in biotechnology, medicine & health, economic & business modelling, Islamic banking, electronic test technology and agri-business.

The Sunway Campus is also home to the Brain Research Institute (BRI), led by neuroscientist Professor Ishwar Parhar. Areas of research at the BRI include Neuroinformatics; Nanotechnology for regenerative medicine/drug delivery; Brain imaging; Behavioural neurogenetics/Mental Disorders; Genomics /Proteomics and Molecular Morphology. In recent years, the BRI have developed a technique that allows for neurons of interest to be isolated with precision without damaging surrounding neurons.[3]

In October 2007, an Innovation Research Centre was also set up in the Sunway Campus. The research centre is an open organisation that will analyse input from the business sector and academia to provide feedback on how innovation and related policies can contribute to the Malaysian economy.[4]

Courses

Monash University's Sunway campus offers courses through:

  • School of Science

Head: Prof Pua Eng Chong

  • School of Arts & Social Sciences

Head: Prof James Chin

  • School of Business & Commerce

Head: Prof Ron Edwards

  • School of Engineering

Head: Prof Ian Prince

  • School of Information Technology

Head: Prof Lee Poh Aun

  • School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Head: Prof Datuk Dr Anuar Zaini

All Schools offer honours programmes, Master's, MPhil and PhD courses are also offered in the Sunway Campus.

Accreditation

Most courses offered by Monash University in Malaysia are accredited in Malaysia and Australia. Recently, the university also received accreditation from the Australian Medical Council (AMC) for its MBBS programme. It is the first programme fully taught outside Australia and New Zealand to be accredited by the AMC. The Monash University Malaysia MBBS course has been deferred accreditation by the Singapore Medical Council, with a review pending upon the graduation of the first batch of students.

It has also gained accreditation in the Engineering Courses by the professional regulatory bodies such as Institution of Engineers Australia (IEAust) and The Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM).

Student Governing Body

The Monash University Students Association (MUSA) is the campus' student association. Governed by the Monash Student Council (MSC), MUSA serves as the recognized means of communication between students and academic and administrative authorities of the University. It is well-known for its championing of issues relating to gender equality and students' rights, and for having organized events such as the Monash Street Party, Monash Flea Market, Monash Motor Show and the Monash Ball, as well as orientation parties and activities.

Template:University in Malaysia

References

  1. ^ http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/execserv/council/meetings/2007/07-05cnm.html
  2. ^ Sunway campus officially opened, Monash University
  3. ^ Monash Newsline (Monash University)
  4. ^ ::Monash Newsline::
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