Monash University Malaysia Campus

Monash University Sunway campus
Motto	Ancorā impāro "I am still learning"
Established	1998
Type	Foreign university
President	Professor Robin Pollard
Location	Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
Campus	Urban
Affiliations	Group of Eight, ASAIHL
Website	www.monash.edu.my/

The Sunway Campus of Monash University opened in 1998 and is located within the Bandar Sunway township in Malaysia. It was the first foreign university in Malaysia.^[1] Monash Malaysia is one of several Monash University campuses and centres outside the State of Victoria in Australia. Monash University also has a centre in Prato, Italy, a campus in South Africa and a research academy in India.

Monash Malaysia has been given the rating of 'excellent' by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education,^[2] which entitles it to government sponsorship of its students, government research grants and greater flexibility in setting staff salaries.

The Malaysian campus is currently home to approximately 4,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The current head of the campus is Pro-Vice Chancellor & President (Malaysia) 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.^[3]

In 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 campus capacity will be further increased when phase 2 of its development is carried out.

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.

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. On 23 February 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.

Academics

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 at Monash Sunway (BRIMS)]^[4], led by neuroscientist Professor Ishwar Parhar. Areas of research at BRIMS 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.^[5]

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.^[6]

In October 2008, a research node of the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) was established at the Sunway campus.

In February 2009, two Monash Islamic Finance scholars have developed the first ever Encyclopaedia of Islamic Finance, providing industry professionals a comprehensive resource on the fastest growing banking sector around the world.^[7]

Under a new partnership the University's Brain Research Institute at Monash Sunway (BRIMS) and MIMOS in April 2009, which would use the KnowledgeGRID Malaysia grid computational platform to identify neurons and other parts of the brain to produce one of the world’s first digital melecular atlas of the fish brain.^[8]

Courses

Monash University's Sunway campus offers courses from undergraduate through to PhD through the following schools:

• School of Science

Head: Assoc. Prof KP Song

• School of Arts & Social Sciences

Head: Prof James Chin

• School of Business

Head: Prof Mahendhiran Nair

• School of Engineering

Head: Prof Anthony Guo Ningqun

• School of Information Technology

Head: Prof Chris Messom

• School of Medicine

Head: Prof Datuk Dr Anuar Zaini

All Schools offer honours programmes, Master's, MPhil and PhD courses.

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 university has also just recently received full accreditation from the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) in 2010.

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.

Monash University 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).

Conferences

The Sunway Campus has been the host of many regional and international conferences.

In October 2008, the campus hosted the 6th International Islamic Finance Conference, which has emerged as an important international platform for the sharing of knowledge in Islamic finance. The presentations at the conference will offer participants wide perspectives on developments in Islamic finance, in areas like Islamic Finance Law, Taxation, recent legal developments in the field, rating mechanisms, takaful, sukuk and other financial instruments being introduced in the area. The conference has been jointly organised by Monash University and the Institut Bank-Bank Malaysia; Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia.^[9]

In September 2008, the Sunway campus has hosted the 5th Diversity Matters forum, which is organised by the Australian Multicultural Foundation, in partnership with the Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements, the Commonwealth Foundation, Monash University, The Statesman of India and the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute. The conference focuses on the role of diasporas in helping achieve the Commonwealth’s vision and mandates, and the part diasporas can play in shaping and implementing Commonwealth programs.^[10]

The campus also hosted The East Asian Medical Students’ Conference (EAMSC) in December 2008. The EAMSC is one of two conferences organized by AMSA annually and each year, the conference continues to inspire medical students to examine international health issues closely, evaluate the role of a medical student in promotion of public health and to think beyond the scope of classroom knowledge. It serves as a platform for East Asian medical students to exchange ideas, knowledge and cultural understandings with their counterparts in other parts of Asia, Oceania and beyond.^[11]

Student life

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 known for its activism on 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, Monash Extreme Sports Carnival and the Monash Ball, as well as orientation parties and activities.

References

1. ^ http://www.economist.com/node/18652195?story_id=18652195&CFID=170441877&CFTOKEN=74462326
2. ^ http://www.somalilandedu.net/students/world-universities/65
3. ^ http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/execserv/council/meetings/2007/07-05cnm.html
4. ^ Monash
5. ^ Monash Newsline (Monash University)
6. ^ Monash Newsline
7. ^ [1]
8. ^ [2]
9. ^ [3]
10. ^ [4]
11. ^ [5]

External links

• Monash University Sunway campus official website
• Monash University Student Association (MUSA) website
• Monash IT Fair 2011 Official Website
• Accredited Engineering Programs in Australia
• Accredited Engineering Programs in Malaysia
• Australian Medical Council Accredited Programs