Curtin continues to provide quality tertiary education
Professor Ian Kerr, Curtin’s pro vice chancellor and chief executive
KUCHING: Another major player in the private higher education scene here in Sarawak is Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Campus (Curtin Sarawak) located in Miri.
As the first, and now largest, fully-fledged international campus of Curtin University, Western Australia established in 1999 in a joint venture with the Sarawak state government and local stakeholders, the Curtin Group had been actively involved in Malaysian education for some two decades and the establishment of Curtin Sarawak ensured its continued presence and contribution to Malaysian tertiary education.
Curtin’s reputation for excellence in the region provided the basis for the Sarawak state government to invite Curtin to establish an international campus in Sarawak.
The university now offers various courses to students such as business, science and engineering as well as media, culture and communication.
The group’s pro vice chancellor and chief executive, Professor Ian Kerr, outlined his thoughts to BzHive Weekly that Curtin had so far seen good performance in terms of student growth.
“Despite the relatively remote location of Miri compared with Kuala Lumpur, we’ve managed to maintain growth in student numbers of about 10 per cent per year over the last five years,” he revealed during the interview.
“It is about to reach its saturation point due to the limited pool of local students who can afford studying at foreign branch campuses. One way to move forward is to attract more international students.”
Over the last 13 years, Kerr said Curtin Sarawak has established a very strong brand presence in East Malaysia while making inroads in terms of branding in West Malaysia over the last three years.
“We want to build on that momentum this year and have undertaken a few new initiatives – on our own and in collaboration with our main campus – to enhance our brand presence throughout Malaysia.
“We also have close linkages with schools in Miri and brand ourselves as an institution that offers affordable quality education with Australian degree right at their doorstep. The same applies to schools throughout Malaysia.”
Curtin Sarawak’s operations began at a temporary campus with just over 200 students in Riam in February 1999. In 2002, Phase 1 of a new 1,000-acre purpose-built campus in a garden setting in Senadin comprising a main administrative building cum library, classroom blocks, laboratories, lecture theatre, food and retail outlets and on-campus student accommodation was completed.
In 2009, Phase 2 of the campus’ development was completed, under which a new School of Business building and multi-purpose Recreation and Event Centre were added.
The pro-vice chancellor noted that Curtin’s latest intake amounted to around 600 students per semester. He affirmed his aim for new intakes of up to 1,000 students per semester by 2015 to reach a target of 5,000 students, which was more or less the maximum capacity for the university’s existing infrastructure.
Kerr further added that more new programmes would come soon, including more postgraduate courses both by research and by coursework.
“To meet the needs of a growing student population that has now reached 3,500, the campus is undergoing a new phase of development which includes the construction of a chancellery housing a new library and lecture theatre and extensive refurbishment of existing spaces (due to be completed by March 2013).
“Also in the pipeline are the Miri Bio-Park project housing the Curtin Sarawak Research Institute, a new School of Engineering and Science building, additional student housing blocks, Islamic Centre, and a proposed Leadership and Entrepreneurship Centre.”
To further ensure sustainability of institutions here, Kerr highlighted the importance of having more stable and consistent regulations applied by the government that supports the quality of education offered by these institutions.
“The increasing competition is not that obvious in Sarawak as there no new institutions being established here, other than the University-College of Technology Sarawak, but there is stiff competition throughout Malaysia, including between public and private universities, and among the foreign branch campuses,” he opined.
“More foreign universities are establishing campuses here, which will see even greater competition.”
In addition, Miri’s tremendous growth and anticipated elevation to city status (in 2005) called for the establishment of a world-class institution of higher learning, and Kerr said Curtin Sarawak was proud to be a key contributor to the city’s continued development and growth.
Today, the Curtin Sarawak campus remains a world-class facility where buildings were modelled on those at Curtin’s main campus in Perth to give it an ‘intrinsically Australian’ feel, he noted, and is complemented by state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, including sophisticated information technology linkages to provide students access to the resources of Curtin’s main campus in Western Australia.
“Every aspect of the academic programmes including course materials and examinations delivered at Curtin Sarawak are identical to the Curtin programmes offered in Perth. Furthermore, all testamurs are awarded by the main campus.
“All the courses offered have applied, practical subjects with a strong emphasis on industry links, which means students will have the opportunity to work with companies in their chosen fields, often securing employment even before they graduate.”
Kerr also noted that Curtin’s degrees are awarded under the Australian Qualifications Framework which is designed to ensure they are recognised and accepted throughout the world.
“Furthermore, most of them are recognised and accredited by government and professional bodies in Australia and Malaysia, as well as a number of other countries. Thus, a Curtin qualification enables graduates to operate as professionals anywhere in the world, in line with international best practice and the highest ethical standards,” he concluded.