Staff of XMUM.
KUCHING: The first Chinese university campus in Malaysia, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) is open for enquiries and enrolment.
“XMUM is the first overseas campus established by this renowned Chinese university,” its president Prof Wang Ruifang said at a press conference here yesterday.
The campus site in Salak Tinggi, Sepang, Selangor will open daily to the public from 8.30am to 4.30pm from Dec 17.
Classes commence on Feb 22, 2016.
The campus covers an area of 150 acres and has the unique ‘Tan Kah Kee (the founder) architectural style’ in line with the three campuses of Xiamen University (XMU) in China.
The total floor space planned is 470,000 sq m built at a cost of RM1.3 billion. Total floor space for Phase I construction is 260,000 sq m for 13 buildings costing RM0.8 billion.
Construction of the campus started on Oct 17, 2014 and the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) was awarded in October 2015 for a floor space of 38,000 sq m comprising a multi-purpose hall and student hostel (available to all students).
On Nov 13, 2015, XMUM was granted approval to register and admit students by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia.
On Jan 21, 2013, XMU was invited by the Malaysian government to open a branch campus in Malaysia.
On Oct 4 that year, an agreement on China Development Bank’s all-round support for the construction of XMUM was signed in the presence of China President Xi Jinping and Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak, China Development Bank, Sunsuria Development Sdn Bhd and XMU.
Najib attended the ground breaking ceremony for XMUM on July 3, 2014.
The first Chinese university to be founded by an overseas Chinese – Malaysian Tan Kah Kee – XMU is now known in China as the ‘Strength of the South’.
This university has the support of the Ministry of Education China for participation in Project 211 and Project 985.
It is ranked 37th in Asia, 275th globally in the ‘2016 Best Global Universities Ranking’ published by US News, and 11th and 12th in China by The Times and US News respectively.
Now 93 years later, XMU has set up a campus in Malaysia where Tan Kah Kee has an illustrious career. Though a private university in Malaysia, XMUM is committed to upholding Tan ‘s spirit of selfless dedication to the noble cause of education, building the branch campus into a non-profit institution to give back to society.
“Any surplus funds will be channelled back into research foundations and used as scholarships for XMUM students. We welcome all races and international students to study in XMUM,” the Prof Wang Ruifang said.
The university offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral courses. The graduates will be granted academic degrees from XMU with dual accreditation by both the Malaysian and Chinese government. They are also open to opportunities to work or further their studies in Malaysia or China.
“In preserving an educational philosophy that emphasises both teaching and research, XMUM endeavours to respect students’ individuality, develop their potential and nurture their professional and comprehensive capability through lectures, academic and practical activities as well as promote a variety of campus cultural events,” Prof Wang Ruifang said.
The first enrolment of 500 students is expected for Academic Year 2016. The number will grow to 5,000 in 2022 and reach a maximum of 10,000 students.
The majority of students will be from Malaysia and China as well as other Asean countries in line with XMUM’s vision of a multi-cultural campus.
“At least 30 per cent of the teaching staff will be professors from XMU China while the rest of the lecturers recruited from other countries including Malaysia with at least 80 per cent possessing PhD degrees. The ratio of students to teachers is set at 15:1,” Prof Wang Ruifang said.
XMUM will offer 10 degree programmes for its first intake in February 2016 including Medicine (Traditional Chinese Medicine), Arts and Social Science (Chinese Studies, Journalism) and Business (Accounting, Finance and International Business).
Other courses are Engineering Technology (New Energy Science and Engineering) and Information Technology (Computer Science and Technology, Software Engineering and Digital Media Technology).
The traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese Studies programmes will be taught in Mandarin while the rest of the programmes delivered in English.
To celebrate XMUM’s first intake in Feb 2016, the university is offering Merit Scholarships for 2016 based on academic results.
For more information, visit the university website at www.xmu.edu.my.
Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Kuching, Liu Quan urged students to grab this opportunity to get quality education for a better future.
Others present were XMU China’s Prof Wang Hui-Qiong and Sarawak president of The Federation of Kuching and Samarahan Divisions Chinese Associations, Temenggong Lu Kim Yong.