The World is Your Oyster

by Theresa Belle

Branch campuses are a Malaysian favourite among students with aspirations to study, work and live abroad. Universities from Australia, the United Kingdom, China and India have a presence in Malaysia, each with the steadfast promise to deliver world-class education at local costs and conveniences.

This includes lower tuition fees, strong facilities and staff support, and a wider breadth of learning resources, but all these are only a few key ingredients in the recipe for a thriving campus.

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The branch campus experience is characterised by the international touch. Exchange opportunities allow for a truly global campus anywhere in the world, where students learn early on how to turn differences into strengths in a fast-changing world.

For example, Monash University students are privy to study opportunities in universities across 27 countries, while students of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia can do part of their course in the United Kingdom or Dubai through the institution's inter-campus transfer programme, Go Global.

While exchange programmes are not exclusive to branch campuses, students may find comfort in the familiarity of branch campuses.

Learning for life

To a generation all too familiar with the concepts of global stewardship, work-life balance, and fuelling careers with passion, an undergraduate degree is more than the next step in life after secondary school. It marks the beginning of a life they design for themselves, where career satisfaction is of utmost priority.

While universities around the world reflect this educational appetite, most local public universities stick to traditional, timeless subject matters.

Head of Academic Affairs at the University of Southampton, Prof Neil Stephen explains this demand, "Students want to be taught by leading academics, but also want to study options designed around their specific interests. They want the employment opportunities that come with a top-class university degree but also want to tailor their programme of study.”

Image via ntu.edu.sg

Branch campuses which maximise the expertise and resources of parent or sister campuses therefore have an edge in this area. These institutions have access to industrial connections and resources extending well past the classroom.“Apart from maintaining excellence in the sphere of teaching, we are very dedicated to providing as many creative and socially relevant avenues for our students and staff to express themselves.

We also work closely with local creative industries and have several well-known practitioners in theatre and creative writing teaching courses,” says Dr Shivani Sivagurunathan, Head of School of English at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.

Whether in public or private institutions, one would be hard-pressed to find an arts and social science curriculum updated to reflect current interests and trends. The syllabi at branch campuses are finetuned to international standards, which more accurately indicate what it takes for a student to get forward in their industry.

This is seen across industries, too – at Monash University Malaysia's School of Arts and Social Sciences, students who want to explore unique, current areas can enrol for Gender Studies or Screen Studies classes.

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On the other hand, those interested in responsible biological research and aquaculture production would find the Bachelor of Marine Biotechnology at Xiamen University Malaysia highly suitable, with its rich background in pioneering Chinese marine studies.

At the University of Southampton's Malaysian campus, learners who want to discover and apply the mechanics of flight and space exploration can pursue the BEng (Hons) Aeronautics & Astronautics.

"During the first two years in Malaysia, they will learn and develop the skills, knowledge and understanding that underpin engineering, and in the third year, they can choose a wide range of optional modules to tailor their degree to suit interests and career aims," says Prof Stephen.

Before you make your decision to pursue a specialised degree, do sufficient research not only on the programme and university, but on the industry and your career prospects upon graduating.

Applied specialisation

“When we first offered the BA in English Language and Literature with Creative Writing, we were not sure if Malaysians would be interested in such a specialised degree but our numbers are growing from intake to intake, and creative writing courses are always full. There is definitely an emerging openness in the collective local mindset,” says Dr Shivani.

While niche arts degrees may strike some as passion projects, this does not invalidate them as the key to an illustrious career. Take language courses, for example – Dr Shivani explains that a deep mastery of the English language helps students communicate, write, and analyse better, skills that are vital in any career field.

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“There is a great flexibility for English graduates. The erroneous assumption is that English graduates inevitably become teachers – they are very employable in diverse fields such as advertising, publishing, journalism, marketing and even in fields that do not have any obvious bearing to the subject of English,” she says.Despite the specialised nature of these courses, they can help advance one’s academic or career growth across field through deepening their understanding of the subject matter.

"Our graduates have a strong reputation for the breadth and depth of their knowledge of different technologies, as well as their strong mix of practical and theoretical understanding gained in their MEng programme. They are in high demand from leading employers ranging from specialist consultancies, technology manufacturers to design companies,” says Prof Stephen. With links to BAE Systems, Airbus and AgustaWestland, Southampton's engineering courses are globally-recognised in its industry.

Image via inet.ox.ac.uk

In this way, branch campuses provide all the right elements to nurture future leaders, creators and thinkers. It is no wonder that the government aims to establish more branch campuses of Tier One universities in the country, under the Education National Key Economic Area of Malaysia’s Economic Programme (ETP).

The ETP also outlines plans to grow the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), hospitality and tourism, finance and business education fields, all of which fall in line with the esteem and expertise localised foreign institutions bring to the tertiary education smorgasbord.

Options of interest

Here are some other niche degrees available in branch campuses in the Greater Klang Valley, Johor and Sarawak.

Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Maritime Business : Meritus University

Asian and International Studies BA (Hons): The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

BSc in Applied Geology: Curtin University

BSc Real Estate: University of Reading