University of Southampton launches first International Campus in Malaysia

• New degree programme: Electronics and Electrical Engineering (EEE) to be offered this September
• USMC to take in foreign students; About a total of 2,000 students to join the university in the next five years

University of Southampton, a leading UK teaching and research institution, launched its very first campus in Malaysia situated in [email protected], University of Southampton Malaysia Campus (USMC).

The campus launch was officiated by Adrian Newey OBE, the Chief Technical Officer of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team, together with Deputy Director General of Higher Education IPTA, Datin. Ir. Dr. Siti Hamisah Binti Tapsir and Vice-Chancellor of University of Southampton, Professor Don Nutbeam.

Vice-Chancellor of University of Southampton, Professor Don Nutbeam, right and Chief Technical Officer, Red Bull Racing, Adrian Newey, left

“As an international university with a globally-renowned reputation in engineering and research, Southampton hopes to emulate the success achieved with its UK graduates by offering Malaysian and Asian students a world-class Engineering education which will create a pool of research capable professionals for the local and regional industry,” said Professor Don Nutbeam.

For the first time ever, Southampton’s renowned degree in Mechanical Engineering was available outside of the UK. In October 2012, the campus saw its first batch of 22 students from around Malaysia for the four-year programme. The first two years of the programme will be delivered at the University’s new Malaysia Campus with the following two years based in Southampton. Successful graduates will be awarded with a BENg/MEng in Mechanical Engineering by the end of the course.

“We are pleased to inform that USMC is now open to interested students across Asia, targeting at least 20 per cent of students from the South East Asia. The university is also expecting 2,000 students in the next five years,” said Professor John McBride, Chief Executive Officer, USMC.

“As far as possible, we are aiming to achieve exactly the same academic quality standards and standards of student experience for students whilst they are studying in Malaysia as they will experience when they study in the UK. The accreditation of the programmes will be monitored in Malaysia but will also be monitored by the quality assurance processes we use in the UK which are recognised as being amongst the highest and most rigorous standards anywhere in the world.”

 Launch of University of Southampton Malaysia Campus by Adrian Newey, Chief Technical Officer of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team

This year, University of Southampton will be introducing a new degree programme in the Malaysia campus, the Electronics and Electrical Engineering (EEE) which begins in September. The EEE programme combines elements of both pure electronics and electrical engineering, and gives flexibility to study courses ranging from power systems to nano-scale devices. It is currently awaiting full approval from the Malaysian Qualifications Agency and has received provisional accreditation. This programme falls under the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering in Southampton which is ranked 1st in the UK for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and consistently among the top 10 places in the UK for Computer Science and IT.

“Southampton graduates could go on to gain jobs in electric power generation, transmission and distribution companies, the transport industry, the security industry, and major electrical and electronic companies. These programmes also enjoy a very strong track record of attracting international undergraduates which reflects the globalisation of engineering as a profession as well as the attractiveness of graduates from Southampton amongst some of the world's leading multinational corporations such as Microsoft, IBM, ARM, BT, Hitachi, BAE Systems, and Google,” adds Professor McBride.

According to the Institute of Engineers Malaysia, the country is experiencing a shortage of experienced engineers in certain areas, especially in fields such as tunnelling and deep foundation.

“We have one of the strongest engineering programmes in the UK if not in the world, which comes to the aid of Malaysia’s current shortage of engineers. Engineering is a vital academic discipline for economic growth and so we think it fits very well with the overall ambition for Malaysia’s development,” enthused Professor McBride.

Southampton is also considering a number of new courses to be introduced in the Malaysia campus which includes Aeronautics and Astronautics, Computer Science and Software Engineering, Civil Engineering, Ship Science and Actuarial Science.