Curtin Sarawak welcomes parents and teachers from Lusong Laku

Miri – 23 November, 2009 – Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) recently welcomed nine members of the Parent Teacher Association (PIBG) and three teachers of Sekolah Kebangsaan Lusong Laku who were visiting the university as part of a familarisation tour of educational institutions in Miri.

Lusong Laku is a remote Penan settlement in Belaga District, some 11 hours by road from Bintulu town.

The group‘s visit was made possible by Institut Aminuddin Baki, a leading educational management and leadership training institute under the Ministry of Education Malaysia, which trains educational leaders in educational management and leadership.

The objective of their visit to Curtin Sarawak was to find out more about educational opportunities for their children and community, as well see for themselves Curtin Sarawak’s modern campus which they had heard so much about.

According to Abdul Jamil of Institut Aminuddin Baki, who accompanied the group, the visit was one of the institute’s outreach activities specifically for the Penan community.

“Due to the remoteness of Lusong Baki, members the community do not often get the chance to travel to urban centres like Miri. By taking them on visits like this, we are helping create awareness within the community of the educational opportunities available to them,” he said.

They were welcomed on arrival by Chief Operating Officer James Ng and staff of the university’s Marketing, Corporate Communications and Student Services Departments.

In his welcoming speech to the group, Ng said Curtin Sarawak was most pleased to receive the visitors from Lusong Baki as part of its efforts to reach out to the local community.

He also expressed hopes that students from Lusong Baki would study at Curtin Sarawak, saying that the university was proud of its multicultural environment and that Penan students from the settlement would certainly help enrich its student population.

Ng said currently 85% of the students are Malaysians, including Sarawakians, Sabahans and West Malaysians, and the remainder international students from some 40 different countries.

He went on to brief them on Curtin Sarawak’s background as Curtin University of Technology’s first offshore campus and the first international university campus in East Malaysia, and the significant growth it has experience since its establishment in 1999.

They were also given a briefing on the academic programmes and courses offered by Curtin Sarawak by Marketing Officer Felecia Ngalih, while Scholarships & Loans Officer Marianne Masli briefed them on scholarships and study loans available to Bumiputera students.

Their visit ended with a tour of the campus and lunch hosted by the university.

The parents and teachers with James Ng (4th from left, front row) and staff

of the Marketing and Corporate Communications Department.