Delegation from Jinan University visits Curtin Sarawak

Miri – 14 September 2010 – A five-member delegation from Jinan University in Guangzhou, China, visited Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) yesterday to learn more about Curtin Sarawak’s experience running the first and largest offshore branch campus of Western Australia’s Curtin University here in Miri.

Curtin Sarawak was established in 1999 following an invitation from the Sarawak State Government to Curtin University to establish its first offshore campus in Miri. The decision was based on Miri’s tremendous growth and the need for a tertiary institution of international calibre in the city.

The delegation was on a fact-finding visit to Miri hosted by Naim Holdings Berhad, a prominent property developer in Sarawak, which aspires to develop its landmark Bandar Baru Permyjaya as a digital township in Miri and is working with Jinan University to possibly develop a future offshore campus here.

The delegation comprised the vice president of Jinan University, Professor Ye Qin; development and planning deputy director Liu Qihui; teaching affairs director Professor Zhang Ronghua; finance director Chen Weigang; and international affairs deputy director, Li Lijia.

They were accompanied by the chairman of Naim Holdings Berhad, Datuk Abdul Hamed bin Haji Sepawi, and the company’s chief operating officer Dato William Wei; finance and IT division deputy director Christina Wong; Miri operations manager Kelvin Chia, and senior planner Chang Foh Choon.

The visitors were received by Curtin Sarawak’s chief operating officer, James Ng, and senior management staff of Curtin Sarawak, including its marketing manager and the deans of its School of Engineering and Science, School of Business and School of Foundation and Continuing Studies.

Following speeches by Ng and Professor Ye Qin, the delegation was given a briefing on Curtin Sarawak by marketing manager Liew Mei Yin, as well as briefings its programmes, accreditations and achievements by Professor Yudi Samyudia, Shamsul Kamariah Abdullah and Beena Giridharan, the deans of the School of Engineering and Science, School of Business and School of Foundation and Continuing Studies respectively.

They also briefed the visitors on Curtin Sarawak’s Tier 5 or ‘Excellent’ rating in the Malaysian Qualifications Agency’s SETARA rating for institutions of higher learning, which places it amongst the top 18 universities in the country, as well as Curtin Sarawak’s self-accreditation status granted by the Ministry of Higher Education and Malaysian Qualifications Agency.

This was followed by discussions on possible collaboration between the two universities and a tour of the Curtin Sarawak campus.

Jinan University, founded in 1906, is one of the oldest universities in China and one of the ‘211’ key national universities in the country. It was also the first Chinese university to recruit foreign students and currently has the largest number of foreign students amongst universities in China.

It has four campuses located in three cities – Guangzhou, Shenzen and Zhuhai. Its main campus is in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province and the biggest metropolis in South China. It has 21 colleges and schools covering a large number of disciplines and some 40,000 students.

James Ng (4th left), Beena Giridharan, Shamsul Kamariah Abdullah and Liew Mei Yin   (1st – 3rd from right) with Prof. Ye Qin (5th right) and delegation from Jinan University.