Update on University of Reading Malaysia
Thursday, 29 November 2018
Earlier this week, University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM) Provost and Chief Executive Officer Wing Lam spoke with colleagues about his first six months in the role and work underway to build a more sustainable institution. His presentation covered an overview of the Higher Education landscape in Malaysia, the challenges facing UoRM, how Malaysia fits into the University’s overall strategy and future roadmap.
Malaysia has about 500 higher education institutes that offer degrees themselves or do so in partnership with a foreign university. This compares to about one hundred and sixty universities in the UK serving double the population of Malaysia. In Malaysia, there is a mix of public and private HE institutions, and a more market-driven, competitive environment compared to the UK.
Students have a lot of choice at different fee levels. There are 11 foreign university branch campuses in Malaysia, and they tend to occupy premium positioning – charging higher fees.
UoRM opened its campus in February 2016 at Educity, a major initiative to establish an education hub in the special economic zone of Iskandar in Johor state.
In general, economic growth and a lower population (than for example around Kuala Lumpur) have made for slower uptake of students. Broad operational changes have been made to address the most immediate issue of student recruitment – including increased visibility in Johor, building a stronger engagement with the local schools and a stronger recruitment agent and partner network.
Digital skills are potentially an area to expand not only for undergraduate programmes but more broadly as a research theme for the Malaysian campus. The digital society theme aligns with the Malaysian National Policy on Science, Technology and Innovation and its underpinning belief in the Industrial Revolution 4.0. Promisingly, two research Malaysian government grants were recently awarded to UoRM.
The future roadmap comprises of 3 key stages:
1. to be self-sustaining: meet the business plan, promote the Reading brand, execute more joined up marketing
2. leverage the presence in Asia and expertise on the Malaysia campus, enhance student and staff mobility, develop new programmes, increase research profile and have a more integrated approach to student recruitment
3. be a prized asset: making a positive financial contribution, contributing to the research profile of the University, strong student flows to and from UK/Malaysia, being an integral part of the University
Wing’s presentation can be seen in full here.