Sunway University facilities have been independently ranked the best in Malaysia.
AS a leading not-for-profit private university committed to the pursuit of educational excellence, Sunway University has established a high quality in its teaching, with world-class research and strong links to business.
Owned and governed by the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, the university is already on track to achieve its objective of being one of the world’s very best universities.
In an interview with Sunway University’s vice chancellor Prof Graeme Wilkinson, he spoke about Sunway’s unique partnership with Lancaster University.
Sunway University vice chancellor Prof Graeme Wilkinson
Emerging global leader
“Our founder Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah has given me and my team the ambitious target to be one of the world’s very best universities, ” said Prof Wilkinson.
“We’re on track to hit that target because we’re already ranked as one of Malaysia’s elite five-star institutions, in the top 3% of global universities.”
Prof Wilkinson shared that Sunway University’s close partnership with Lancaster University has been a key part of its success. Lancaster is a top-10 UK university and the 2020 International University of the year.
As many Sunway degrees are dual awards with Lancaster, Sunway students in reality, receive two certificates. Only Sunway offers this unique opportunity for students to get a full degree from a top 10 UK university in Malaysia.
The Sunway-Plus model also means that many Sunway degree programmes provide students additional professional qualifications and certifications as part of their course.
The degree is validated by Lancaster University and upon successful completion of the programme, graduates are awarded two certificates; one from Sunway University and another from Lancaster University.
“This gives our students the best possible career start and is why we are always ranked among the best Asian universities for graduate employment, ” Prof Wilkinson said.
“Sunway only works with the best and we have unique partnerships with many of the very best universities in the world including Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford, MIT and UC Berkley, but we want to get to the top in years not centuries.
“Lancaster was our obvious partner because it’s a young institution that has made that journey, and the partnership is a major factor that has helped us to get into the top 3% of world universities so quickly.”
Lancaster University is located next to the famous English Lake District National Park and World Heritage Site.
The future in Sunway-Lancaster partnership
Prof Wilkinson remains positive in his outlook for the future: “We’re developing more new degree programmes like our joint MBA that are great for working adults to upgrade. We’re also expanding our student and staff exchange programmes.”
He explained that Sunway’s lecturers can take the Lancaster Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice to learn the very latest approaches to teaching and learning. He attributes this move to the reason Sunway is ranked five stars for the quality in its teaching.
“Through the generosity of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation we’ve launched the joint Sunway-Lancaster Future Cities Research Institute with an initial investment of over RM50mil to bring some of the world’s leading scholars together.”
Sunway University offers a truly world-class education.
Prof Wilkinson added that initiatives like those that enable Sunway to attract the world’s best talent, as more than 50% of its professors are international academics from some of the most famous global universities.
“We work closely with Lancaster during the current crisis to ensure we help each other to deliver high quality teaching and learning experiences for our Malaysian and international students.
“We’re sharing our resources, including the Sunway library, which is independently ranked the best university library in Asia, so that our students can access resources online 24/7.”
Wilkinson remarked that Sunway has not remained complacent – it does have a resilient team and will continue to ensure it supports its students through this difficult period.
During this challenging time, it is also quite natural for families to avoid travelling, especially to overseas.
Therefore, bringing one of the leading brands to Malaysia and offering world-class education within the security and safety of familiar surroundings is an opportunity many families might seek to explore further.
For details on Sunway University visit https://university.sunway.edu.my/.
