As part of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office UK/ASEAN Knowledge Partnership project, also supported by the British Council, delegates from six countries across the region visited UNMC on Monday 11 March, 2013.
Professor Stephen Doughty, UNMC Vice-Provost for Learning and Teaching, welcomed the delegation and gave an account of Nottingham’s internationalization strategy and the campus experience, emphasizing the distinctiveness not only of the Malaysian political and social context, but also the University of Nottingham’s long-standing links with the country, and large alumni family in the region.
Following a campus tour, and lunch with students and staff, there were presentations outlining the Malaysian transnational education policy context from Tengku Nurul Azian (Director, Malaysian Government Transformation Programme, PEMANDU –Performance Management and Delivery Unit), and Dr Syed Alwee bin Shekh Alsagoff (Director Education Malaysia Division, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education).
The final session was a discussion chaired by Dr Sean Matthews from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, co-convenor of the Knowledge Without Borders Network. The keynote speakers were joined by Gavin Anderson, Director of the British Council in Malaysia. A lively debate addressed the differing strategic challenges facing ASEAN partners in relation to Higher Education. There was lively discussion around language policies, issues of national sovereignty and nation-building, and the challenges to educational development in the region.
