KUCHING – Scholarships and the upskilling of school teachers are among the areas Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus and three Chinese medium schools will look into.
The independent management committees of Chung Hua Middle Schools No. 1, 3 and 4, and Swinburne Sarawak formalized the collaboration with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the university on 28 January.
The parties are to promote higher education at Swinburne Sarawak, look into scholarship awards for Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) graduates, and develop programs for upskilling teachers of CHMS No. 1, 3 and 4 as well as English language courses for current students from the three Chinese medium schools.
The upskilling of teachers includes the undertaking of Swinburne Sarawak’s postgraduate programs and short courses particularly in English language teaching.
As a long-term strategy to enhance the command of English among current CHMS No. 1, 3 and 4 students, the parties will explore developing supplementary English courses.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and CEO Professor John Wilson, who signed the MoU for Swinburne Sarawak, said the collaboration with the three schools was an important milestone for the university.
“We certainly pride ourselves on having education that is practical, industry focused and relevant. We see that in our students when they graduate and 90 per cent have jobs within six months. In some areas this is around a hundred per cent,” he said.
“We are certainly very confident about the education we offer here. We know that it works and that our students get jobs.”
“We offer undifferentiated degrees as Swinburne Melbourne. The degree one gets here in Kuching is the same degree as one gets in Melbourne,” he said adding that since Swinburne Sarawak started operations 18 years ago it has graduated 7,000 students and contributed to the economy in Kuching.
Professor Wilson said that as the future changes in the 21st century due to digital disruption and globalization, the attributes of Swinburne graduates have will need to constantly change.
“Our education has to change constantly so that when our graduates come out they can achieve the very best in the new markets that are opening up.”
Dato Richard Wee Liang Chiat, chairman of the management committees of CHMS No.1, 3 and 4, said in his speech that he was appreciative of Swinburne for collaborating with the schools and for its recognition of the UEC.
“Over the last 20 years the standard of the schools and the quality of the students have been recognized by many universities, particularly those overseas.
“The UEC is recognized by 30 countries and hundreds of universities,” he said, adding that the history of the three Chinese schools spans 70 years.
Signing for CHMS No. 1 was Dato Tan Jit Kee, deputy chairman of the management committee, while Mr Dennis Chin Ching Chung, vice-chairman of the management committee of CHMS No. 3, was the signatory.
Pemanca Ko Wei Neng, deputy chairman of the management committee, signed for CHMS No. 4.
The witness for Swinburne Sarawak was Mr James Ho, director for Business Development and Liaison.