Training global citizens

AT University of Nottingham Malaysia, like most universities, we have just gone through the main registration period of the academic cycle. At this time, I am always delighted to say a few words to our new students and welcome them to the university, tell them something of its history and give them some words of advice.

One piece of advice I invariably give is that they need to differentiate themselves from others when looking for a job after graduation. There are many ways they can do this: participate in corporate social responsibility activities; enrol in our Nottingham Advantage Award and make full use of our career’s services.

I always say the one thing that will differentiate them from others is if they take the opportunity to study abroad during their time with us. This transforms them into global citizens, shows potential employers that they are willing to step outside of their comfort zone and opens them to new experiences and cultures. Of course, we hope that it will also be enjoyable.

It is not just students that have an interest in studying abroad. It is also of interest to the receiving country, as students coming in will contribute to its economy, increase its cultural diversity and add value in many other ways, including providing skills that may be needed in the country.

University of Nottingham, which has a campus in Malaysia for almost 20 years and in China for 15 years, has a lot of experience in student mobility thanks to not only our three-campus footprint, but also us being part of the Universitas 21 network, which provides another strand to our student mobility opportunities.

We are keen to attract international students to our Malaysia campus, be it for the full duration of their studies or a shorter period, even just a few weeks. This also aligns with Malaysia’s aim to host more international students.

The table shows how many international students have travelled to and studied in Malaysia over the past three academic years. It is split by the various programmes we run.

It is notable that the number of students has grown over the past three years from 442 to 735. This is largely driven by the World Bank project we run with colleagues in Bangladesh, but we can also see a general increase in the number of international students. Over the past three years, we have been able to host 1,767 students at our campus in Semenyih – a figure we are justifiably proud of.

It is difficult to put a financial value on this, but we can say that, from the perspective of the revenue it generates through tuition fees, the value is about Rm17mil. The wider economy would also be helped as visitors to the country would want to go sightseeing, stay longer for holidays and generally add to the income tourists generate.

Having international visitors to our campus is an important part of what we are trying to achieve at University of Nottingham Malaysia. We feel it is a win-win-win; for the university, students and Malaysia. We hope we are able to continue contributing in this important area to the higher education sector as well as to Malaysia.

■ Prof Graham Kendall is chief executive officer, provost and pro-vice-chancellor of University of Nottingham Malaysia. Twitter: @Graham_kendall