New MDIS campus ready to soar
CURRENTLY based at the office tower of Johor Baru City Square, the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) is about to add a new chapter to its long history of quality education when a sparkling new RM300mil campus opens in EduCity by the end of the year.
Sitting on a 30-acre plot, the first phase comprises two teaching blocks and two hostel blocks capable of accommodating 2,000 students, designed in the mould of its main campus in Singapore.
With further phases to come, it will ultimately have four teaching blocks, an administration block and eight hostel blocks with a total capacity for around 10,000 students when work on the project is fully completed sometime in 2025.
MDIS is Singapore’s oldest not-for-profit professional institute for lifelong learning, having been founded in 1956.
It is the first private tertiary institution from the island nation to make its foray into Malaysia. This is its second overseas campus, with the first being in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
MDIS Malaysia chief executive officer Prof Datuk Dr Syed Ahmad Hussein said the physical structures for the new EduCity campus are ready.
“We want to ensure there is a conducive environment for teaching and learning before we welcome our students.
“Our current premises is up to capacity. We’ll remember our times here fondly, but
We have a great location just opposite EduCity’s integrated Sports Complex, which gives us the opportunity to groom a very sports and health-oriented student population.
we’re ready to move into our new home and embrace the future,” he enthused.
With a vibrant presence next to the main access road after entering EduCity, the new MDIS campus is impossible to miss. But more importantly, it was designed with an eye on environmental sustainability.
In line with its global ‘green campus’ philosophy, structures are fitted with solar panels, rainwater collection tanks and green walls to reap up to 10% energy and water savings annually.
Teaching and learning would also be done via electronic mediums where possible, to cut down on paper usage.
“It goes beyond saving electricity costs. Our aim to is to create a young generation that is environmentally conscious, and practises a culture of recycling, reusing, repairing or repurposing.
“We’re all responsible for our environment and we can do our part by decreasing our carbon footprint. Every little bit counts,” Prof Syed explained.
The institute will offer programmes in Business, Tourism and Hospitality, Mass Communication, Information Technology, and Digital Media. Each school will be housed in its own block.
Inside are state-of-the-art facilities like lecture theatres, auditorium, a bookstore, a two-storey 500-seat library, discussion and seminar rooms, a multipurpose hall, dance theatre, student activity rooms and computer laboratories.
There will also be ample recreational amenities — like sky gardens, cafeterias and an international standard cricket pitch that is capable of hosting top-level competitions.
All the blocks are connected by a 600m-long, two-storey covered walkway to the student hostels. This can double up as a jogging track. There will also be a convenience shop on site, and full WiFi coverage.
“We also have a great location just opposite EduCity’s integrated Sports Complex, which gives us the opportunity to groom a very sports and health-oriented student population,” Prof Syed highlighted, adding that MDIS is ready to grow with Iskandar and serve the region.
For details visit www.mdis.edu.my or call 07-2072601.