Victoria University Melbourne and Victoria University at Sunway College partnership continues to flourish

“Welcome to the VU (Victoria University) Family. We are many miles apart physically but you are as much a member of the VU student family as any student in China, Melbourne, Singapore and elsewhere,” said Rhys Williams, Director of International Development, Victoria University International, in addressing the VU Sunway students at the High Tea hosted by VU at Sunway College on 13th April.

The High Tea was a get-together for the ‘VU family’ comprising current VU students at Sunway and staff members from both Melbourne and Sunway campuses. There was an air of vibe and excitement as students were presented with VU memorabilia, kind courtesy of VU Melbourne.

VU Melbourne and VU Sunway College staff and students having ‘family reunion’. Irene Teoh, Assistant Head of Australian University Programme, Sunway College (2nd row, 6th from right), Teresa Tjia, Academic Registrar, VU Melbourne (2nd row, 5th from right), Rhys Williams, Director of International Development, VU International (2nd row, 4th from right), Brendan McCarthy, Director of Learning and Teaching, VU College, Melbourne (2nd row, 3rd from right), Greeja Hemalata De Silva, Head of Australian University Programme, Sunway College (2nd row, 2nd from right), Dr Hendry Ng Han Swee, Head of VU MBA Programme, Sunway College (2nd row, 1st from right).

Brendan McCarthy, Director of Learning and Teaching of the new VU College, hyped up the party with the announcement of two new Bachelor of Business specialisations to be offered at Sunway, namely Management & Innovation as well as Supply Chain & Logistics Management. These specialisations which have been approved by VU Melbourne are expected to be launched early next year subject to the approval from the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

According to Williams, VU Melbourne’s partnership with Sunway is amongst the longest, largest and most stable of all Australian-Malaysian international partnerships. The 20 year partnership continues to flourish with the campuses growing bigger and stronger. “Both VU Melbourne and Sunway had modest beginnings, progressing from a small number of students to one of the biggest and successful twinning programmes in Malaysia. They are now widely respected institutions in their respective countries with positive facilities such as new buildings, online services and elaborate online monitoring system which will collectively improve the student experience,” said Williams.

“Australia and Malaysia have always enjoyed a fruitful relationship and I believe much of its success can be attributed to international education like our VU programmes,” continued Williams, adding that more plans are underway to meet the increasingly diversified market demand in both countries.

VU is planning to offer more specialisations under the VU Sunway undergraduate programme and also new master programme in Enterprise Resource Planning. “There is also no stopping in offering undergraduate programmes branching out from Business degree as long as they are sustainable degree programmes. Currently VU and Sunway are also jointly working on a short term mobility programme aimed at encouraging its Australian students to study in Malaysia,” said Williams.

The day before, the Australian staff members witnessed over 300 graduates celebrating their milestone achievement at the VU Malaysia Graduation Ceremony held at the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa. On 11th April, the alumni had returned to join in the largest ever VU Alumni event which witnessed an estimated 300 alumni in attendance.