6 June 2019 at 9:00 am

EIT signs MOU with Sunway University in Malaysia

Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Sunway University in Malaysia to strengthen their education relationship and student outcomes.

EIT signs MOU with Sunway University in Malaysia
From left: Matthew Marshall, Head of School, IDEAschool, EIT, New Zealand High Commissioner to Malaysia Hunter Nottage and Graeme Wilkinson, Vice-Chancellor Sunway University, during the MOU signing.

The MOU, signed on 27 May at a ceremony at Sunway University in Selangor, Malaysia, will see the two institutions working together to promote education pathways and short-term student and teacher exchanges.

New Zealand High Commissioner to Malaysia, Hunter Nottage, said he welcomed the new collaboration agreement.

“It’s fantastic to see a New Zealand institution enter into this agreement with a Malaysian university, and I hope this new partnership offers Sunway University students an opportunity to experience a New Zealand education,” Nottage said.

EIT International Marketing Manager, Helen Kemp, said the MOU would pave the way for collaborations between the two institutions, particularly with art and design qualifications.

“This is a great opportunity for bringing together New Zealand and Malaysian cultures and ideas that could benefit the design community as a whole,” Kemp said.

“Sunway students in Malaysia who complete a two-year Diploma in Design will now be able to pathway into the EIT Bachelor of Creative Practice in New Zealand.”

Market Manager – Malaysia and Philippines, Desiree Lee, said the education relationship between Malaysia and New Zealand has continued to develop over the last 70 years.

“The first Malaysian students arrived in New Zealand in the 1950s under the Colombo Plan, and they returned home to make a big impact in Malaysia and on the world stage. Since then, the education relationship between the two countries has continued to develop with a steady growth in the number of Malaysian students in New Zealand,” Lee said.

“International collaborations and academic mobility between New Zealand and Malaysian education institutions are a great way to raise institution profiles but also to strengthen diplomacy and trade links over the long term.”

The MOU signing was followed by a discussion on possible areas of collaboration between Sunway University’s School of Arts and EIT’s IDEAschool, including short-term student and staff exchanges.

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