UK institutions are reminded that the Board of Architects in Malaysia will be discontinuing the automatic recognition of foreign architecture programmes from 1 January 2017 onwards.

There are currently 32 UK Universities in the Board of Architect's list and this list will be removed from their website effective 1 January 2017. Students who are currently completing or have completed their studies within the effective recognition period will not be affected by the ruling.

UK institutions interested to get their architecture programmes recognised by the Board should contact them as soon as possible and start on the accreditation process. There is currently only ONE Australian university which has gone through the process and obtained the validation. The process will take some time as it involves a review of the foreign university's syllabus and visit to the campus.

In the 2014/15 academic year, there are more than 500 Malaysians studying an architecture programme in the UK. Although this is not a highly popular programme, the subject has seen a 52% growth since the 2010/11 academic year. It would be advisable for UK institutions to consider having their programmes validated.

For more information on the market and how British Council can help promote your institution in Malaysia, please contact Jennifer Wan