An Australian university has recently announced that they are setting up a base in Malaysia, making them the fourth Australian higher education institution with branch campuses in the country. The University of Wollongong, with its home campus in New South Wales, did so via the acquisition of a Malaysian higher education provider, KDU. The Australian University took up a 65 per cent stake in the business and operations of KDU University College and KDU Penang University College, as well as a 70 per cent stake in KDU College.

KDU University College is one of Malaysia’s first private colleges which grew from a small college in 1983 to a large group comprising two university colleges and one college. KDU’s third campus, another university college, is slated to start operations in 2020 in Batu Kawan, Penang. Currently, the KDU group of institutions have around 6,000 students. Over the years, the University has entered into partnerships with a variety of foreign universities, including the UK.

The University of Wollongong, on the other hand, has existing foreign bases in Dubai and Hong Kong and is ranked top-250 in the QS, Times Higher and ARWU rankings. The University is particularly highly ranked in engineering and technology (top-100) and law (top-100).  
 

Commentary by Jennifer Wan, British Council Malaysia

The entry of the University of Wollongong into the Malaysian market will add further competition to the UK higher education sector, both for those recruiting to the UK and those with existing branch campuses in Malaysia. Before the entry of the University of Wollongong, there are already approximately 13 foreign higher education institutions with a base in Malaysia. Coupled with the recent announcement of the possible entry of Japanese Universities, the higher education offerings and options for students and parents alike are going to increase.

It is therefore crucial for the UK higher education sector to start looking at diversification options both in the areas of student recruitment and partnership development within Malaysia.