MIRI: Curtin University Sarawak Campus is striving to excel for another 20 years, said Pro-Chancellor of Curtin Malaysia Sarawak Campus Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam.
“In this ever-changing and incredibly competitive world, we look forward to working ever more closely with the media, and engaging in different forms of conventional and so-called new media to enhance our reputation and brand positioning,” he added.
Chan was speaking at the campus’ 20th anniversary dinner gathering held at a leading hotel here on Friday night.
“Though 20 years have passed, our objective to provide quality education and an enriching learning experience to students from Malaysia and beyond has not changed one bit,” he added.
“Our innovative spirit and commitment to educate minds and enrich lives have seen us lead in many areas, including embracing new technologies, introducing new ways of learning, conducting researches that impact local communities, and producing work-ready graduates,” he said.
“Twenty-one years ago, as if it were just yesterday, I led a delegation of Sarawak leaders to Perth to invite Curtin University to establish its first foreign branch campus here in Miri. It wasn’t an easy task convincing the university leadership, but as implausible as the idea seemed then, it did have its merits and we were fortunate to have the support of notable figures, both in Sarawak and Western Australia who included then Chief Minister Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib bin Mahmud and the late Harry Perkins AM, former Chancellor of Curtin University,” he recalled.
The university, Chan added, also looked forward to working collaboratively with the media to build meaningful partnerships.
“We also owe a debt of gratitude to the press. Without all the news coverage and articles on Curtin Malaysia that you have published, as Professor Beena has alluded to earlier, we would not enjoy the strong reputation we have today,” he pointed out.
“For example, we recently introduced a new journalism stream in our Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication to complement the Corporate Screen Production and Public Relations and Marketing streams. This involved building an industry-standard radio county for realistic teaching of the broadcast journalism units, and we are now exploring the teaching of TV production and broadcasting,” he said.
Also present at the gathering were Curtin Malaysia Sarawak Campus chairman Datu Ose Murang, Tourism, Arts and Culture Assistant Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Piasau assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting, acting Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Beena Gindharan, Chief Operating Officer of Curtin Malaysia Sarawak campus Ir Pieter Willem Pottas and local media representatives.
