The
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus is an
overseas campusA satellite campus or branch campus is a campus of a college or university that is physically detached from the main university or college area, and is often smaller than the main campus of an institution....
of the
University of NottinghamThe University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
. The university is situated in
SemenyihSemenyih is a small town in Selangor, Malaysia, about 8 km southeast of Kajang along the Kajang-Seremban road. The meaning of the name of the town is not certain...
, Selangor a town part of
Greater Kuala LumpurGreater Kuala Lumpur is the geographical term that determines the boundaries of Metropolitan Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, though similar with Klang Valley, there remains variation between the two. It is similar with Greater London and Greater Toronto...
. The University was recently ranked as "excellent" or tier 5 in a scale of tier 1-6 and is classified as a private institution, by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education. The Malaysia Campus was the first campus of a British University in Malaysia and one of the first to open outside Britain thus earning the distinction of the
Queen's Awards for EnterpriseThe Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development. They are the highest official UK awards for British businesses...
2001 and the
Queen's Award for IndustryThe Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade was awarded on 21 April 2006, by Queen Elizabeth II.-Recipients:The following organisations were awarded this year.* 20 Essex Street of London WC2 for legal services...
(International Trade) 2006.
History
The
Malaysia campus was first established in 2000 when the first batch of students were enrolled, students were then taught in a rented building. The original idea for the university to open a foreign branch was conceptualized as early as 1992. It is the first purpose-built UK university campus in a foreign country. However, it is not the first foreign university to set up a
satellite campusA satellite campus or branch campus is a campus of a college or university that is physically detached from the main university or college area, and is often smaller than the main campus of an institution....
in Malaysia. In fact, it is the third to do so. Formerly, the university was known as the
University of Nottingham in Malaysia or
UNiM. The campus' incumbent chairman is
Ahmad Rithauddeen, an honorary Nottingham graduate and former Malaysian Defence Minister. It was officially opened by
Najib Tun RazakDato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...
(Deputy
Prime Minister of MalaysiaThe Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
on 26 September 2005 and an alumnus. The campus was made possible by a consortium of partners which includes the
Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera or Armed Forces Superannuation Fund (LTAT) via its subsidiary Boustead Holdings Bhd, YTL Corporation Bhd and the University of Nothingham and the Alumni Association. Prior to the opening of the main campus in Semenyih, the University operated at the former Majestic Hotel building near
Kuala Lumpur railway stationKuala Lumpur Railway Station is a train station located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Completed in 1910 to replace an older station on the same site, the station was Kuala Lumpur's railway hub in the city for the Federated Malay States Railways and Malayan Railway , before Kuala Lumpur Sentral...
and at
Wisma MISC or MISC Tower. Following the opening of the Semenyih campus, most of the teaching departments were moved to Semenyih, only certain post graduate courses still remain in Kuala Lumpur. Sometime in 2007 the campus reopened a Kuala Lumpur branch in Chulan Tower on Jalan Conlay.
Semenyih Campus
The Malaysia campus is primarily based on a 101 acre (0.40873286 km²) plot situated in
SemenyihSemenyih is a small town in Selangor, Malaysia, about 8 km southeast of Kajang along the Kajang-Seremban road. The meaning of the name of the town is not certain...
,
SelangorSelangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
. Semenyih campus is made up of a few teaching buildings and a couple of faculty buildings. The main buildings are colour coded and given a coloured facade at their entrances. In semenyih campus covered pathways are provided to facilitate inter building transport. At the centre of the circular square is an open fountain, which is usually lighted at night. The Semenyih campus is equipped with student recreational facilities such as a sports complex which houses an outdoor 25m
swimming poolA swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, 2 tennis courts, 6 basketball courts, a multi purpose hall, a 60m²
gymThe word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
,
hockeyHockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
/
futsalFutsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
field and a
footballRugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
field. A dedicated students association building forms the central connection between on campus housing and the teaching buildings.
The campus have grown considerably since the official opening in 2005 , and Campus expansion is still on-going, however the pace of expansion has entered a steady decline following the completion of phase 2 of the campus development. Currently, there are further plans to build a new student association building and additional on-campus housing. The Semenyih campus is home to at least two joint research centers.
KL Teaching Centre (KLTC)
Besides the main campus in Semenyih, a city teaching facility is maintained in Chulan Tower at Jalan Conlay within the Kuala Lumpur central business district. Here, certain postgraduate programmes, such as applied psychology, business and management, and education are taught.
Academics
Being a satellite campus of the
University of NottinghamThe University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, students are taught with the same course materials as those in the UK and in China and are under the jurisdiction of the
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher EducationEstablished in 1997, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education works to ensure that higher education qualifications in the United Kingdom are of a sound standard. It protects the public interest by checking how universities and colleges maintain their academic standards and quality...
(QAA). Upon completing a degree at the Malaysia campus, students are awarded a University of Nottingham degree certificate which is indistinguishable from the certificates awarded at the Nottingham campus. The degrees that are awarded are accredited by international professional bodies such as the
Association of MBA'sThe Association of MBAs is a London-based international organization that accredits postgraduate business programs at business schools worldwide. The Association is one of the three main global accreditation bodies in business education and styles itself "the world's impartial authority on...
and the UK Engineering Council.
Research
Apart from the taught undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, the university also conducts a range of projects available for research-based postgraduate studies. There are more than 20 research programmes currently being carried out at the Malaysia Campus. This has led to joint research and the setting up of local companies.
The Sahz-UNMC Pilot Plant
The Sahz-UNMC Pilot Plant is a small prototype manufacturing plant built inside the engineering faculty building (D-Building) occupying a space of no greater than 25 square metres (269.1 sq ft). Currently, Research is primarily focused towards mass fabricating Supercapacitors. Funding for this project is granted from a RM6.5 million Technofund grant by the Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MOSTI). The research project also has links with SEMYUNG Ever Energy Co. Ltd. (South Korea) and 2M Engineering Ltd. (Netherlands).
Biotechnology Research Centre
The Biotechnology Research Centre is a 986 square metres (10,613.2 sq ft) separated purpose-built research centre specialising in the applied research of biotechnology products specifically palm oil crop. The building cost is approximate to RM3.5M and this excludes the cost of internal fittings and scientific equipment. Inside the main research building there are 2 separate labs, one for the teaching of UNMC biotechnology students and the other for research.
The research centre is operated as a joint collaboration with Applied Agricultural Resources Sdn. Bhd (AAR), a start-up company of little known public standing.
Crops for the Future Research Center (CFFRC)
As the research arm of Crops for the Future, the Crops for the Future Research Centre (CFFRC) is a 50 hectare (0.5 km²) crop research facility and associated field centre soon to be built adjacent to the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus near Semenyih, Selangor. It is proposed that in addition to laboratories and offices, CFFRC will feature biomes,
polytunnelA polytunnel is a tunnel made of polyethylene used to grow plants that require a higher temperature and/or humidity than that which is available in the environment....
s and growth chambers, to enable promising underutilised plants to be cultivated in controlled environments. It is expected that the main buildings of the centre will use energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies and unique architectural design. CFFRC will also have a visitor centre and botanical garden of alternative crops which be open to the general public.
CFFRC is established as a company limited by guarantee and without shareholders. The project is a joint venture between the Government of Malaysia and the University of Nottingham in Malaysia using an initial grant of nearly from the Malaysian government for capital and operational costs for the first seven years.
Geography and climate
The University of Nottingham Malaysia campus is located on a 101 acres (408,732.9 m²) site, approximately 60 m (196.9 ft) above sea level, located on top a hill overlooking Broga hill and the surrounding areas. There are many palm trees planted around and in the campus itself, due to the site being originally a palm oil plantation, the harvesting of palm fruit still occurs within the campus fence. Palm oil research is carried out at a separated 50 hectares (500,000 m²) plantation adjacent to the campus.
The weather on campus is generally warm throughout the year. The temperature ranges from 30 °C to 34 °C during the day and 25 °C to 28 °C during the night, with cooler temperatures during and after a heavy rainfall. The humidity level is at 80% throughout the year.
The campus faces minimal changes in seasons, however from May and September the campus faces a dry season, in which it may have comparatively less rain, and from mid-November till March a mild wet season. Due to these changes, the subtle changing colours of leaves and the flowering of certain plants may be observed. Otherwise, the campus undergoes the usual
tropical rainforest climateA tropical rainforest climate, also known as an equatorial climate, is a tropical climate usually found along the equator...
.
Environmental issues
During the design and planning phase of the Semenyih campus, there were issues that a planned incinerator was to be built in Broga, something which the university and local area residents made some protest to. Eventually, the incinerator plant was reportedly moved to a new site in Kampung Bohol,
PuchongPuchong is a major town in the Petaling district of Selangor, Malaysia. The town used to be a rubber estate and tin-mining town in the 1960s. During 1980s, Puchong consisted of only one two-lane road running through estates and villages...
.
Nottingham Knights
The University of Nottingham Rugby Club's Nottingham Knights is the current champions at the 2011 Malaysia Association of Private Colleges and Universities (MAPCU) Rugby tournament. The team managed to beat all opposition without conceding a single goal.
Nottingham Tricampus games
The Malaysia Campus has taken part in all Tri-campus games since its inception in 2009. The Malaysia campus played host to the Nottingham Tricampus games in the summer of 2010. It will play host again in the summer of 2013.
Student Association
In the Nottingham Malaysia Campus, much of the activities are overseen by an elected student governing body called the "Student Association" (or often abbreviated as
SA) which is considered part of the "Student Union" (
SU) in the UK Campus. The student association is also responsible for appropriating funds to student groups and organizations on campus. Most sports activities such as bowling, badminton, basketball, football, squash, table tennis, tennis are managed and organized by the 19 individual student sports clubs. While, Social Gatherings and dances are usually organized by the 32 other cultural related or academic related clubs and societies. The Annual Dinner is one of the major events that is organized by the Student Association. There are also 8 special interest clubs dedicated to special interest such as excursions such as the out-door club, which usually conducts student trips to resort islands all over Malaysia; Robotic Society which conducts robotic tournaments; and the music society which provides live music support for activities.
Housing
The Malaysia campus provides 1000 units of on campus housing or less than a third for its total students. Presently, priority for on-campus residence is allocated to international students and first year freshmens, while senior students are generally made to stay off-campus in the nearby neighbourhood of
Taman Tasik SemenyihTaman Tasik Semenyih or less commonly known as Semenyih Lake Park is a university town adjacent to the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus located in Selangor, Malaysia.-History:...
, often abbreviated "TTS" by the students and residents. Although there are plans to further increase the number of on campus student accommodation, the university is currently focused on expanding off-campus housing. On-campus housing is made up of 5 residential halls on campus, namely
Pangkor Hall,
Redang Hall,
Tioman Hall,
Kapas Hall and
Langkawi Hall, which are named after popular resort islands in Malaysia. Students are generally gender segregated by floors with boys occupying odd floors. Although, there are some halls that are segregated by room or suite. Each halls are led by a student hall tutor and managed by a staff warden.
A single pedestrian bridge currently links the neighbouring Taman Tasik Semenyih 5 with the north entrance of the university.
Islamic Center
Due to a large number of Muslims at the university and being located in a Muslim majority country, there is an Islamic Center building located directly on campus. Throughout the academic year the student run Islamic society will hold numerous talks and student activities. The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus is a dry and halal campus, meaning that alcohol and meals that are considered harram is banned on campus.
Mobility Programme
As part of Nottingham's advantage scheme, students may be exchanged to other campuses for a certain academic period. In the words of Vincenzo Raimo, director of Nottingham’s International Office “Students can continue studying exactly the same modules available at Nottingham in the UK but overseas instead — experience the excitement of Asia but within the familiar academic setting of Nottingham University, ... Transfers are open to anyone getting good grades and whose degree subject is among those taught overseas. Air fares may not be cheap, but the cost of living is — and anyone spending the full year at a branch pays just half the UK tuition fee. "
Besides exchanging to the UK Campus or the CN Campus, students may also take part in Universitas 21 mobility programme in which students may also be exchanged with universities partner to Universitas 21 in Spain, France, Germany, Japan, China and South Korea.
Transportation
There are three major entrances to the Malaysia campus. The main entrance of the campus is located to the west which is opened 24 hours. A second entrance is located to the South of the campus which is closed for much of the time. A third which only allows pedestrian traffic and small motor vehicle traffic such as motorcycles is located to the North.
There are no direct public transportation connected to the university, other than that of university shuttle buses commuting between the campus and Kajang railway station. Shuttle bus services are offered free as a university incentive to provide greener sustainable transport and to alleviate on-campus parking issues. However, shuttle bus services are by regulations restricted to students and staffs of the University. The nearest public bus route is along the nearest town of Semenyih, approximately 3 km from campus.
The university also provides other complimentary bus services such as bus services to the nearby
TescoTesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
super store, special bus service to the Semenyih mosque for Friday prayers, and a shuttle bus service for students living in the student town of
Taman Tasik Semenyih or Semenyih Lake park. Also, a single pedestrian bridge connects the neighbouring
Taman Tasik SemenyihTaman Tasik Semenyih or less commonly known as Semenyih Lake Park is a university town adjacent to the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus located in Selangor, Malaysia.-History:...
to the North entrance.
Notable Alumni
- Najib Tun Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...
- The incumbent Prime MinisterA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of Malaysia
- Tuanku Jaafar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman - Tenth King
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....
of Malaysia, Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan
- Sultan Azlan Muhibbudin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yusuff Izzudin Shah Ghafarullahu-lahu - Ninth King of Malaysia, Sultan of Perak
- Tengku Tan Sri Ahmad Rithaudden - Former Minister of Defence of Malaysia
- Tuanku Bahiyah
Tuanku Bahiyah ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman was the Sultanah of Kedah and served as the fifth Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia from 1970 to 1975.-Early life:...
- The fifth Queen of Malaysia
- Tun Dato Seri Dr. Haji Hamdan Bin Sheik Tahir - Governor of Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
province, Malaysia
- Tunku Tan-Sri Imran ibni Tuanku Jaafar - Prince of Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan, one of the 13 states that constitutes Malaysia, lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just south of Kuala Lumpur and borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the south....
, President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia
- Zara Salim Davidson
style="float:right;"|Tuanku Zara Salim is the wife of the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah. Upon her marriage on 17 May 2007, she became the Raja Puan Besar of Perak....
- The Crown Princess of Perak and the grandniece of the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul RahmanTunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
.
Note: The alumni mentioned above are Malaysia related alumni that have graduated or studied at the Nottingham UK campus.
See also
External links