Malaysian Educator Recognised by Australia

The Australian High Commission recognised Prof. Dr. Saran Kaur Gill, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Industry and Community Partnerships from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, as its Education Personality of the Year 2010, at its Alumni Gala Dinner tonight.

Australia and Malaysia enjoy close education linkages with over 300,000 Malaysians having studied in Australia since the 1950s. There are currently 168 approved Australian programs in Malaysia in addition to three branch campuses in Kuala Lumpur (Monash Sunway); Kuching (Swinburne); and Miri (Curtin) with some 15,000 Malaysian students studying Australian programs.

Prof. Dr. Saran Kaur Gill was recognised as the Malaysian Education Personality of the Year for 2010 for strengthening the Australia-Malaysia education relationship. Prof. Dr Saran has worked with a number of Australian institutions on individual PhD programs and more recently was a key developer of and contributor to the Australia-Malaysia Internships and Student Mobility Programmes facilitated by the Australian Government.

“Prof. Dr. Saran has always been a friend of Australia and the Australian High Commission,” said Mr Paul Martins, the Australian Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner. “Prof. Dr. Saran has been of great strategic insight and value on how Australia and Malaysia may collaborate more closely together. For this, and for all the many other areas of support, we are proud to recognise Prof. Dr. Saran as our Australia-Malaysia Education Personality of the Year – 2010,” said Mr. Martins.

The Australian Alumni Gala Dinner is linked to the Study in Australia education exhibition which takes place on 2 and 3 October at the KL Convention Centre from 12 noon to 6pm. Australia remains Malaysia’s first preference for overseas study.
Australia offers quality education and a quality lifestyle for international students, in addition to a wide variety of courses that are popular with Malaysian students.

“The Study in Australia series of events, an annual Australian Government initiative, will provide a platform for students and their families to explore the opportunities that an Australian education can offer them personally and professionally,” said Mr Martins.

Visitors who register online at www.studyinaustralia.org stand a double their lucky draw chance of winning a ticket to Australia sponsored by Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia is currently the third largest source country for international students in Australia, in particular for undergraduate degrees. However, recent trends show that more Malaysians are choosing Australia for their postgraduate degrees. This is because according to students, Australia is one of the best places to live – a young, vibrant, exciting country, with high standards of living and safety. Living costs are comparably affordable and students as well as spouses are provided with the option of working full-time or part-time.