Academic Awards Ceremony Marks A Successful Year of Partnership

Graduates of University of Abertay Dundee, UK

10th December 2005 More than 250 degrees and academic awards for Malaysian students were confirmed today (Saturday, 10 December) in a special ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur by one of Scotland 's leading modern universities. The University of Abertay Dundee, based in Dundee, world-famous as the “City of Discovery”, held its annual Academic Awards Convocation for Malaysian students. Abertay's Vice-Principal (Academic Development), Professor Mike Swanston, travelled to Malaysia with senior colleagues especially to preside over the event.

Professor Swanston personally conferred degrees and diplomas in subjects as ranging from corporate finance, accountancy and finance, to business administration, and marketing.

The courses are delivered in conjunction with SEGi Group of Colleges, part of Malaysia 's leading private sector providers of higher education, SEG International Group (SEGi). UAD programmes with SEGi College are 2+1 programmes.

Hundreds of family members and friends also gathered at Kuala Lumpur's prestigious Hotel Nikko to witness the ceremony amid all the pomp and pageantry appropriate to the occasion.

A highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the University Prize for the best student studying full-time on an Abertay course in Malaysia, which was won by Tan May Key, who also graduated with a BA Honours degree in Accountancy & Finance.

Today's ceremony took place in the presence of special guest Mr Gerry Liston, director of the British Council in Malaysia, Mr. K C Lee, chief operating officer of SEGi, and Ms Hew Moi Lan, senior director of operations (SEGi) and principal of SEGi College Kuala Lumpur. Other senior staff from Abertay University and SEGi College also attended the event along with academics involved in the delivery of Abertay programmes in Malaysia.

Professor Swanston congratulated all the graduates, saying: “The University is very pleased to have been involved in enhancing your education and to have contributed, in partnership with institutions here in Malaysia, to your success today.

“Graduation days are always special, for our graduates, their families and their friends and for the University as well. What you have achieved is a tribute to your hard work and dedication. I am sure that it was difficult sometimes and that you faced and overcame many challenges.” he added.

“The University is very pleased that all our Malaysian students have performed so well. Your degree is an Abertay degree. You have followed the same curriculum and used the same learning materials and resources as our students back in Scotland; the same external examiners and Assessment Boards judged your work. So you have attained the same degree as that obtained by your fellow students in Dundee and they join with you too, in celebration of your successes,” said Professor Swanston.

Abertay's courses in Malaysia are taught in a programme of fully-supported flexible learning delivered through Systematic Group, and the numbers graduating have increased substantially since the partnership with Abertay started nine years ago.

Abertay degrees in accountancy and finance, business administration and marketing are taught in three SEGi campuses in Malaysia : Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Penang.

There are more than 470 students on the three programmes, using modules and materials identical to those taught on Abertay's own campus in Dundee , and enjoying online access to the University's Library. All assessments are set and marked at Abertay, and are scrutinised by the same assessment boards and external examiners as those of students in Dundee . From July 2006, the University will be providing study support to its students in Malaysia through e-learning, making study more convenient for students with busy working lives.

In his speech to the new graduates, Professor Swanston welcomed them to the worldwide community of Abertay graduates, saying: “Many of our graduates have gone on to achieve great success in the UK, Malaysia and internationally. We are extremely proud of our alumni in Malaysia, who now include senior officers in technology firms, major banks and legal firms, and teaching staff at leading colleges.

“I would like to thank very sincerely, and publicly, our partners in Malaysia —the management, academic and administrative staff at SEGi Group—who share our commitment to putting the student at the centre of our thinking and activity.

“We are very proud too of the strong reputation that the SEGi Group of Colleges and the University of Abertay Dundee have earned through their collaboration. Working together, and through our joint efforts, we are meeting the needs of Malaysian students who seek high-quality, relevant programmes of study as the launch pad to their careers.

“Co-partnership arrangements are becoming increasingly important in this era of global competitiveness and the relationship between the University of Abertay Dundee and SEGi Group of Colleges has grown over the years into a well-developed collaboration with a 2-way exchange of staff and students, allowing knowledge and skills to flow in both directions and friendships to be formed.

“We share a commitment to preparing the graduate professionals demanded by the new international knowledge economy, and it is vital that our students, wherever they may be, experience and benefit from, the highest standards of teaching and the best of leading edge technologies.”

To find out more about UAD programmes, please call SEGi College Kuala Lumpur (03-20702078), Petaling Jaya, (03-78757118), Penang (04-2628127), or log on to www.segi.edu.my