International News
New Zealand Nursing Qualification Taught in Malaysia
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Hamilton's Wintec (Waikato Institute of Technology) has announced a partnership with a Malaysian education park which will see its nursing curriculum taught internationally on a $50 million campus in Malaysia.
(via Waikato Times) The partnership is understood to be one of the first of its kind, where a New Zealand institute has set up an overseas campus. Wintec has 14 hectares dedicated to a nursing college within the 283ha park at Terengganu in Eastern Malaysia.
Wintec's site on the campus will eventually have capacity to take up to 5000 students, with the Malaysian qualifications authority closely matching New Zealand's NZQA-based system.
The project is funded by Malaysia's Federal Government but Wintec will have the final sign-off on its buildings in the park.
Dr Kamil Fikri from the Pacific Nursing and Paramedical College in Malaysia visited Wintec with a group of delegates last week to discuss the deal.
He said the knowledge park had searched internationally for a nursing curriculum and believed Wintec's was the best.
"One of the areas we need to address with students is their English and Wintec has a very good programme here," Dr Kamil said.
Wintec's internationalisation director Stewart Brougham said the deal has been in the pipeline for the past five months after an initial visit to South East Asia.
He said the campus would be initially staffed with some Wintec staff but would eventually be run by Malaysian lecturers.
"The fact they they have come to us shows the recognition we are getting internationally," Mr Brougham said.
It was hoped the nursing college would be ready in July next year.
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