THE 3RD MALAYSIAN EDUCATION FAIR
22-23 April 2009, Poytaht Business Centre, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
The 3rd Malaysian Education Fair was held in Tashkent on 22-23 April 2009 in Poytaht Business Centre. The Fair was organized by the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia (MOHE) together with the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of Uzbekistan, the Embassy of Malaysia in Tashkent, the Exhibitions Promotion and Management Sdn. Bhd. and the Uzbek-Malaysian JV company “ABDA Travel Ltd.”. The Malaysian group consisting of 23 people was led by Dr. Wan Hanizah Wan Mohamed, Deputy Director of the Department of Marketing and International Education of MOHE. The representative of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) was also included in the delegation.
2. Eleven higher learning institutions from Malaysia (3 public universities and 8 private universities and colleges) participated by exhibiting their services during the Fair. They are namely:
i) Universiti Malaya;
ii) Universiti Malaysia Pahang;
iii) Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia;
iv) Universiti UCSI;
v) Asia Pacific University College of Technology & Innovation;
vi) Universiti Kolej HELP;
vii) Universiti Kolej SEGI;
viii) Kasturi International College;
ix) KBU International College;
x) RIMA Group of Colleges;
xi) Westminster International College.
3. The purpose of the exhibition was to introduce the local public to the educational system in Malaysia, provide information on various opportunities of studying in the Malaysian higher educational establishments which are characterized by high quality of educational process and excellent academic programmes recognized by well-established universities over the world. Low tuition fees and developed twinning programmes with leading universities in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, USA, etc. also serve as an attractive factor for Uzbek students to come and study in Malaysia. This Education Fair was a follow-up to the First Education Fair in 2007 and the Second Education Fair in 2008. The Education Fair is also to expose on the Malaysian education potential and facilities to the local Uzbekistan public especially students and their parents.
4. The programmes offered by the Malaysian institutions at the exhibition covered both Bachelor’s and Master’s degree levels with specialization in various fields, such as engineering, science, ICT, business, economy, management, law, medicine, English language, Islamic studies, etc.
5. During the two-day exhibition in Tashkent, an estimated 5,000 people visited the event. The visitors were mainly from Tashkent coming from some 44 local educational institutions (universities, professional colleges and lyceums). Besides, the exhibition was attended by the students and faculty of Ferghana State University, Samarkand State University, Urgench State University, Yangiyul College and etc.
6. The event was widely covered by the local mass media, namely Uzbekiston TV channel, few national radio stations (Uzbekiston, Ma’shal, Yoshlar, A’lo FM), Uzreport news portal and Uzbekistan Today Weekly.
7. Overall, the 3rd Malaysian Education Fair has received a good response from the local public and proved to be useful in reaching its end goal of attracting more Uzbek students to study in Malaysia. We hope it could translate into the increase of potential students to continue their study in Malaysia. As the result of the Second Education Fair, about 80 students have continued their study in Malaysia. The number is expected to increase this year.
Embassy of Malaysia, Tashkent,
24th April, 2009
