XMUMC, integration of China, Malaysia in education

By Tang Danlu, Tian Shaohui, Han Xinying and Liu Yizhan

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 30 (Xinhuanet) --- On the Xiamen University Malaysian Campus (XMUMC) in Kuala Lumpur, students of both China and Malaysia can better enjoy the education resources from the two countries.

Huang Ziwei, one of the Malaysian students studying in XMUMC, explained why she chose this campus.

It is attractive to many Malaysian youth because they could get admitted into a key Chinese university which is close to their homes or even at their doorsteps and earn a diploma acknowledged by both governments, She added.

XMUMC is in fact the first overseas campus set up by a renowned Chinese university and the first Chinese university branch campus in Malaysia.

It offers courses to meet the demands of the rapid social and economic development in the region, and courses with typical Chinese contents like Chinese language and Chinese medicine, according to Professor Wang Ruifang, President of XMUMC.

Chen Jingwei, a student major in new resources, said the reason she chose XMUMC is because the teachers have good international experience of teaching or engaging in academic research tasks.

Indeed, the teaching staff here is a bright mixture of those dispatched from the Xiamen University, and the talents locally hired.

Xiamen University's Malaysian campus officially opened less than two years after a ground-breaking ceremony attended by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in July 2014.

Covering an area of 150 acres near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, its construction follows the unique "Tan Kah Kee architectural style" just like the three colleges back in the Xiamen University.

In a message in February Najib expressed his blessing to XMUMC and hoped its graduates to play prominent roles in furthering exchanges between the two countries, especially on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

"XMUMC will provide the students with a better platform and channel to grasp the development of politics, economics, as well as culture and technology in China," he said.

"Its graduates, be they Malaysian or Chinese or of other nationalities, will become pioneers in building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road," he added.

Once a teacher at U.S. Oklahoma University, Wang Zhongli, now associate professor at XMUM, said he would love to work near his home as XMUMC is expected to bring benefits for both Malaysia and China.