:: INDIA EMPIRE - COVER STORY ::

Education: AIMST

Educating the World

With its world class facilities and top flight faculty, the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) is proving to be a major attraction for Malaysian, and these days an increasing number of international students. INDIA EMPIRE takes a look inside this vibrant campus

Malaysia, one of the fastest developing countries in Asia, and with a national vision to reach developed status by 2020, has in recent years seen an upsurge of activity in the educational field encompassing both the public and private sectors. The Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) is the first private university in northern Malaysia that offers a range of science and technology-based programmes at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The AIMST was established in March 2001 by the Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED), the educational arm of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component party of the Barisan Nasional Government in Malaysia. Located in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah Darul Aman, the university is the brainchild of YB Dato' Seri S. Samy Vellu, president of the MIC.

So what makes the institute special? An exceptionally outward-looking university, AIMST is well on the road to becoming a premier private sector university in the country and region, catering to the needs of local and international students. It aspires to provide quality technical education at affordable costs in programmes covering medicine and health sciences, applied sciences, engineering, computer technology as well as business and management.

AIMST offers low student/staff ratio; collaboration with prestigious local and overseas universities in the design of course curricula and quality control systems; relevant and modern course curriculum; incorporation of valuable work experience in the science, engineering and IT degree programmes with some optional overseas training; complementary modules on technopreneurship, critical thinking, advanced English language skills, and other personal enrichment courses and training.


The AIMST	TIEING UP: Mr. Ooi Chee Kok, President, Taylor’s College Sdn.Bhd exchanging an MOU with Mrs. P. Chithirakala Vasu witnessed by YB Dato’ Seri

A sprawling 193 hectare campus in the foothills of the Gunung Jarai hills in the historically important Bujang valley will be the permanent home of the institute. Self-contained and equipped with state-of-the-art teaching and laboratory facilities, the campus also consists of a purpose-built Great Hall and Experimental Theatre, a well-designed library located in close proximity to the faculty buildings, well-furnished student and staff residences, a student complex replete with facilities such as bank, post office, student clinic, book store, minimarket. An indoor sports hall, linked to an Olympic sized swimming pool, and spacious outdoor track and field facilities, is the piece de resistance. Overall, 9,000 students will study at the AIMST, with a very high proportion (4,000) to be accommodated in campus hostels.

This is the first institute of its kind built by any PIO (People of Indian Origin) from any part of the world. This is also clear evidence of how high India’s image is being projected by the PIO community

—P. Chithirakala Vasu, CEO

The university has received accreditation for the following courses:

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic
MSc Biotechnology (by research).

Says a very proud P. Chithirakala Vasu, CEO, “This is the first institute of its kind built by any PIO (People of Indian Origin) from any part of the world. This is also clear evidence of how high India’s image is being projected by the PIO community.”

Diploma courses include courses in Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Technology, Pharmacy, Computer Technology.

The charitable nature of the institute can be judged by the large number of students that are getting educational support from the institute.

In 2006, as many as 397 students received PTPTN loans totalling RM14,841,955. Many students secured loans from other sources, including MIED. SP SETIA Berhard has offered scholarships worth RM907,250 to 11 medical students.

An International Students Office has been established to cater specifically for the recruitment of international students and attend to their welfare. This initiative is to help promote Malaysia as a regional centre of educational excellence.

Of the 1658 students on its rolls in the year 2006, 573 were medical students, 535 were in foundation studies, 259 were biotechnology students, 90 were students of dentistry, there were 87 students in pharmacy, and 36 were in material science with management.

Its associations, tieups and collaborations with other reputed universities is a direct result of its increasing reputation as a centre of academic excellence. As Malaysia searches for leaders who will take the country into the future, AIMST will clearly be supplying some of them.

THE VISION OF THE CHAIRMAN

Today, the economic strength of our nation depends on the education and training of our citizens. The new century demands a different type of worker—one who is more highly educated, better trained and has a broader set of skills in a variety of areas.

MIC, through its educational arm MIED, has been always giving special attention to the educational needs of the Indian community. The opportunity to educate the next generation of scholars, policy-makers and entrepreneurs to make better choices is certainly an investment in our future. Since 1984, the year in which MIED was formed, we have disbursed more than RM 74 million towards study loans. The student loans have helped over 9,000 needy students pursue their tertiary education, thus making MIED one of the largest private education loan providers in the country.

MIC has established tertiary level technological institutions such as TAFE Seremban to prepare knowledge workers among Malaysian Indians. We are proud ours is the first technical institute of higher education providing diploma courses in IT, business and most importantly, engineering disciplines. The pioneering staff we have appointed to lay its academic foundation are top caliber professionals with a wealth of experience and high international standing.

Tomorrow's dream realised today is the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology. Our aim is to make AIMST a leading academic institution in the country and region with a strong base and impeccable quality control mechanisms for all our programmes.
It has been a gratifying experience for me to have served as chairman of the institute since its inception in 1984.

IN THE CEO’S WORDS...
In 2006, at MIED, we witnessed many successful ventures while prudently negotiating this priced vehicle through trying moments. We are proud to have achieved our vision for more than eleven thousand students and we continue to count.

A mission is what a company wants to do or aspires to do. At MIED, it’s different. We actually live our mission every day. When MIED was formed in 1984, we promised students, their families and educational institutions that we would help make higher education affordable and accessible to all deserving and needy Indian students who seek it. This promise has been kept and we continue to keep it every day in countless ways.

Foremost is our affordable loan programme that has helped thousands of students pay for education beyond secondary school. The MIED Education Loan programme is funded from a revolving fund in which the same pool of money is reutilised to improve programmes and service quality while enabling us to extend our benefits to an ever increasing number of borrowers and schools in the future.

We appreciate the fact that higher education provides intrinsic benefits as well as economic benefits to individuals and to our society as a whole. As a non-profit organisation, we are unable to accomplish this task alone. Therefore, we aggressively identify and forge strategic partnerships.

We are proud to put on record that MIED secured scholarship commitments from two organisations worth almost RM 1.5 million. We witnessed the signing ceremonies of two MoUs during the year under review involving Olympia College and Taylor’s College.

As the landscape of the student lending industry continuously changes, we look forward to a challenging year ahead. Nevertheless, we are confident that we will adapt to maintain our high level of customer satisfaction and continue offering accessible and affordable loan programmes well into the foreseeable future.

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August 2007