When Adeeba Kamarulzaman takes the reins at Monash University Malaysia, part of her brief will be to convince locals not to follow her example.

¡°Malaysian parents still send their children overseas to study, when we have a world-class university right here,¡± Professor Kamarulzaman said. ¡°One of my jobs would be to encourage parents like myself to consider Monash Malaysia.¡±

It is advice that the infectious diseases expert failed to heed herself, both as a parent and a student. Her son recently completed his master¡¯s studies in London, while she undertook her medical studies at Monash University¡¯s mother campus in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton.

Now a professor at the University of Malaya (UM), where she was previously dean of medicine, the HIV research pioneer will take over as Monash Malaysia president in May. ¡°It feels like I¡¯m coming back full circle,¡± she said.

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Her husband, stock exchange boss Muhamad Umar Swift, is also a Monash alumnus, whose father was a long-serving Monash anthropology professor. ¡°Many of my friends are still there, and several are in leadership positions. They¡¯ve reached out and said: ¡®How can we work together?¡¯

¡°Given that we want to move towards multidisciplinary programmes in education and research, it does help that I?already know a number of people in Clayton and [Monash¡¯s] Indonesia °Ú³¦²¹³¾±è³Ü²õ±Õ.¡±

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With a brief to boost research collaboration, it also helps that her network includes researchers in UM and its partner institutions in the US. Professor Kamarulzaman is a principal investigator in collaborative projects with Johns Hopkins and Yale universities to develop a master¡¯s programme in and to train doctoral students in .

Her contact book was also bolstered by recent appointments as co-chair of the ¨C alongside Cornell University Nobel laureate Harold Varmus ¨C and as Malaysia¡¯s first commissioner with the .

Her job description at Monash Malaysia includes improving its research output, which means focusing on its strengths. ¡°Research dollars here [in?Malaysia] are not in abundance¡­so working smartly and working in partnership is going to be key. We need to leverage on the talent and expertise in Australia and in Malaysia.¡±

As a private university, Monash Malaysia attracts less research funding than its public counterparts in a country surrounded by research heavyweights?such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Their proximity generates plenty of collaboration opportunities but sometimes unflattering comparisons.

And as a branch campus of a foreign university, Monash Malaysia does not appear in most national or international rankings even though, Professor Kamarulzaman said, it has comparable publications output to the local front runners.

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She?said the campus was able to maintain ¡°reasonably healthy¡± foreign enrolments during the pandemic. Numbers have risen this year, reflecting a?national rebound in student interest. Malaysia¡¯s recently reappointed ÖйúAƬ minister, Mohamed Khaled Nordin, wants this trend to accelerate, saying the country must become a ¡°centre of universal knowledge¡± ¨C partly to boost its own academic calibre.

Professor Kamarulzaman said outbound mobility had served the nation well, with people who had studied overseas coming back and contributing. ¡°Research output from Malaysia has gone up leaps and bounds in the last 10?years.¡± She said inbound mobility could have a similar effect, but cautioned against the focus on volume implied in the nation¡¯s goal for 250,000 foreign enrolments by 2025.

¡°Personally, I¡¯m less obsessed with absolute numbers than with quality, especially quality of postgraduate students. We must work to attract students, but also be realistic about what¡¯s possible. There¡¯s a lot of competition.¡±

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Professor?Kamarulzaman also urged pragmatism regarding?Mr Khaled¡¯s desire for of Malaysian universities. The country already has three ¨C Universiti Sains Malaysia¡¯s medical college in India, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia¡¯s offshoot in Java and private UCSI University¡¯s branch campus in Bangladesh ¨C but as dean at UM, she ¡°resisted¡± proposals to open branches in south Asia. ¡°It¡¯s a lot of work, and we¡¯re already stretched.¡±

She also expressed scepticism about Mr Khaled¡¯s vow to put an end to in the ÖйúAƬ ministry, agencies and tertiary institutions ¨C a habit that had left university executives and boards lacking crucial diversity.

¡°The public universities have been screaming for autonomy for many, many years,¡± she said. ¡°But autonomy doesn¡¯t mean you have to go and look for your own money. It has to go with financial autonomy, including the ability to determine a fee structure that is realistic.¡±

That had been lacking in Malaysia, where harsh funding cuts preceded the pandemic. ¡°If you want to make Malaysia the educational hub, you want to raise the standards of the public universities. And that comes¡­with the right financial investment.¡±

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john.ross@timeshighereducation.com