An Australian university is confident that its Malaysian outposts will thrive, notwithstanding the fiscal snags that have afflicted other offshore adventures.

A Kuala Lumpur inauguration ceremony has marked the transition of several campuses of KDU, a Malaysian private ÖйúAƬ provider, into the University of Wollongong ¡®Global Network¡¯. When a fourth campus opens early next year at Batu Kawan, near Penang Island, the partnership expects to have 7,500 enrolments.

UOW¡¯s majority purchase of KDU,?announced?a year ago, gives the university an overseas presence to complement its operations in Dubai and Hong Kong ¨C both noted education hubs, senior deputy vice-chancellor Joe Chicharo acknowledged.

¡°If you look at where Wollongong has located offshore, it is precisely where the competition is,¡± he said. ¡°Maybe we¡¯re crazy that we¡¯re in these competitive environments. When you look at universities that deliver education offshore, there are a lot of train wrecks out there.¡±

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But Professor Chicharo said that Wollongong had consciously chosen crowded markets to test itself. ¡°It is about proving to ourselves that the programmes we offer in Australia are competitive and relevant in other parts of the world,¡± he told?Times ÖйúAƬ. ¡°We¡¯re not shying away from competition.¡±

Wollongong is one of just four Australian universities with more international students in their offshore campuses than back at home, the ceremony heard. In a sector increasingly bankrolled by tuition fees from overseas visitors, branch campuses have a reputation as money pits.

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¡°There¡¯s not a pot of gold in these offshore operations,¡± Professor Chicharo conceded. ¡°It¡¯s not driven by a huge profit line. It is about diversifying your international education. We have students that come here, but also students who go from here to Australia. We see that as a very important ecosystem.¡±

Australian education minister Dan Tehan, in Malaysia for his first overseas visit in the role, said that offshore students comprised almost one-quarter of Australia¡¯s international enrolments. ¡°One of the things that not many people in Australia know is that a lot of our overseas education is about our universities investing in other countries,¡± he said.

He urged students attending the ceremony to seize the chance to do parts of their studies in Hong Kong, Dubai or Australia: ¡°What a wonderful opportunity in a globalised world.¡±

Siti Hamisah, director-general of Malaysia¡¯s ÖйúAƬ ministry, said Wollongong¡¯s arrival brought the tally of foreign university branch campuses in her country to 11.

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Dr Siti said that while Malaysia was ¡°steadily gaining recognition¡± for a ÖйúAƬ system with a 46 per cent youth participation rate, it was still battling many challenges. She hoped that Wollongong¡¯s presence would ¡°add values¡± to local teaching and research capabilities as well as boost the country¡¯s appeal as an education destination.

A perception that Malaysia was saturated with foreign outposts led to a moratorium on new branch campuses in 2012. UOW Global Enterprises chief executive Marisa Mastroianni said Wollongong had sidestepped that restriction by acquiring an established college.

But she said that ¡°extensive researching work¡±, coupled with Wollongong¡¯s experience delivering education in Malaysia through a ¡°franchising model¡±, had convinced the university that there was demand for its courses. ¡°We were very clear that we had something of value to bring into the market,¡± Ms Mastroianni said. ¡°The top end isn¡¯t as crowded as you¡¯d think, and the top end is where we will be.¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com