Property Hunter Magazine Issue 63- February 2015 | Page 21

A long history of cultural, political
and administrative influence has
had a significant impact on where
Sabah students choose to further
their studies.
“Australia is still the most popular
destination due to proximity and
familiarity (friends and relatives
could have emigrated there, for
example). The UK comes a close
second now and then the rest are
USA, Canada, and New Zealand in
that order,” says Jasmine.
“For Australia, the main cities such
as Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane
are still top choices. For the UK,
the location does not concern
them as much as the UK has easy
access by train. Usually students
will want to know the university’s
proximity to London. This would
sway their choices depending on
their preference.”
Chief Executive Officer Loh Boon
Eng of Partner Australia,a licensed
employment agent that provides
assistance for people who want to
work in Australia,was quoted in an
article saying there is already a large
community of Malaysians living in
Australia as Permanent Residents or
Australian citizens. A large number
of Sabahans, especially from Kota
Kinabalu are concentrated in Perth.
Many have studied there before
and appreciate the quality of life,
education, health care services
and more. Similarities in terms of
education structure also make it
easier for new students to assimilate
into the local education system.
Among other factors that make
Perth the preferred education
destination city for Sabahans is
its accessibility. It takes less than
six hours to fly direct from Kota

Kinabalu to Perth on the twice
weekly flights operated by Malaysia
Airlines. Both cities share the same
time zone so keeping in touch with
family and friends back home is very
convenient and helps smoothen
the transition phase into a new
community and lifestyle.

reach a goal of enrolling 150,000
international students by 2015.
This surge in numbers will certainly
impact the flow of Malaysian
students going abroad to study in
the future and potentially reverse
the pattern as Malaysia continues
to host a larger number of
international students.

NEW FORMS OF
INTERNATIONAL
STUDY

POST-STUDY
OPPORTUNITIES

The migration pattern and
international cities of choice have
remained relatively consistent but
recent developments within Malaysia
have affected the number of
Sabahan students studying abroad.

Although the availability of university
twinning programmes within
Malaysia have affected the numbers
going directly overseas significantly
which is understandable, there are
still students who will opt to forego
the twinning programmes.

“Over the last five to ten years, the
percentage has definitely dropped as
overseas universities are now facing
stiff competition with local providers
and private colleges which are setting
up within Malaysia such as the new
Heriot-Watt University which opened
just a year ago, and University of
Reading scheduled to open in 2015.
Not to mention Curtin, Swinburne,
Monash and Nottingham University
which all set up about 10 years ago
and are all Australian /UK university
branch campuses.

“There are still students who see
the benefits of going overseas as
university experience should not
just be what degree you obtained
but the environment which you
studied in. This is just as important
a factor when choosing your
university, “says Jasmine.

“They have chosen Malaysia as the
location for their branch campus,
much to the advantage of our
Malaysian students. Imagine obtaining
a UK / Australian degree but at half
the cost! Students can even opt
to articulate into the main mother
campus halfway through their course.
By doing this they get the best of both
worlds,” explains Jasmine.

“Students usually opt for on-campus
accommodation or student housing
provided by the university. Often
times, the students will choose
to live off campus on rented or
property bought by their families
after a semester or the first year;
once they are familiar with their
environment. We do often receive
enquiries about property investment
especially for A