A model shows Sunway University new state-of-the-art building.

Sunway University, the leading light in Malaysia’s private education scene, adds yet another milestone to its history of growth with a 12-storey academic building that is eco-friendly and underscores its future plans for expansion.

The building, which will be completed in 2014, has energy- and water-saving features, allows for natural lighting, promotes an eco-friendly ventilation system and boasts a 1,000-space car park built under an existing field, thus not compromising in the least the greenery in the area, as mentioned by Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, Founder and Chancellor of Sunway University and Trustee of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, in his address at the groundbreaking ceremony.

The digger is set in motion as Dato’ Sri Khaled launches the groundbreaking ceremony, witnessed by Tan Sri Cheah.	A digital signature is all you need in an IT-centric, connected world.

The expansion also means extra sporting facilities, space for an additional 9,000 students, a multitude of state-of-the-art educational components and, in future, connectivity between the academic buildings, as well as with the Monash University campus and the nearby Sunway Pyramid shopping mall.

This highlights not only the focus placed on academic excellence but Sunway University’s concern over student safety and also the costs related to their daily travel, which will surely be reduced with these covered walkways. It is these little things that make for a university’s reputation.

And, as said by the Minister of Higher Education, Dato’ Sri Mohamed Khalid Nordin, after the ceremony, the success of an educational institution should be judged not only by its infrastructure but by looking into its reputation.

Saying that he had seen the growth of Sunway from a humble college to university status, he added: “Sunway University can become a brand name for Malaysian higher education,” expanding through the strength of its brand name and by exporting its education and best practices.

The latter, Dato’ Sri Khaled said, also included sharing its expertise and knowledge with local public institutions of higher learning, through programmes organised by the ministry, that will contribute to the strengthening as a whole of the country’s education system.

Dato’ Sri Khaled receives a token of appreciation from Tan Sri Cheah. Looking on are (from left), Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye and Tan Sri Rainer Althoff.

Earlier, the Minister of Higher Education, along with Tan Sri Cheah, had donned a hard hat and set in motion the digger to break ground for the new building. But, instead of getting caught out in the rain at the site, the two men were safe and warm in the multi-purpose hall, where by virtue of connectivity, the launch was telecast live.

Tan Sri Cheah takes the minister on a tour of the exhibition.

After the launch, Tan Sri Cheah accompanied Dato’ Sri Khaled on a tour of the mini exhibition relating the history of Sunway University, from its origins as Sunway College in 1987 through to its being granted university college status in 2004 and university status last year.