Given the recent agreement that was signed between our Taylor's Design School and The University of Newcastle (Australia), colleagues from their International & Advancement Office recently paid a visit to our Lakeside Campus in KL. While the overall structure of this international mobility dual-award programme has been approved in principle by both universities, as they say “the devil is in the details” when it comes to making such agreement work. So the objective of this visit was to align the administrative processes for the collaboration leading to Dual awards in BA (Hons) Graphic Communication Design and BA in Visual Communication Design. Graduates of this collaboration will receive these awards from both universities. What differentiates this initiative from other dual degree arrangements, is that the structure allows for design students at Taylor’s University to study two semesters at Newcastle University after completing their second year here. The students then return to Taylor’s University to complete a short semester and to fulfill the requirements for graduation. It is envisaged that students from University of Newcastle will reciprocate, by spending two semesters at Taylor’s University, and also graduating with two awards as well.
During the visit, Mr. Kenny Khoo, Global Engagement Officer, Ms. Rebecca Moore, International Admissions Officer, accompanied by Mr. Michael Chapman from the School of Architecture at UoN, met with Mr. Ernesto Pujazon, Deputy Dean, The Design School, Mr. Ken Tan, Associate Dean, School of Architecture, Building & Design, Ms. Au Soek San, Academic Services Manager and En. Zuhaili Akmal Ismail, the Programme Director. Ken Tan commented, "It was only after a year of groundwork, that the agreement for this collaboration was finalized in September 2015, and it’s now really pleasing to see this move ahead". The PVC for Global Engagement, Professor Perry Hobson added that, "This is another step on us being able to offer an increased range of mobility opportunities within our course structures, and to give our students a much wider world view and enhanced career outcomes". To learn more about the Taylor's Design School and the international dual award with the University of Newcastle click here.