Channel Newsasia Documentary on Iskandar

Very recent documentary on Iskandar by Channel News Asia. Congrats Tina John for being in this documentary :)
 

More Condo Project Signed for Iskandar

"Medini Iskandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Qingdao Zhuoyuan Investment Holding's Square Stone Holdings Sdn Bhd to build high-end condominium with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM2.6bil.

The high-rise property proposed to be known as Medini International starts from an average price of RM750 psf targeting buyers from Singapore, China, Malaysia, Japan and Korea". Read more on the Star article.

It definitely feels like the Iskandar bubble is growing bigger, prices are sky rocketing and close to matching KL prices. Let's hope prices do not go too crazy!

Marlborough College pick-ing the very best for students

The start of 1st intake of Marlborough College is approaching very quickly and development of the school campus is well underway. Bringing it's British tradition established since 1843, the Malaysian campus is built on a 90-acre site, equipped with cricket ground, 50-meter swimming pool, sports hall, arts classes and more.

Famous Old Marlburians (alumni) include the Middleton family, most famous being Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton. See if you could recognise anyone else here.

In a recent interview with Robert Pick, Founding Master of the MY college, he mentioned that the purpose of establishing an overseas campus was not only to offer access to a leading English independent co-educational boarding school but also to build cultural and social bridges. “We intend to have student and staff exchanges between campuses to provide exposure to different cultures and socio-economic climes for members of our school,” he said.

Read more on this interview article here.

Marlborough College is 80% complete and set to open in Educity Aug 2012

I read an article today that Marlborough college is about 80% complete and is set to open shop in August. This is not a new piece of news, but it's interesting to know that the school has increased school fee even before school starts. Perhaps the school fees are pegged to the % of construction completion and when completion reaches 100%, school fees will be increased again :) I believe the annual school fee for year 1 (for 6 years old) is now 58K RM, which is more than my university annual fee. I guess private education never comes cheap. Having said that, I wish nothing but the best to the school , parents and students.

Last not but least, FYI for parents living in Singapore who are sending their kids to Marlborough in Johor, I also read this in Marlborough's site:

"Following the most recent discussions with Malaysian Government officials, the Ministry of Immigration and IRDA (Iskandar Regional Development Authority), we are pleased to inform you that the use of a fast track green lane and children being allowed to stay on the bus, to assist a safe and secure passage through customs and immigration, are viewed by all as the best way forward.

However, it is with disappointment that we have to report that the latest discussions have not resulted in the outcome we had hoped for with regard to passports. Pupils will be required to carry their passports, although we are investigating MACs and student passes to ensure that passports are not stamped. All passports will be looked after by Marlborough College Malaysia's adult representative".

Looking forward to welcoming Princess Kate's visit in Johor during Marlborough opening ceremony.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Leading UK university for engineering and mathematics announces new international branch campus and full scholarships

University of Southampton has signed an agreement to establish a branch campus in the Iskandar region of Malaysia. Scheduled to open in 2012, the University of Southampton Malaysia Campus will initially offer undergraduate courses in engineering.

Check out Leading UK university for engineering and mathematics announces new international branch campus and full scholarships

Raffles, Iskandar unit partner in new RM200m campus

Singapore-based Raffles Education Corp, one of the Asia-Pacific region’s largest private education groups, is planning to build a new institute, Raffles University Iskandar, in EduCity, Singapore daily The Straits Times reported today.

Raffles University Iskandar will be the second campus run by a Singapore company in EduCity, located in the Nusajaya township.

Read more here.

Education in Malaysia, A reverse brain drain Ambitious plans to become an Asian hub for Western education

“Educity”, as the Johor complex is called, reflects Malaysia’s grand strategy to become a centre for Western education. The country wants to meet strong demand among Asia’s new middle classes for English-language schooling. It also worries about its brain drain (over 300,000 university-educated Malays work abroad). Having watched Asian children flock west to spend a lot of money on British and American schools, the government decided a few years ago to try to reverse the trend. It has campaigned to persuade Western schools and colleges to come and set up branch campuses. The Malaysian proposition to Asian parents is simple and beguiling: come to these famous schools and universities in our country and get the same degrees and qualifications as in Britain or America for half the price.

Education in Malaysia, A reverse brain drain Ambitious plans to become an Asian hub for Western education