University of Southampton Industry Scholarships In Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, 07 May 2012 – The University of Southampton introduces two major scholarships, the James Dyson Foundation and the Lloyd’s Register Education Trust for highly talented students in Malaysia accepted to study for a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University’s new Malaysia Campus.

The announcement comes as Southampton Vice-Chancellor Professor Don Nutbeam visits the country with British Prime Minister David Cameron as part of a trade and education mission to encourage greater links between Great Britain and Malaysia.

Thanks to the generosity of the James Dyson Foundation and the Lloyd’s Register Education Trust, students studying at the University of Southampton Malaysia Campus will benefit from a number of highly competitive scholarships and as a reward to those who demonstrate academic achievement.

The James Dyson Foundation Scholarship will be awarded to a student who exhibits both passion and excellence in engineering design. The scholarship is part of a pledge by the James Dyson Foundation to fund RM4.9 million (£1 million) of bursaries in the UK, US and Asia over the next five years. The scholarship will support one student who progresses into years three and four in the UK to complete the Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering through the Southampton programme.
The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust (LRET) has provided generous funding to support academic excellence by students studying at USMC and at the University of Southampton as part of their 2 + 2 Master of Engineering degree programmes.  These competitive Scholarships will provide annual full-fees funding for the top three students on both the Mechanical Engineering, and the Electrical & Electronic Engineering degree programmes whilst in year 2 at USMC and in years 3 and 4 at the University of Southampton, based upon their academic performance in the preceding year. This amounts to a total Scholarship fund of RM1.12 million (£230,000).

In addition, the University of Southampton will also offer Inaugural scholarships worth RM4, 000 to all academically-qualified students who register in 2012 with 10 high-performing Malaysian students receiving a 25% scholarship on first-year entry, exclusive of the Inaugural scholarship.

Michael Franklin, Director of The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust said, “Through our agreement with the University of Southampton, the LRET is nurturing the top achievers within these key engineering disciplines. We hope that, in due course, these scholars will make a significant contribution to society which will ultimately benefit all of us.”

 Professor John McBride, Chief Executive Officer of the University’s Malaysia Campus said, “Without the generous support of our partners and colleagues from the James Dyson Foundation and The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust, it would not be possible for us to launch our Mechanical Engineering degree in Malaysia. Not to mention, the continuous support from the Malaysian government helped us towards achieving our goal of attracting high-quality students to our new campus from Malaysia, Indonesia and across the whole of the South East Asia Region to make graduates more employable and provide a truly beneficial international learning experience.”

Universities and Business Minister David Willetts added, “These new scholarships will enable talented Malaysian students to undertake the University’s prestigious engineering programme, helping to cement Britain’s reputation for world-class higher education globally. Through the generous support of the James Dyson Foundation and Lloyd’s Register Education Trust, Southampton is helping to ensure that industry can obtain the skilled graduates it needs. The UK and Malaysia already have a strong relationship in education, with some 58,000 Malaysian students already studying for a UK qualification in their home country. This welcomes new initiative will further strengthen these strong links.

For the first time ever, Southampton’s renowned degree in Mechanical Engineering will be available outside of the UK. The first two years of the programme will be delivered in Malaysia with the following two years based in Southampton. Successful graduates will be awarded with a BENg/MEng in Mechanical Engineering.

The new campus is located at EduCity@Iskandar Malaysia, a dedicated hub located in the heart of Malaysia’s economic zone as the University looks to firmly establish itself in the country with the support of close links with other partners in the region. The University will begin its first courses in October 2012.

The University’s programmes provide entry to Chartered Engineer (CEng) status and are accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology in the UK. Southampton has also been accredited by the Board of Engineers (BEM) in Malaysia and the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA).