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The
Centre for Foundation Studies in Science (CFSS),
University
of
Malaya
is very
privileged to be selected as one of the centres responsible for the
implementation of the academic programme under the Look East Policy in 1982.
With an initial intake of 20 students, the programme was run with the
cooperation of the Public Service Department of Malaysia and the Japanese
Government.
The
Japanese government donated a state of the art teaching complex for the running
of this programme and the complex was named Gateway to
Japan
or
Ambang Asuhan Jepun in Malay. The ground breaking ceremony was graced by HE
Yasuhiro Nakasone, the Prime Minister of Japan in 1982.
This
complex has received many dignitaries from Malaysia and Japan including YAB Dato
Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, YAB Dato' Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi, HE Toshiki
Kaifu, HM Emperor Akihito and HM Empress Michiko, and HIH Prince Hitachi and HIH
Princess Hitachi. As such, the programme and the teaching complex symbolizes the
close friendship between
Malaysia
and
Japan
and the
living spirit of the Look East Policy. Students spend two foundation years at
CFSS and at the end of the course they will be required to take the
Monbukagakusho (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology
,
Japan
)
entrance exam for entry into Japanese universities.
The
students' placement into Japanese universities is coordinated by Monbukagakusho
and some of our excellent students have gained entry into top universities in
Japan
for the
field of Science and Engineering like
Hokkaido
University
,
Nagoya
University
,
Kobe
University
and
Kyushu
University
. To
date, 1951 students have completed their courses at CFSS and 1239 have completed
their undergraduate programmes at Japanese universities. A huge majority of the
students are in the field of engineering and only a handful of students choose
to pursue courses in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and biotechnology
The
graduates from the programme have contributed towards increasing the
professional workforce in Malaysia. Many of them end‑up in multinational
companies like Matsushita, Sony, Toshiba,
Hitachi
and
others. The quality graduates produced by the programme is the living evidence
of the success of the Look East Policy.
The
Malaysian government's decision to diversify the pursuit of knowledge by looking
towards
Japan
is
extremely apt. CFSS is very proud to be given the honour to help implement the
Look East Policy. This programme is already harvesting the fruits of its labour
and will continue to do so. We at the CFSS are very proud to be part of this
very special machinery in producing excellent qualified professionals for the
development of the Nation in her relentless quest for the realization of Vision
2020.
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