President's Townhall 2024

15 January 2024

Sunway University held a President's Townhall on the 5th of January, with university staff in attendance. The event served as an opportunity for University President Professor Sibrandes Poppema to update the staff on the university's achievements in 2023, as well as its 2024 aspirations.

The event began with the President wishing all the staff a happy new year, followed by a 2023 recap video compiled by the branding and corporate communication team. Those in attendance then took a moment to honour the passing of former university staff, Professor Michael M. Dent and Distinguished Professor Mohamed Ariff.

President's Townhall 2024 — A packed JC1 Hall as university staff come together for an informative town hall session.
Photo credit: Sunway Business School

Professor Sibrandes then proceeded to cover several topics, including the respective 2023 highlights of all of the university's schools. The President also proudly noted the addition of the new schools, namely the School of American Education and the School of Education.

The President also emphasised the importance of teamwork, as well as the prioritisation of the Sunway University pillars, including holistic education and a focus on planetary health. There was also a look at the Sunway Mentari project, which aims to help the urban poor.

In terms of university-wide statistics, the President was happy to announce that besides being the highest ranked Malaysian Uni in the THE rankings, the university has also increased in student numbers, as well as the number of masters courses being taught. Besides this, research statistics such as citation numbers, research income and publication numbers have also improved.

Looking forward, the President stated that there will be new Bachelors, Masters and PhD programmes slated for 2024. The University has also set a target for 30% international students in the future, with the current number standing at 13%.

To close out the event, the President answered questions from those in attendance. These included questions about future townhall events and questions about international collaboration. Overall, the event was a huge success, with great attendance numbers. The 2023 recap painted a picture of success, and the University hopes that this will be a marker of things to come in 2024. To the much beloved university staff, congrats on a great 2023, and all the best for 2024!