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Into Africa
A group of South Africans have taken their first step into a new era of international education by being the first students at the new campus of Monash University in Johannesburg. Monash University is the first Australian university to be registered to operate as a private higher education institution in South Africa, where it will be known as Monash South Africa. The two-storey campus with state-of-the-art teaching and study facilities was built on a 100-hectare site at Roodepoort, an urban growth corridor 20 kilometres northwest of central Johannesburg. A year ago, the site was a paddock surrounded by small farms, sporting fields, a golf course, and new housing developments. Today, the campus has been creatively landscaped with courtyards and trees, a large paved car park and plenty of areas in which to relax or study. Soon these facilities will be complemented with buildings for academic research, accommodation, sporting activities and other support services. In late February, 50 students received their first taste of undergraduate study at Monash. They have enrolled in courses in Arts, Business and Commerce, Business Systems, Computing and Information Technology. On their first day, the students were greeted by the pro vice-chancellor of Monash South Africa, Professor John Anderson, and given a tour of the campus. "Monash University’s major investment of funds and other resources in South Africa has been realised with the opening of this campus," Professor Anderson says. "It represents the beginning of a long-term commitment to South Africa’s future. "The campus is a part of the new South Africa’s growing involvement with the global economy, and will play a major role in educating the country’s youth for tomorrow’s challenges in the workplace." With six campuses in Australia, a campus of 1200 students in Malaysia, and teaching and research centres in the United Kingdom and Italy, Monash is developing a network for its staff and students that spans the globe. "We want to offer all Monash students a gateway to the world," Professor Anderson says. "Monash strongly believes it should produce global citizens who will be able to contribute a great deal to their own countries, whether that be in South Africa, Malaysia, Australia or anywhere else." Professor Anderson says the South Africa campus offers opportunities for all Monash students to broaden their horizons by providing a new and different working, learning, teaching, research and living environment. Business/commerce student Joanne Coetzer chose to study at Monash South Africa because she believes its international reputation is important for her future. "Having an international perspective is imperative in being successful," she says. Ms Coetzer’s early impressions of the campus are positive. "I’m impressed with the level of knowledge of the tutors and the standard of the IT labs, and the buildings are modern and impressive," she says. Fellow business student Jonathon Sampson, who opted for Monash because of the specialist subjects available, has found the campus well organised. He hopes to take advantage of Monash’s global network and study overseas in the future. Professor Anderson says Monash is fulfilling its commitment to helping disadvantaged South African students by offering bursaries covering the full tuition costs of an undergraduate course. "The bursaries allow economically disadvantaged students who have met the university’s academic entry requirements to pursue study. This will make a valuable contribution to increasing opportunities for university education to a wider South African community," Professor Anderson says. |
A new country, a new campus, new students – Monash South Africa
is up and running. DAVID BRUCE reports