The University of Tsukuba is set to open a campus in Kuala Lumpur offering interdisciplinary courses in September, making it the first Japanese university to establish an overseas branch granting degrees.
The new department, the "School of Transdisciplinary Science and Design," will be targeted at students from Malaysia and neighboring countries and will aim to equip students with skills to help solve global problems affecting Southeast Asian countries, the University of Tsukuba said.
Student admissions to the new department will be capped at 40, with the university planning to dispatch around 40 faculty members for the classes, which will be offered in both English and Japanese, according to the university, based in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.
The new department will offer courses including statistics and environmental studies, as well as those from the humanities and social sciences, with Japanese language classes a required subject, the university said. Graduates of the four-year curriculum will receive a Bachelor of Arts and Science.
The initiative for the new campus came after the Malaysian government asked the Japanese government if they could help establish an academic institution to cultivate human resources for tackling global issues related to the environment, health and welfare, according to the university.
Then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who made the request to then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a summit in 2018, is known for launching his "Look East Policy" during his first stint in power, which aimed to use postwar Japan as a development model.
"We hope to lead efforts in expanding Japanese-style education overseas," said Maki Tsujimura, head of the office at the university overseeing preparations for the opening of the new campus.
