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Driving Creativity

 

Creativity empowers. It frees the mind to invent, to innovate, to create new things, to find new ways, to work out solutions to new challenges, problems and issues that face people. You see the solutions in things produced, in the new strategies that generate wealth, enhance security, that help us live in comfort and safety. 

Creativity can be learned. It is found within us all. We have had it since birth and we have all used it to learn to walk, to talk, to read, to write, to reason, to calculate. But somewhere along the line we reasoned too much we lose the spontaneity, the spark of creativity, the free reign of the imagination that leads to breakthroughs.

From inception, the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology has gathered into its campus creative minds first from the country, then from the world. Thousands of young people have sharpened their skills, honed their talent and learnt to think creatively. They flood industry bringing their capability that is now helping to raise standards, to meet global challenges in every sphere of economic activity. 

As we move deeper into the age of creativity, there is an urgency in doing this because the ability to innovate is vital for the nation to sustain its economic stability. 

We have to sharpen our creative capability if we want to be as good as the best in the world. In an knowledge economy, how creatively we use information will determine how effective we are in generating wealth.

There has to be a paradigm shift in the way learning is conducted. It is not just about getting the qualifications, the learning has to be right. Theoretical study within confined classrooms will not empower the young with the ability to build national competitiveness.  They are the future and they must acquire the creative mindset in order to assume the character of innovation. And education bears the responsibility to give them just that. They have the capacity to learn and we must provide the environment where learning is more meaningful and useful. 

The moment you step into Limkokwing you can’t help but feel enthusiastic about the whole notion of being creative. Everything here is different. It’s not a run-of-mill university. This campus is unique. The cultural milieu here is exciting.– YAB Dato’ Sri Dr Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia at the launch of Generasi Baru FELDA Programme, September, 2005

Limkokwing University of Creative Technology: Changing traditional views on higher education

The Limkokwing University has risen amongst Malaysian universities through the boldness of its global initiatives. It has long recognised that education has to evolve in order to match a growing demand for a new kind of human capital. This is because digital skills as well as a global outlook are some of the attributes that are being sought by industry, governments and NGOs in the people they employ as negotiations and dealings become global in nature.

Over the last decade the career market has changed quite dramatically because of the impact of technology upon industries which are becoming sharper and more defined in their operations. Technological advancement now allows the compression of entire departments to be handled by one person or even to be outsourced as part of cost-saving measures. 

“There is a need to rethink education and revisit its priorities. Education can no longer be for education’s sake. It has to be relevant. It has to create jobs. It has to meet industry needs. It has to enable, empower and enrich communities. Education requires public and private sector collaborations to bring the benefits to those who need them the most,” says Founder President, Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Lim Kok Wing. 

Partnering with Limkokwing University is not just partnering with a university but partnering with people who mean busiiness, because we want to change the way we do business, because we want to work with people who are working differently in a world that is changing rapidly. We want to work with people that are innovative, people that are creative.– Youssouf Oomar UNICEF Representative, Malaysia and UNICEF Special Representative, Brunei, 18 September 2009

He is now engaged with a number of governments in developing countries that are facing challenges in empowering their citizens with skills and knowledge. “Consider the fact that one size does not fit all and then apply that same reasoning to education. There are so many imbalances in this world that what works in one country will not necessarily work for another. The way young people are taught in an advanced country will be difficult to apply in countries that are less advanced. Cultural needs are different. Religious requirements vary. Legis-lation differs from country to country,” says Tan Sri Lim. 

Three-prong approach to global education

The University has developed a three-prong approach to global education. It markets its main campus in Malaysia as a location conducive for the study of international degrees and diplomas. This has attracted 9,000 students from 140 countries.

At the same time it has taken the bold step to invest in key cities in three continents working closely with governments, especially in Africa and Asia to build their human capacity in creative content development.

I see that this particular institution, Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, with it vast connections with the digital world, with its vast connections with centres of learning all over the world has made constant effort in synthesizing the experience of the outside world with the creativity of that grows in our little corner. So now we can share our experience and build innovative education that preserves our sense of identity.– Rt. Hon. Pehin Seri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud Chief Minister of Sarawak, February 19, 2009

It has strategically built its virtual campus with the intention of creating interactive pathways for students to earn their tertiary qualifications online. It has become a popular search with over 70 million hits from 190 countries. 

With these mechanisms in place the University has introduced the Global Classroom programme where students are able to cross borders to obtain the exposure they need or conduct research in Limkokwing campuses across the world.

The University feels strongly that this new system of education will build a new calibre of graduates who will bring to industry their knowledge as well as their global network of friendships they have developed on campus. A Limkokwing Graduate is touted to be culturally competent with an understanding of the traditions of other communities with whom they are completely at ease and able to negotiate with confidence.

The strategy of merging the best of East and West

It started with a simple philosophy of merging the East and the West to enable young people to understand how the other side of the world lives, thinks and works. The University felt it was important because of the globalised trend of industry. It took its plan to London and established a campus which triggered off a series of actions and reactions, some anticipated and others, quite surprising. The result is Limkokwing campuses springing up in three continents and the world accessing Malaysian education that is innovative, global and industry-focused.

Gaining a European exposure of dynamic cities and vibrant creativity

Many Limkokwing students travel to London to conduct their research. They return with enlightened minds that gasp at the astounding creativity of this powerful city. No other institution of higher education is going to this level to expose their students in a way that builds their advantage, putting them ahead of others in the job market.

Through this university, we will have the human resource to expand the economy into new dimensions.  It is our hope to transform Lesotho by tapping into the creativity of our young people and build them into leaders who will be well equipped to take Lesotho into a new future.– Rt. Hon. Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili, MP Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho 15 October 2008

Developing the human capital potential of Asian countries

The University has expressed its deep concern that of the more than 6 billion people in this world, less than 800 million are able to access schools, colleges and universities to obtain an education. With Kuala Lumpur serving as the main campus Limkokwing University has set up branch campuses in Jakarta in Indonesia, Phnom Penh in Cambodia and has forged strategic alliances with two of China’s top universities – Tsinghua University and Peking University.

“We want to energise young minds and set them on a path of exciting discoveries. We want them to contribute to build their communities and thereby build their nations. We want to ignite their passion for innovation,” says Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing.

Strengthening creative intelligence in the African continent

The University’s strong presence in Africa was prompted by the influx of Botswana students to its Kuala Lumpur campus in the late 1990s. The Botswana government was sending its best and brightest youths overseas while thousands others had to wait for a chance to enter the country’s only university.

The first campus set up in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana was overwhelmed by the response. On the first day it opened for registration as many as 5,000 turned up when they had room for only 1,500. Today the University has opened two more campuses in the city bringing total enrolment to 12,000.

Its success in Botswana has prompted other African nations to invite the University to set up campuses in their countries. In 2008 Limkokwing University Lesotho was established empowering over 1,000 Basotho students in temporary premises in the capital city of Maseru.

In recent years, Limkokwing University has emerged as a pioneer “Global University”. In the process it has become an international benchmark for innovation in higher education.With the establishment of a Gaborone campus, Botswana has thus become an important part of a much wider Limkokwing community, while Limkokwing has, in turn, become an important player in our own efforts to build a more educated and informed nation.– Hon. Dr Festus G. Mogae Former President, Republic of Botswana Chancellor, Limkokwing University Botswana, 19 January 2008

The way forward - The Limkokwing formula to level the playing field

ICT training to bridge the digital divide

The University is planning to work with governments of developing countries to build their human capital by setting up centres that provide ICT training as a means to bridge the digital divide. It views ICT as vital to provide rural communities with new knowledge and technological skills that will enhance their ability to improve their earning power.

Job specific vocational programmes to get the kids off the streets

In some countries there are large numbers of young people who are academically poor performers. These are people who are unable to obtain jobs and end up as social misfits. The University is creating skill-based vocational programmes that will assure these young people of jobs with industry.

Milestones Trailblazing since 1992

The Limkokwing University made its blazing debut in Malaysia in 1992 setting new trends and transforming the conduct of private education in the country. Never before was there a concerted effort to provide education that would build capability of local talent in creative technology. The effort was pioneering and Professor EmeritusTan Sri Dato’ Professor Dr Lim Kok Wing, the founder and president of Limkokwing University started from scratch to build market confidence in creative careers. Malaysians and others in the region now find it easy to embrace creativity and accept it as more than just art and design.

Focused on creativity and innovation

The college’s focus on creative technology in 1992 was uncannily timely because the need for content creation exploded in the 1990s when technology advancement such as the Internet transformed business-to-business transactions. Limkokwing’s techno-savvy and creative graduates were a godsend to businesses that were trying to cope with the changes. For school leavers the college’s curriculum and global university network made it the perfect choice to obtain qualifications to gain entry into exciting careers such as web design, animation and product design amongst other creative careers.

Exporting education to the world

In 1997 the college began to export its services. Its international marketing was excellently strategised and crafted that today it is among the most well-known brandnames for educational excellence. Today it has about 9,000 students from over 130 countries pursuing international degrees and diplomas at its Cyberjaya campus. Worldwide it has a total of 25,000 students from 144 countries. In 2003 the college was awarded by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry for excellence in export services and by the Ministry of Education for being the most international private college in the country.

In 2007 it established Malaysia’s first off-shore University campuses in Botswana and the United Kingdom. Today it has a total of 12 campuses – three in Botswana and one each in Lesotho, UK, China, Cambodia, Borneo, Indonesia and Malaysia.