New doors open for students in Malaysia
Delivered in collaboration with Arizona State University (ASU), SAE offers a flexible and affordable pathway to globally recognised qualifications.
Driving this forward is the school's newly appointed dean, Associate Prof Dr Woo Pei Jun, who brings a strong background in American education and a deep understanding of what students and families value today: quality, security and future-readiness.
With her leadership, the school is strengthening its focus on student wellbeing, academic excellence and flexible pathways for global success.
"We recognise that parents are looking for stability, quality and assurance in their children's education. Our goal is to provide a world-class education that's safe, affordable and full of opportunity — right here in Malaysia, with the option to pursue global experiences when the time is right," said Dr Woo.
ASU has been ranked No. 1 in the United States for innovation by the U.S. News & World Report for ten consecutive years, ahead of institutions such as MIT and Stanford. It is also listed among the top one per cent of universities globally by the Center for World University Rankings.
GLOBALLY RECOGNISED DEGREE
SAE currently offers four undergraduate degree programmes:
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Digital Communication (Advertising): Prepares students for careers in branding, content strategy and public relations, using a curriculum modelled after ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology: Covers behavioural science, mental health and cognitive processes, with applications in counselling, education and research.
Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence): Equips students with technical skills in machine learning and AI development for future tech-driven industries.
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Digital Media Design: Focuses on creative media production, including web design, animation and digital storytelling.
All programmes are fully delivered in Sunway University, the No.1 private university in ASEAN (AppliedHE 2025), supported by ASU-certified modules and teaching frameworks. Students completing the full degree will receive transcripts and scrolls from both Sunway University and ASU.
FLEXIBLE PATHWAYS
Through the American Degree Transfer Programme (ADTP), students may transfer to ASU or other universities in the United States and Canada. Past students have successfully continued their studies at institutions including Cornell, New York University, Johns Hopkins and the University of Michigan.
SAE's ASU Pathway is designed for smooth academic progression, with courses structured for maximum credit transfer. More than 75 per cent of students have transferred successfully to overseas universities, many with scholarships.
Students who complete their final year in the United States are eligible for the Optional Practical Training (OPT) scheme, allowing them to gain up to one year of work experience in the country after graduation, or up to three years for those in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
FALL 2025 INTAKE
Applications are now open for the Fall 2025 intake, and prospective students are encouraged to apply early as spaces are limited.
Sunway University is offering application fee waivers and scholarship opportunities, including for students planning to transfer to ASU or other Tier 1 universities in the United States and Canada.
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New Straits Times
21 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Analyst: Malaysia leans on quiet engagement to seek favourable tariffs revision
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia remains locked in quiet engagement and possibly embracing a deliberate positioning with the United States (US) to lower the 25 per cent tariffs on its exports to the American markets as the Aug 1 deadline approaches. Unlike other Asean countries, which have struck quick deals with Washington, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said Malaysia's more measured response to the impending US tariffs likely reflects deliberate positioning rather than passivity. He said that contrary to countries pursuing headline-grabbing diplomacy, Malaysia often leans on quiet engagement and multilateral cooperation to navigate complex trade tensions. With the Aug 1 deadline nearing, exporters and investors are keeping a close watch on the outcome of these negotiations, which would reshape the cost dynamics of doing business between Malaysia and its third-largest trading partner. While regional peers such as Indonesia and Vietnam have already struck last-minute deals to reduce their tariffs to 19 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, Malaysia is still seeking favourable terms that safeguard local industries without compromising national interests. The proposed tariffs — a revival of protectionist measures introduced during President Donald Trump's first term — have stirred fresh uncertainties across Southeast Asia, where economies are deeply embedded in global supply chains. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz has described the ongoing talks with the US as progressing well, with emphasis on striking a balanced outcome. "This low-profile approach fits with Malaysia's broader strategy, namely maintaining economic openness, avoiding entanglement in great power rivalries, and preserving regional alignment within Asean. "By staying restrained, Malaysia may be aiming to protect its long-term credibility as a stable, rules-based partner," said Innes. That said, he cautioned that the exposure is real as Malaysia's export economy is heavily tilted toward electrical and electronic goods, precision machinery, and intermediate components, many of which plug directly into US-bound supply chains. A 25 per cent tariff could disrupt flows, especially in semiconductors, sensors, and specialised modules that are difficult to reroute, he said. "The pain would be felt most in hubs like Penang, where small and medium enterprises and multinationals are deeply intertwined. "While some firms could shift volumes elsewhere, the high-tech nature of these exports makes substitution harder than it sounds," said Innes. The absence of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US limits Malaysia's negotiating toolkit, but Innes believed it doesn't shut the door entirely. He pointed out that Malaysia remained strategically important to US firms seeking reliable, non-China supply bases, which provides leverage particularly if Malaysia targets exemptions for specific sectors tied to US industrial or security interests, such as chip packaging or electric vehicle components. While countries like Indonesia have dangled major purchases to secure tariff relief, Malaysia's options are different, Innes said. "It is unlikely to buy its way into a deal with big-ticket orders. Instead, it can offer alignment, which is co-investment opportunities in green tech, digital infrastructure, or rare-earth refining," he said. According to Innes, these would support Malaysia's industrial roadmap while offering Washington something it values: supply chain resilience and diversification, but from a policy standpoint, the trade-off is nuanced. He noted that offering short-term concessions or budget support might help shield critical sectors from long-term dislocation. "But any deal must be carefully structured. It should channel benefits beyond just large exporters towards local suppliers, workers, and tech development ecosystems," said Innes, highlighting that if no deal is reached, the impact may not be catastrophic at a national level, but could be meaningful in key sectors. "Export growth could slow, investment plans may be paused, and employment could tighten in affected industries. The greater risk is longer-term: losing ground in a global supply chain reshuffle that increasingly rewards agility and alignment. Malaysia still has room to move, but the window is closing," he added. Meanwhile, Moody's Analytics economist Denise Cheok said Malaysia's economic exposure to the US through value-added trade is more significant than headline export figures suggest. Citing calculations based on OECD Trade in Value Added (TiVA) data, Cheok said that Malaysian domestic value added embedded in foreign final demand to the US accounted for slightly over 5.0 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. She noted that this includes not only direct exports of final goods but also intermediate components that eventually reach the American consumers and provide a more comprehensive measure than gross exports alone. "This compares to over 9.0 per cent of GDP for Singapore, which is highly trade-exposed, and about 2.0 per cent of GDP for Indonesia, which is more domestically focused and not as reliant on exports to the US," Cheok said. If the full 25 per cent tariff is imposed without any rerouting of supply chains, Cheok estimates the impact could shave up to 2.6 per cent off Malaysia's GDP in 2025, with the effects likely to be uneven across sectors. "The key manufacturing sector is likely to be hit hard — not only by the direct impact of the tariffs but also by global supply chain disruptions caused by the uncertainty surrounding tariff policies," she said. Cheok added that Malaysia, like many of its Southeast Asian peers, relies heavily on exports as part of its growth model, and structural changes to this would be difficult, even in the long term. "The fractured relationship between the US and its trading partners will likely continue beyond the next three years, and Malaysia should continue strengthening its trade relations with other economies, including Asean, as a counterbalance to this," she said. — BERNAMA
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Toyota's internal inertia slows digital shift to rival Tesla and BYD
Inside Toyota Motor Corp, a group of employees are worried about the company's future in an era when a car's software matters just as much as its sheet metal. The world's biggest automaker is known for churning out reliable cars like clockwork, but it's been struggling to keep up with Elon Musk's Tesla Inc, China's BYD Co and other frontrunners in the industry's shift toward electric vehicles with sophisticated software. A somewhat obscure Toyota business unit called the Digital Transformation Promotion Department aims to change that. Established four years ago at the behest of then-chief executive officer and now chairman Akio Toyoda, the little known group's mandate is to bring the carmaker up to speed by modernizing it from within. The division's rank-and-file members are drawn from a wide cross-section of the corporate flow chart – everyone from R&D technicians to blue collar mechanics on factory floors. They all share a broad vision to introduce a more digitised future to a company with a stubbornly analogue culture. While they've managed to foster some changes, Toyota's core competency remains very much in hardware – with one foot in the world of EVs and its other planted in gas-powered cars. That cautious approach has been key to the Japanese automaker's success so far. Yet it's also a source of frustration for some inside and outside the company who are pushing for quicker progress. "Toyota sees the importance of software, but it's still slow,' said Kani Munidasa, chief executive officer of Code Crysalis, a Tokyo-based startup that's working with Toyota to put workers through Silicon Valley-style coding boot camps. Lukewarm commitment Some advocates for a software-led rethink at Toyota have grown disillusioned by what they see as a lukewarm commitment to reform from within, according to people familiar with the matter. They point to a recent decision to fold the Digital Transformation Promotion Department into a larger business unit, threatening to short-circuit its mission as a change agent. The division, which previously reported directly to chief executive officer Koji Sato, was absorbed by the Digital Information and Communication Group "to accelerate the internal promotion of digital transformation,' Toyota said in a statement. "We aim to create new value and transform business by accelerating collaboration among the various infrastructures and the use of AI,' it said. In some ways a similar fate befell Toyota's effort to create a digitally-focused, quasi-independent subsidiary called Woven. Despite bold ambitions to usher in a "software-first' approach to car manufacturing, in the end Woven was quietly folded back into the corporate mothership in September 2023 after its American executive departed and its portfolio was downsized. While Toyota's software team isn't directly involved in the development of the cars it sells, they've undertaken a number of projects focused on the company itself. That includes creating a database to keep track of the company's fleet of test cars, overhauling a system employees use to apply for time off, replacing white boards with touchscreens on factory floors and deploying robots to deliver medicine inside Toyota's 527-bed company hospital in Aichi prefecture, according to people familiar with the matter. Another project involved extending access for remote workers to computer assisted design software using a virtual desktop infrastructure in partnership with Nvidia Corp. "Moving forward, our plan is to roll out similar systems not only to Toyota Motor but also to Toyota group companies,' Masanobu Takahisa, a Digital Transformation project general manager, was quoted as saying in a 2021 press release about the campaign. Those efforts might not be transformative, but they're notable in a company where scissors are banned in the office out of an abundance of safety-minded precaution, and erasable billboards are still used to keep employees informed at factories. Looming 'digital cliff' Toyota isn't unique among Japanese companies. While the country dominates in some high-tech fields such as industrial robots, its business culture is known for clinging to fax machines and other bygone technologies. The government in Tokyo has warned about failing to surmount what it terms a "digital cliff' separating Japan from other advanced economies. In March 2021, sitting across from union members during the final round of annual wage negotiations, Toyoda, scion of the founding family and then CEO, said he wanted to break down internal information silos and put the automaker's digital innovation on par with top global companies within three years. "Inside Toyota, it's still the case that only people 'in the know' are considered valuable, and that knowledge only belongs to a small group,' he said. "By moving forward with our digital transformation, we can rid ourselves of that inequity and build an environment where its easier for everyone to focus on their work.' The Toyota City-based carmaker hatched the Digital Transformation division to heed that call with a team of innovative minds looking to break down antiquated systems and practices. The idea was that, if all went well, that reform agenda would rub off on other parts of the company, boosting resiliency and productivity. But the progress has been piecemeal and the division is far from achieving its longterm goals, the people familiar said. Former employees who spoke anonymously with Bloomberg described a workplace bound by conformity, with a paternalistic bureaucracy that values harmony over new ideas. One ex-employee joined Toyota because they were interested in autonomous driving, but instead felt trapped for several years doing quality control on mundane electronic parts. Toyota's global success – its record as the world's biggest automaker for five consecutive years and its status as Japan's biggest and most important company – has arguably created a self-enforcing inertia. Talk among employees of transferring or quitting usually triggered the same reaction: Why would anyone want to leave? It's not the only legacy carmaker struggling to adapt to modern technology. Volkswagen AG's Cariad software unit has been downsized following glitches and delays, while Ford Motor Co. recently downgraded its next-generation advanced software project known as FNV4 by merging it with an existing architecture platform. That speaks to a larger issue involving the industry's ability to innovate fast enough to compete with the likes of Tesla and China's Xiaomi Corp as well as Big Tech, which has moved aggressively into automotive dashboards with popular features such as Apple Inc's CarPlay and Alphabet Inc's Google Android operating system. Reinvention won't come easy for established automakers, said John Murphy, a senior automotive analyst at Bank of America Corp. "It goes into structures, platforms, technology – sort of the whole integrated operating system of a vehicle, I think, needs to be done differently,' he said. "It's an uphill battle.' – Bloomberg
Malaysian Reserve
3 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield joins Rendeavour board
TATU CITY, Kenya, July 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Rendeavour, Africa's new city builder, has announced the appointment of Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield to its board of directors. A career diplomat, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield most recently served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 2021-2025. Frank Mosier, Rendeavour's lead American shareholder and Founding Chairman, said the appointment reflects the company's commitment to deepening its engagement with U.S. and African partners. 'Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield is one of the longest-serving champions of Africa in the U.S. government,' he noted, 'and we are honored to have her unparalleled counsel on U.S. and African affairs as we build new cities across the continent.' Backed by American, New Zealand, Norwegian, and British investors, Rendeavour's cities are among the largest construction projects in Africa. These new cities serve as hubs for business, housing, education, and recreation within infrastructure-ready economic zones. The company's current development is valued at more than $5 billion, comprising 200 businesses, schools educating more than 6,000 students, and 15,000 mixed-income homes either occupied or under development. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield welcomed the opportunity, saying she has followed Rendeavour's new cities in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for more than a decade. 'Rendeavour's achievements are extraordinary — from de-risking American and international investments and creating jobs and economic security, to bridging Africa's infrastructure gap — all with private capital,' she said. Rendeavour is the owner and developer of Tatu City, Kenya's first Special Economic Zone (SEZ); Alaro City, a partnership with the Lagos State Government in Nigeria's Lekki Free Zone; Jigna, a mixed-use development in Abuja, Nigeria's capital; and Kiswishi SEZ, the first private SEZ in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Ghana, Rendeavour is building Appolonia City and King City. Over the past five years, Rendeavour has created more than 50,000 jobs, including through the establishment of East Africa's largest call center, which employs 5,000 young Kenyans serving major American corporate clients. An additional 4,000 call center jobs are confirmed by 2026. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield has had a storied career in the U.S. government, serving both in Washington, D.C., and across the African continent. Her roles have included U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Director General of the U.S. Foreign Service. She has also held foreign postings in Switzerland, Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, and Jamaica. From 2021 to 2025, she served as the Representative of the United States to the United Nations. In January, Rendeavour also announced the appointments of Graeme Wheeler, former Governor of the Central Bank of New Zealand and Managing Director of the World Bank, and Darrell M. Blocker, former Chief of the Africa Division at the Central Intelligence Agency, to its board of directors. Photo:
