Billing itself the “University of the Indo Pacific,” Monash U has announced a A$1bn new campus in “the heart of Kuala Lumpur.” It renews the university’s mission a generation back to be “Australia’s international university.”
It is a project with Malaysia’s national Finance Ministry which is developing the TRX city-centre site, in partnership with Australian property and infrastructure company, Lendlease.
Monash states the campus will teach from 2032, with capacity for 22 500 students and 1700 staff “beyond 2040.” It will present 35 courses in AI and IT, health, finance and “advanced manufacturing” and house research centres in energy transition, health and data science
“We have the scale and reach to extend our mission internationally. We have the momentum and responsibility to actively contribute to prosperity across the region,” says Vice Chancellor Sharon Pickering.
The new campus will not replace Monash’s existing Malaysian locations with 1100 students, outside Kuala Lumpur, and a clinical school Johor Bahru to the south.
The university established a Malaysian presence in the early 1990s when then Vice-Chancellor Mal Logan in partnership with the local Sunway Education Group established a pathway college for its Australian campuses. Logan recognised the potential for Australian education exports, billing Monash as “Australia’s international university.”
Growth was delayed after his retirement by a failed expansion in South Africa and the university focused on growing international student numbers at home. However, this announcement follows Monash expanding into Indonesia in 2021, initially offering postgraduate courses, now with 700 students on the Jakarta campus. Last month, the university announced an undergraduate intake for 2026.
Last year the university had 30,000 international students on its Melbourne campuses and a further 12,000 offshore. All up they make up 45% of total enrolments.
The announcement of a new KL campus is brilliantly timed for Monash, following Education Minister Jason Clare’s call for “south-east Asian engagement and market diversification.”