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Media Release

December 15, 2004

UniSA's graduations go global

Monday December 20 will be a milestone in the lives of more than 500 students from all over the world, who will be conferred with degrees from the University of South Australia at a special graduation ceremony.

The ceremony, to be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 2.00 - 3.30pm, is specifically for UniSA’s international students, and has brought graduands and their relatives to Adelaide from as far away as Europe, Canada and Taiwan.

With more than 10,000 international students (including approximately 3,000 studying in Adelaide and 7,000 studying for UniSA degrees in their own countries) UniSA is the state’s largest provider of international and transnational education programs.

Brothers join growing Taiwanese graduate network

Taiwanese brothers Po-Kuan (‘Brian’) Huang and Hsuan-Kuan (‘Harry’) Huang will graduate from UniSA together at the December 20 ceremony.

They are part of a growing UniSA graduate network which extends around the world, with international alumni chapters based in five countries, including one with 33 new members established in Taiwan in January this year.

Brian, who studied as an offshore UniSA student in Taiwan (and works as a sales supervisor for marketing company Starlike International) will be conferred with a Masters degree in Advanced Technology Management, while his big brother Harry is a UniSA-based research engineer who will be presented with a PhD in Manufacturing Engineering. (Harry’s thesis was on the development of a dual-robot system for rapid and flexible prototyping.)

"I feel fantastic about graduating at the same time as my brother – it will be a very special and exciting experience to receive our parchments on the same stage and at the same ceremony," Harry says.

UniSA’s reputation as a leader in the field of manufacturing technology (with the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing Research based at Mawson Lakes) was a drawcard for both of the Huang brothers.

"I’d definitely recommend the UniSA manufacturing degrees to my friends, because there’s a good balance between the academic side of study and the practical side, with a strong emphasis on partnerships with industry," Harry says.

To contact the Huang brothers: Harry Huang can be contacted from December 19 on 0416 202 967. For itinerary details contact Phuong Chau from UniSA’s Centre for Advanced Manufacturing Research on 0412 910 415.


Malaysian water policy guru to graduate

Dato’ Lee Yow Ching is well known in his home country Malaysia as a leader in the water supply industry, having spent 40 years as chief executive engineer and then general manager of the Penang Water Authority (PWA).

When the PWA was privatised he moved to a post regulating the new water company, and later decided to return to study (he already had a degree in civil engineering) choosing the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program offered by UniSA's International Graduate School of Management in Malaysia.

His major project as part of the DBA was a study of the impact of privatisation of Malaysia’s water supply services on customer welfare.

"My study shows that piecemeal privatisation of water supply systems, lack of proper procedures for the privatisation process, inadequate regulation of privatised water companies and the need to study service quality of these companies are all important issues that need attention in Malaysia," he says.

"The study underscores the importance of enhancing service quality both for the Malaysian water supply industry as well as the privatization process, as the privatisation process has been characterised by economic and political objectives with little attention being paid to the issue of how privatisation has affected the quality of service provided to the customers."

At 64, Dato’ Lee is now retired and will be one of the older students to graduate on December 20. He says taking up study later in life has been a worthwhile experience.

"After graduating with my engineering degree I was accepted to do Masters, but I was unable to accept the offer," he says. "My returning to study for a DBA is the fulfilment of my dream to reach the pinnacle of tertiary education. It’s also been great for my own personal development, and I am always interested in conducting research which may contribute to professional practice."

Dato’ Lee says the challenges of offshore study were minimised thanks to online resources and support from lecturers.

"The UniSA DBA program is a well-structured course which enables participants to obtain maximum benefit within a minimum timeframe. The library’s online resource facilities – which provide instant access to journal articles and research papers – are excellent."

Dato Lee Yow Ching will be in Adelaide from December 18-23, and can be contacted on his mobile on 6019-4456909. For itinerary details contact UniSA senior lecturer Dr Barry Elsey on (08) 8302 0817 or mobile 0417 887 636.
 

UniSA graduations
Adelaide Convention Centre
Monday, December 20, 2.00pm – 3.30pm.
Guest speaker: Paula Nagel (Chair, Education Adelaide)
 

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