Who's Who in the Malaysian Education Industry
Assoc. Prof.Dr. Thock Kiah Wah
President
Southern University College
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thock Kiah Wah has been striving hard to make Southern College a quality-driven college. In the spirit of multiculturism, Dr. Thock is instrumental in creating a bilingual learning environment. With the motto of "The Great Learning College" and the code of "Self-Renewal, Virtue and Nature", Dr. Thock has the ambition of enabling Southern College to be an excellent institution both academically, and in nurturing ethical and socially responsible students.
Southern College has successfully launched several new programmes under the leadership of Dr.Thock; for instance, the 3+0 twinning degree programme with University of Wales (UK) in Accounting and Finance, 3+0 twinning degree programme with Teesside University (UK) in Business Management and Computing, Diploma ins Logistics Management, Diploma in Industrial Design, as well as Tourism & Hospitality Programme. Another newly launched Degree Twinning programme is Bachelor in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with Tianjin University of TCM, China.
In order to improve the pedagogic skills of Southern College's teaching staff, the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) was established to better equip the lecturers in delivering lectures. Southern College has also launched the "e-campus" and "e-learning" project to assist students in understanding coursework. With these projects, students will be able to get reading materials and lecture notes online and participate in forums anytime, anywhere.
Southern College is the first non-profit higher education institution in Johor. Dr. Thock Kiah Wah's contributions to the education industry have been significant. The college welcomes students of all races and offers affordable enrolment fees. In order to help students who need financial support, Southern College has set up a scholarship fund worth RM3 million. Dr. Thock's vision is to make education available to Malaysians of all backgrounds, especially in the southern region. With the leadership of Dr. Thock and the Board of Directors, Southern College has a vision to make itself a Great Learning College, one which espouses learning in tune with humanitarian upbringing.
Dr. Thock emphasises on the importance of professional knowledge, traditional wisdom and character building for students. He aspires to upgrade the college to a university college in the near future. Dr. Thock encourages students to actively participate in internship programmes with established companies and organisations. The Centre of Incubation & Entrepreneurship (EIC) has been set up for this purpose. Dr. Thock has published an annual journal, Southern College Academic Journals since 2005. Conferences and seminars are also held from time to time, so as to enhance the academic activities and quality of education.
