‘Study in Malaysia’ Campaign kicks off in Nairobi, eyes int’l students

By Steve UMIDHA

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQeZIJDfL9A

A government–backed initiative, dubbed ‘Study in Malaysia’ that targets international students seeking higher education studies, kicked off in Nairobi today, marking a significant push to attract foreign learners to Malaysian universities.

Organised by the Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS), in partnership with the High Commission of Malaysia in Kenya, the campaign which runs until 24 November, is expected to position the Southeast Asian nation as a leading global education hub, as applications to study in Malaysia continue to soar year on year, according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EMGS, Novie Tajuddin.

The initiative, being held in Kenya for the first time, is a wider strategy by EMGS and its partners, with a planned rollout across Africa, under the banner of Africa Higher Education Forum 2025 (MAHEF2025–Africa).

“This initiative not only seeks to strengthen Malaysia’s brand presence as a rising global education hub, but its intention is also to showcase our products to the world in terms of our academic offerings, career pathways, affordability, multicultural environment, and global recognition,” said Tajuddin on the sidelines of the official opening of the Study in Malaysia (SIM) exhibition in Nairobi today.

The ingenuity is further expected to reinforce Malaysia’s ongoing commitment to fostering academic collaboration, talent development, and student mobility between both nations.

The move, he said, has been inspired by the growing number of international students with study abroad ambitions signing up to foreign universities in record numbers, but who prefer affordable tuition fees. Tajuddin linked the shift to the better quality of education in Malaysia, which he says offers advanced learning grounds to learners.

The US, UK, Canada, and Australia have, for a long time, remained the top preferred destinations for Kenyan learners seeking overseas learning opportunities for their undergraduate studies or post-secondary programs. But over the last few years, more and more African students are now looking to Malaysia for their higher education owing to the affordability of its universities’ tuition fees.

Inflated tuition fees, exorbitant housing costs for college students, quality of faculty, curriculum standards, and technological infrastructure available, accreditation regime, and the administrative policies in institutions of higher learning are some of the factors influencing the quality of higher education in most public universities in Kenya, for instance.

Datuk’ visit

Indeed, the aforementioned efforts have been boosted by the visit of the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in Nairobi, who is on the last leg of his three-country African tour.

Datuk will on Monday preside over the Malaysia–Africa Higher Education Forum 2025 (MAHEF2025–Africa), in the company of Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Education, Julius Migos Ogamba, and other government officials from both nations.

Themed “Intensifying Internationalization in the Context of the Global South Agenda,” the forum is expected to strengthen higher education cooperation between Malaysia and African countries.

Speaking during the opening session on Sunday, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, Datuk Anesee bin Ibrahim, said the two-day Study in Malaysia exhibition, which runs until 24 November, is a key initiative for promoting the capabilities of Malaysia’s Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), including academic strengths, research excellence, and support for international students.

The exhibition also provides visitors with the opportunity to engage directly with representatives from Malaysian HEIs to explore new collaboration opportunities.

“Malaysia–Africa bilateral relations, long established over the years, continue to be strengthened through shared aspirations to enhance the quality of education, expand access, and foster cross-border cooperation.

These collaborations—including student mobility, joint research and capacity building—further reinforce ties between Malaysia and the African region, particularly in expanding academic networks,” said Datuk Dr. Anesee in his opening speech at the Study in Malaysia Education Fair.

Several Malaysian Universities, both private and public, are taking part in the forum, including Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UNISZA), and University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM).

Others are the University of Southampton Malaysia (UoSM), Raffles University, Asia School of Business (ASB), MAHSA University, Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), and the Multimedia University (MMU).

Kenya remains one of Malaysia’s strongest student recruitment markets in Africa, and continued on-ground engagement will prove essential in building trust and maintaining visibility among prospective students and their families.