E-Prosiding Seminar Pengantarabangsaan Pengajian Tinggi 2022 (SPPT 2022)

To increase visibility of an institution and to recruit a growing number of international students, marketing and promotion of a university are vital. University Sultan Zainal Abidin is one of the youngest and smallest of the 20 public universities in Malaysia. It is also one of three Islamic public universities in the country. With limited resources in terms of a dedicated marketing team for internationalisation, the International Centre at UniSZA looks at marketing and promotion from a pragmatic perspective and has focused on 4 key areas that serve to increase international student enrollment at the institution. By supporting a well-functioning ecosystem on campus, collaborating with scholarship bodies, engaging with individual agents, and taking advantage of new opportunities, UniSZA has been able to recruit and maintain a healthy international student population. This in turn serves to support Malaysia’s higher education internationalisation aspirations.

In this fast-growing world, education is not sparred either. People have been moving and studying abroad for some reasons to embark on their studies. Malaysia is one of the destinations in Asia as the chosen place for students to further their tertiary education. This paper starts by addressing some issues or reasons why people need to study overseas. In particular, this paper describes the roles that the office of International Centre (IC) in UniSZA need to play to cater to the need to their international students. The university wants their international students to get some valuable experiences and good time, personally and academically before they graduate and return to their country. Some problems are identified plaguing the international students in Malaysia, especially in UniSZA. At the same time, some efforts and endeavours have been made by the office of IC to facilitate the need of the international students. Method of the study is empirical based on the practices and activities done on and off the campus and their relations and impacts on the experiences they gain. The research finds that the office of IC has played its crucial role, albeit some constraints and limitation it has, to ensure the international students will enjoy their stay and study at UniSZA as a place with some good lasting memory in their minds. In summary, the office of UniSZA has given everything they have , with heart and soul, to make the students stay as a memorable one.