Victoria University Australia-Sunway College Bachelor of Business programme director Cheok shares how the VU Block Model enhances learning for the new generation of students.
STUDENTS in the Victoria University (VU) Programme at Sunway College are able to study in a more focused and flexible manner thanks to the VU Block Model.
Introduced in 2018, the innovative style of higher education has students focusing on one subject at a time over four-week “blocks”.
Victoria University Australia-Sunway College Bachelor of Business programme director Dr Jason Cheok said, “In the VU Block Model, rather than dealing with the stress of studying four subjects at once as you would in other universities, you concentrate on studying one subject at a time every four weeks.
"This educational model suits the needs of the new generation of learners, who prefer more personalised attention, interactive learning methods, and engaging challenges."
The programme, he said, engages students in active learning with a singular focus on each subject.
“Students do better in this programme because they are aided by their lecturers, who can pay attention to their strengths and weaknesses,” he said.
Classes are held for three hours per day, three days a week with a maximum of 40 students.
“Classes are not three hours spent passively listening to lectures. Instead, the first 20 minutes typically involves the lecture or sharing followed by an activity,” said Cheok, adding that there would be another short lecture followed by an activity.
Assessments happen in those same four weeks, said Cheok, meaning that students are not pressured to revise everything at the end of a semester for their final exam.
“After finishing one block, you progress to the next block and subject,” he said.
Cheok also said that using the Block Model, with its business challenge units, has led to students meeting industry needs, especially communication, problem solving and teamwork.
“The business challenge units are done during each year for all the majors and are meant to help students improve their soft skills,” he said.
The programme in Sunway College is one of the oldest twinning programmes in Malaysia and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
As a twinning programme, Cheok explained that the curriculum in Sunway University and VU in Australia are identical — syllabi, assignments, tests, and final examinations are all set by VU, not locally.
"The academic transcript and testamur are issued directly by VU," he said, adding that they are registered as students of the university.
Through the twinning programme, Cheok explained, students can obtain a high-quality business degree for a fraction of the cost of an identical degree in Australia.
Considering the exchange rate, the cost of tuition and living expenses in Malaysia is significantly lower than in Australia.
The programme offers the flexibility to students to either continue their studies in Australia, at any point of time — for a semester, a year, two years, or to complete their entire course locally.
If the student chooses to go overseas, he said they can continue in VU or other universities in Australia such as University of Adelaide and University of Queensland; or in New Zealand.
Cheok said students also do not need to decide upon enrolling whether or not they wish to go to Australia.
“They can decide anytime during their course and our staff will guide them on what needs to be done to transfer to Australia,” he said.
Cheok added that students can opt to do a single or double major without adding to the cost or the duration of the programme.
VU, located in Melbourne, Australia, is ranked in the top 2% of universities worldwide according to the Times Higher Education 2024.
One of its most notable alumni is Sunway Group founder and chairman Tan Sri Sir Dr Jeffrey Cheah who had studied at the campus in Australia and brought the programme to Malaysia in the 90s.
As with many other courses in the Sunway Education Group, there are scholarships available for students.
The deadline for the next intakes are Mar 17 for the February semester and Jul 24 for the July semester.
Those interested can also visit Sunway University and Sunway College’s open day on Mar 16 and 17.
