A life long love affair with learning

As one of the pioneers at Monash University Sunway, Dr Lan Boon Leong has been on campus since day one. Dr Leong, an Associate Professor in Physics, describes life in the early days as “cosy, intimate, but we had plenty of work ahead of us and it all needed to be done quickly.”

After spending more than a decade abroad studying and working in the United States, Canada and Austria, Dr Leong returned to Malaysia in 1998. He joined the small team at Monash University Sunway Campus and started to build the foundations of what would later become one of Malaysia’s premier tertiary institutions.  “The campus started with a small handful of us. The Pro Vice Chancellor was appointed and was instrumental in getting things moving. Then it was a matter of securing more staff, establishing teaching facilities, office space, purchasing computers, books and journals,” he recalls.

The first batch of 431 intrepid students started their study journey in July 1998, with most coming from the local area. In just 10 years, there has been immense change, along with a considerable increase in student numbers. Monash University Sunway Campus now boasts over 5000 enrolments, and 27 per cent of these are international students.  

Further change has also been observed in the area of academia. “In the early days, hardly any research was conducted and the focus was primarily on teaching. In the past 10 years this has changed dramatically and we are now very research active and this is recognised internationally,” he reflects.

As one of the country’s most respected transnational education institutions, Monash University Sunway Campus is continually evolving to support the needs of students studying in a global education environment. “With students arriving from all over the world, the atmosphere on campus is dynamic and the cultural diversity is broad. We have established a multi-faith centre to support the many different religions and we celebrate everything from Hari Raya to Tamil New Year,” he says.

“Transnational education promotes real understanding and a tolerance of different cultures. The mix of students brings many different perspectives, students learn about other countries, and other cultures. All of these elements contribute to a great atmosphere on campus.  It is global learning in a local environment,” he firmly states.

It’s not all academics

In 2004, Dr Lan began to notice an attractive female staff member on campus.  Yet, it was not until he was heading off on a staff retreat to Port Dickson that he had the chance to impress her.

“The Pro VC had organised a staff retreat and usually I shy away from these things, but this time I decided to go along.”

“I was not sure which bus to take to get to our destination and ended up on the wrong one. Not long after I sat down, this lovely lady got on and she sat next to me. She seemed very nice, so I tried to impress her by talking about Physics and Einstein and she didn’t run away! We ended up talking the entire way to Port Dickson and back again.”

It was the beginning of their love affair. Dr Leong and his wife married in 2005 and they have been together since.