New grounds for malay
Intercultural implications of Malaysia’s emerging role as Hub for international Higher Education and Industry 4.0
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Published online: 30 November 2021
https://doi.org/10.54754/incontext.v1i1.7
https://doi.org/10.54754/incontext.v1i1.7
Abstract
Before the Covid-19 pandemic deeply impacted the economies and societies of Southeast Asia, Malaysia had achieved many of the goals formulated in the so-called “Vision 2020” during the era of Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (1981–2003). As this long-term development program emphasized strongly on knowledge society (k-society), knowledge economy (k-economy) and Information and Computer Technology (ICT), one important legacy of this era was the establishment of numerous excellent academic programs, including in technological disciplines. The post-Mahathir administrations since the early 2000s built on this asset and successfully transformed the country’s Higher Education sector further, so that it attracted hundreds of thousands of international students from the early 2000s until the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis in early 2020. This paper examines the linguistic and cultural implications of Malaysia’s emerging role of as hub of both international Higher Education and Industry 4.0.
Keywords: Malaysia, international student mobility, Industry 4.0, Africa
Zusammenfassung
Bevor die Covid-19-Pandemie auf die Wirtschaften und Gesellschaften Südostasiens tiefe Auswirkungen hatte, hatte Malaysia viele der Ziele erreicht, die in der sogenannten „Vision 2020“ während der Ära des Premierministers Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (1981–2003) formuliert worden waren. Da dieses langfristige Entwicklungsprogramm einen starken Schwerpunkt auf die Wissensgesellschaft (k-society) und die Wissens-Wirtschaft (k-economy) gelegt hatte, war ein bedeutendes Erbe dieser Ära die Errichtung zahlreicher exzellenter akademischer Programme, einschließlich in technischen Disziplinen. Die Post-Mahathir-Ära seit den frühen 2000er Jahren baute auf dieser Grundlage auf und transformierte den Sektor des Hochschulwesens des Landes weiter, so dass es von den frühen 2000er bis zu Beginn des Jahres 2020 hunderttausende international Studierende anzog. Dieser Beitrag untersucht die sprachlichen und kulturellen Implikationen von Malaysias zunehmender Rolle als Drehscheibe sowohl von internationaler Hochschulbildung als auch von Industrie 4.0.
Schlüsselwörter: Malaysia, internationale Studierendenmobilität, Industrie 4.0, Afrika
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