PUTRAJAYA, July 15 — The Ministry of Higher Learning (MOHE) is developing a new Internationalisation Policy and Higher Education Internationalisation Action Plan in line with the mission to position Malaysia as a regional and global education hub.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said improvements are being done to replace the old policy by taking into account the current scenario and the shifts in the global education landscape.

She said the Covid-19 pandemic that struck the world in 2020 had posed a challenge to Malaysia in achieving its target of producing 250,000 international students by 2025.

"I hope that the internationalisation policy and action plan that is being refined will not only increase the number of international students and staff, inbound and outbound mobility but also enhance the positive experience of international students in Malaysia," she said in a statement here today.

The statement was issued in conjunction with her visit to Makassar, Indonesia to deliver a keynote address titled "Dinamika Internasional dan Hubungannya dengan Upaya Mewujudkan Entitas Masyarakat Sulawesi Selatan Berskala Global” (International dynamics and its relationship to the efforts in creating South Sulawesi community on a global scale) during an event to celebrate the 68th anniversary of Universitas Muslim Indonesia (UMI).

Noraini said effective internationalisation strategies needed to be identified to address existing issues, challenges and implementation gaps and this could be done through engagement sessions with stakeholders.

She said the government is offering a scholarship (Malaysia International Scholarship-MIS) to encourage more international students, including those from Indonesia, to study in the country.

According to Noraini, to date, 10,278 Indonesian students are studying in Malaysia and of that number, 66 are placed at various public universities under MIS for 2020 and 2021. — Bernama