A Global Force in Educationmedia.limkokwing.net/pdf/publications/technology...Forbes Asia named him as one of the 48 Heroes of Philanthropy. In its citation, Forbes wrote that Tan

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Tan Sri Prof. Dr. Lim Kok WingFounder and President,

Limkokwing University of Creative Technology

A Global Forcein Education

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Technology Business Review 53

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Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing shapes the leaders of tomorrow

Moving Mountains,

53 Technology Business Review

Embracing Hope,Building Nations.

Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing with Mr. Festus Mogae - the then

President of Botswana – during the official launch of Limkokwing

University Botswana in 2007.


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Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing has been recognised for being a creative genius, an entrepreneur, a master of communications, an inspirational mentor,

and an educationist par excellence. And most recently, Forbes Asia named him as one of the 48 Heroes of Philanthropy.

In its citation, Forbes wrote that Tan Sri Lim has been named one of only 48 persons in the Asia-Pacific region to receive this accolade because he “has contributed

and organized fundraising for everything from fighting AIDS to fighting Apartheid. His mission is to “create learning pathways for needy individuals to fully develop

their talent and skills so they can contribute to nation-building.” He provides scholarships, disabled-student services and has given $22,000 last year to the

“Plight of Palestinians: From Grim to Bleak” fundraising event.”

As a proud Malaysian, he has brought pride to the country by single-handedly turning the attention of the world to Malaysia and above and beyond that, making

his mark in countries around the world through the Limkokwing University.

He has pioneered the way forward for a brave new world of education – where students think out of the box, believe in themselves and believe in what they do.

And has taken the name and values of the Limkokwing University to placessuch as such as Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, China, Cambodia and

– in a poetic act – the United Kingdom.

Malaysian education has been heavily influenced by the British system, and Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing has turned the wheel a full circle by taking a Malaysian university to London. By any measure, Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing is a revolutionary

and an innovator who is deservedly recognised as a very successful entrepreneur.

The impact he has made though should be measured in more than just monetary terms. He has shown that no matter what status in life you start with, no matter

what skin colour you are, no matter what religion you believe in, no matter what country you are born in – you can rise to the highest and

achieve the most seemingly impossible of all dreams.

Hope is one of the most precious commodities in the world. It inspires us to believe that we can be the best that we can be. It is, as US President Barack Obama would put it, audacious but necessarily so. Because only by daring can we truly achieve.

Technology Business Review takes you on a journey to explore the driving forces behind Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing and how by being someone who dares and who inspires the audacity of hope in others, he has helped create the leaders of the

tomorrow and inspire others to give such warm and honourable accolades.

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The Global Humanitarian Long before the Forbes Asia accolade, Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing was already recognised as a leading philanthropist who did not just give money, but time and leadership to promoting the causes that are close to his heart.

For one thing, he has been the Vice-President of the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) for many years and even organised the largest charity run ever – The Run for Humanity – to promote the Red Cross Movement. Such is his contribution to this society that the founding Secretary-General of the MRCS, Datuk

Ruby Lee, has said “Throughout Tan Sri Lim’s years of service, he has worked selflessly to harness public support for humanitarian causes.”

His work with special needs children also deserves recognition. As an educationist, Tan Sri Lim has a special affinity to the youth, and believes in giving them the opportunities to be the best that they can be – even those who have severe disabilities. Thus he set up the Society for the Severely Mentally Handicap to help train children with multiple disabilities. In Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing’s book, no child should be left behind.

However, Tan Sri Lim is not just a Malaysian hero, but a global one as well. Perhaps one of his most memorable efforts in helping to

Tan Sri Lim’s campaign for the African National Congress (ANC) helped it win power in the 1994 elections.

Tan Sri Lim flanked by two of South Africa’s most prominent anti-Apartheid freedom fighters, Dr. Popo Molefe (left) and

Ahmed Kathrada (right) during a special tribute paid by Limkokwing University to Nelson Mandela in June 2008.

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an exciting but also trying time for the people of South Africa. After all, they were about to embark on a new journey as a nation where people who have previously been divided and separated from each other were going to live as one.

The country therefore needed someone with experience in nation building efforts, especially a nation where people of different ethnicities live together in harmony. Who better to answer the call than Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing? As such, under the recommendation of then Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir, the African National Congress led by the iconic freedom fighter

Nelson Mandela approached Tan Sri Lim to help in their campaign. After Mandela was elected President of South Africa, he sent a personal message to Tan Sri Lim thanking him for his contributions.

That was just one example of how Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing has touched people beyond the borders of Malaysia. And in many ways, it also helped cement the already close relationship that the two nations continue to share to this day. Another global campaign of his that has to be mentioned would be his Global Humanitarian Appeal for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he created after the end of the brutal civil war in the Balkan nation.

As someone who believes so deeply in empowering the future generation, it is no surprise that Tan Sri Lim is such an active player in the promotion of world peace. After all, without peace, then all efforts

to create the leaders of tomorrow would be for naught. Simply put, the youth of today can only become the leaders of the future if – and only if – they inherit a world that is not torn by strife and discord.

Thus, he has devoted his time and effort into promoting peace, even as early as 1989, when he produced a short-film entitled Ceasefire ’89 to call for an end to the nuclear arms race. In more recent years, he has been instrumental in the creation of the Kuala Lumpur World Peace Award – which was first given to then French President Jacques Chirac in 2003 – as well as the Perdana Global Peace Forum in 2005.

For these as well as other endeavours, he has received the Ambassador for Peace Award from the Universal Peace Federation and Inter-religious and International Federation for World Peace and the Malaysian

“It is with deep gratitude that I write to thank you and your team for the tremendous contribution you have given to our election

campaign. Your untiring efforts on our behalf have touched the hearts

of all of us and you have shown true friendship and solidarity with the people of South Africa in our

endeavour to transform South Africa into a free, just and democratic

country. The size and magnitude of your contribution will have a very meaningful impact on the outcome

of the election, and, on behalf of the people of South Africa, I thank you.”

- President Nelson Mandela, Former South African leader in a letter to Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing.

make the world a better place was his work in the South African election campaign in 1994. At that time, South Africa was about to hold its first ever multi-racial election after decades of Apartheid. It was no doubt

Tan Sri Lim with His Majesty King Mswati III of Swaziland. By building a Limkokwing campus in Swaziland, Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing has given

young people there the opportunity to develop into the best that they can be.

Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing with former South African President Nelson Mandela. In 1994, Tan Sri Lim helped conceptualise and run the campaign that eased South

Africa’s first multi-racial elections, and in many ways created a name for himself on the continent.

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Peace Ambassador Award from the Sun Yat Sen Centre for Peace and Education (SEA), as well as being named the President of the World Peace Academy.

The revolutionary educationist

There is a central theme to Tan Sri Lim’s philanthropic efforts, and that is empowerment. He has long been active in empowering young people even before he ventured into the education sector. He was, after all, a member of the Malaysian Vocational Association in the early 1970s, where he was in charge of raising funds for

programmes that will provide skills training to the youth. One interesting trivia is that the man who was the chairman of the association was none other than a civil servant by the name of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

We should stress again that his efforts are not confined to the shores of his homeland. As touched upon above, one of the driving principles behind his zeal and vision is his belief in the potential and the strength of the next generation. As such, wherever he has travelled, he has always preached on the importance of empowering the youth by encouraging them to think out of the box, to be creative, and to harness technology so that they can be innovative.

“While others talk about it, we have put into practice to provide Africa, Europe & Asia with institutions they never had before. We are

therefore premier institutions – the crown jewels – in the

education and human capital development industries,

which are widely admired and making significant impacts on the world.”

Dr. Jayles Yeoh, Vice-President of International Development

at Limkokwing University.

The Prime Minister of Lesotho H.E. Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili with Ar. Prof Datuk Parid Wardi Sudin, Senior Vice-President of Quality Assurance at Limkokwing

University, during the launch of Limkokwing University Lesotho.

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Education, as cliché as it might sound, is perhaps the most potent tool that anyone can have. Quality education surpasses wealth and power because it arms people with the ability to generate ideas that would enable them to create wealth. In a nutshell, education empowers people, and for the better part of 18 years, Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing has been empowering young people around the world.

Since 1992 when he first set up the Limkokwing Institute of Creative Technology – now the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology – to today with Limkokwing University campuses in the UK, China, Lesotho, Cambodia, Indonesia, Botswana, and Swaziland, he has pushed one core message. It is a message that stresses on the importance of creativity and innovation, and the borderless world that these two traits open up.

He is thus a revolutionary in every sense of the word, for the very fact that he has challenged the norms of what many believed education should be like, and in doing so has come out on top. It should be noted that for Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing,

creativity and innovation are not just buzz words or useful catchphrases to bandy about but are core values that he truly believes in.

And not only does he believe in them, but as we can see from the above, he has also attempted to inculcate

them into others through the most effective way possible – by making them part and parcel of education methodology. As such the name of Limkokwing University has become recognised by no lesser an authority than UNESCO as a role model for the practice of management.

“When some of our students came to us,

they had such low self-esteem. Their parents had a low opinion of them and their peers never thought they would amount to

much. Limkokwing changed all that.”

- Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing

Tan Sri Lim awarding Mr. Festus Mogae with an honorary doctorate in Transformational Leadership, in recognition of his role in providing educational

opportunities to young Batswana in January 2007.

H.E. Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili watching a student at Limkokwing University Lesotho demonstrating the University’s e-Library facility, which showcases the campus’s strength in ICT.


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Bringing people together

We have already come touch upon Tan Sri Lim’s passion for peace. Without a doubt though, his most visible contribution to bring about world peace and understanding lies in the Limkokwing University. When you

walk into the Limkokwing campus in Cyberjaya, you will find yourself walking into a veritable United Nations where students from all over the world study, interact, and even work – Limkokwing University is renowned for its industry-driven education and work experience – together.

After all, if there is one way to bring down barriers between people, it would be to bring them together in a common community where they have the opportunity to interact with one another. And the best time to do this is of course when they are still young. Of course, what makes the Limkokwing model even more exciting is the fact that with the opening of the other campuses in the world, a Limkokwing student in any one of its campuses can go on exchange to another, and as such create more opportunities for cross-border and cross-cultural interaction.

It is thus a testament to Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing’s vision and innovativeness that he has created an education institution that can be considered truly global and multi-cultural. In fact, out of the 30,000 students enrolled in Limkokwing University around the world, only 20% are Malaysians.

What though is the appeal behind Limkokwing University? Perhaps the question is best answered by the man himself who explains how the message of creativity and innovation

“I applaud colleges such as the Limkokwing Institute

for their dedication in developing human capital with the right skills and the creative mindset to

enable effective technology transfer that the industry

needs to stay competitive.” - Tun Dr. Mahathir, Former Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Above and Below: Students at Limkowing University Botswana eagerly greeting Tan Sri Lim during his visit to the campus. Their enthusiasm testifies to the high regard and

respect with which he is held there and indeed across Africa.


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has struck a chord in many. As he told Technology Business Review, “There is a thinking that there is no creativity in Asia because of the need to comply. While we do not encourage our students not to comply, we tell them to be themselves and we create the environment for them to reach their full potential.”

“Creating,” as Tan Sri Lim puts it, “is about challenging mindsets”. And definitely, certain mindsets had to be challenged when it comes to education. Let us take for instance the almost fanatical devotion given to scholastic achievement, which has resulted in students not being given the chance to pursue tertiary education because – for some reason or another – they were unable to get the credits required to enter university.

This is not to say that the Limkokwing University encourages or rewards mediocrity. After all, as a man who has turned himself from

successful cartoonist to advertising and communications guru to global educationist, Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing is a man who personifies excellence

and who seeks to create that same sense of excellence in others. But, he also realises that many times, the academic results of someone does not reflect on their ability or potential, and as such should not be a barrier to them pursuing their education.

Nor too should financial problems. Through the Limkokwing Foundation for Creative Excellence, he has provided scholarships to outstanding young people who are unable to pay for university. And this philanthropic spirit can also be seen in the Limkokwing Institute for Tomorrow, which helps build capacity and capability amongst disadvantaged communities, particularly in Africa. All in all, RM50m have been given by the Limkokwing Foundation for scholarships.

“In Africa, we gave places to 9,000 youths who otherwise would

have had a bleak future. We took them off the

streets. We gave them a choice and hope.”

- Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing

Students at Limkokwing University Botswana actively engaging in class.

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The Friend of Africa

And no where is that innate humanitarian in him more apparent

than in Africa. When many of us hear of Africa, we tend to think of a continent that is torn by civil strife and natural upheavals. Yes, we would feel our heart strings being tugged and we will give some money to charity to uplift the situation of the people there.

But Tan Sri Lim saw more than just the conflict and poverty in Africa that the media seems to concentrate so much on. He saw young people with the potential to be so much more if given the chance. He saw countries that could become First World nations if they had the leaders. And he knew that in order for these leaders to develop, they would need first class education that will help bring out the best in them.

The relationship between Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing and Africa has been a strong and long-standing one, and

“Education is not only confined in a classroom. It is about the world around us. It is about who we are to other people. What we can do for them. How we

can make a difference to the world we work in. Education

is a very powerful tool because it builds a nation’s

hope for the future.”

– Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing

students from 45 African countries have studied and are studying at the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Cyberjaya. Although those students were and are receiving world-class education, Tan Sri Lim knew that there were many who did not have the opportunity to pursue their dreams.

As such he established a campus in Gaborone Botswana in 2007, and from then on others followed such as Maseru in Lesotho, and Mbabene in Swaziland. He has thus brought change and hope to these countries – which rank amongst the poorest in the world – and through investing in education and technology, help upgrade their skills and thus reduce the digital divide that separates the haves from the have nots.

And of course it has become more affordable for students as well

Students at Limkowing University Lesotho getting ready to greet Prime Minister Mosisili during his visit to the campus.

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since tuition fees for Limkokwing University in Africa cost 30% less than that in Malaysia although the quality of education is the same, which is to say, world class. Furthermore, as Limkokwing University is a leader in an industry-driven education, the students there receive the right skills that will enable them to position themselves in the global marketplace.

In a nutshell, the University will help create future entrepreneurs and thought-leaders who of course will drive their nations forward in the future. In other words, the University is like a tree that brings forth many fruits, from which will come forth more trees and more fruits, till at the end of the day, what started out as just one tree will be an abundant orchard.

Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing is the visionary who has planted the first seedlings and have watched those trees spring up. And soon these trees will bear their fruits. March 2009 marks the 2nd anniversary of the opening of Limkokwing Botswana, the first Limkowking campus in Africa, and around 1,400 students will be graduating from it. They will be armed with a unique set of skills and mindsets that make them on-par with global standards.

We can see his concern and his regard for the nations there in his words and his deeds. For instance, when asked what he hopes to bring about through Limkokwing Botswana, he said, “We want to make Botswana an education and a skills hub in the region, which will draw expertise and investments from outside the

“I have already heard good things about Limkokwing,

both here and elsewhere. This institution brings with it an international reputation for

being practical trendsetters. We have seen this from the positive example being set by some of the University’s local alumni who are already making their contributions to our society.

We are, therefore, confident of Limkokwing’s continued ability

to empower our youths in this new setting.”

- Mr. Festus G. Mogae, Former President of the Republic of Botswana

Prime Minister Mosisili of Lesotho during his tour of Limkokwing University Lesotho.

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region”. And to bring that hope and vision into fruition, he has invested US$30m into the country, and of course more in the rest of Africa.

The leaders there recognise and have paid tribute to his efforts by dubbing him “The Friend of Africa”. Let us hear from what some of them have said, for instance then President Festus G. Mogae of Botswana remarked at the opening of Limkokwing Botswana that,

“There are advantages to increasing the placement of students in qualified local private institutions. They include the growth and further improvement in the quality of the institutions themselves as well as the creation of domestic employment opportunities.”

Another African leader, Prime Minister Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili of Lesotho, has also praised Limkokwing University and the efforts of Tan Sri Lim by stating, ”There are many advantages of sponsoring students in

a local private centre of excellence such as Limkokwing. It provides employment for Basotho, and it provides 21st Century skills required for economic growth and which will enhance the competitiveness of our people globally. Furthermore, it provides a socially conducive and familiar environment since the students will be studying in their home country; and it provides much needed employment for Basotho in the construction of facilities in academic and non-academic offices.”

Thus it should also be noted that while we may have spoken about the direct consequences of setting up Limkokwing University in Africa, we should also mention the indirect benefits it brings. For one thing, it creates jobs as industries are needed to help build and support the campuses, while at the same time the quality and standards at Limkokwing serve as role models that help boost the quality of local tertiary institutions. Giving the gift

of hope

The Forbes Asia citation gives recognition to his charitable efforts, his fund-raising activities, and his campaigns against AIDS and Apartheid amongst others. But in our book, Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing deserves the title because more than just giving money – and he has done that as well – he has given something more valuable and infinitely more precious. He has given hope.

It is hope that is embodied in the high quality education that he has provided to students in some of the most impoverished nations in the world. It is a hope that encourages them to reach for the stars, to not settle for second best, and to continuously drive themselves forward.

“From the beginning my experience here has been mind

blowing. I know I speak on behalf of all of us students

when I say that before I came to Limkokwing I felt idle, and was searching for something to do with my life that would allow me to achieve greater things and engage my mind. The arrival of the University couldn’t have been timelier,

and since I’ve begun my classes here, I feel calm, whole and completely in my element.”

- Lino Charlotte Segoete, a student at Limkokwing University Lesotho.

Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing surrounded by jubilant students from the first graduating class of Limkowing University Botswana in 2008.

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Many decades ago, a young man had just finished his secondary education. His parents were too poor to send him to college, and as such he had to start working to support his family. Through hard-work and the gift of creativity, with which he was blessed, he made a name for himself in the world of cartooning, then advertising,

and finally education. That young man was of course Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing.

The story of his earlier life probably best explains what drives him to do what he does. Because like a great humanitarian, Tan Sri Lim believes that not having had the opportunity to pursue his education, he would make sure that others will not be denied theirs. He believed in himself, was passionate about his work and had

the utmost confidence to do it all and make the impossible, possible.

That is the central most powerful message that the university drives home to all the students. Be all that you can, give your work and your passion everything and

you will succeed beyond your wildest imaginations. The students are certainly living up to these expectations and that maybe is the best possible philanthropic

act of them all. By equipping them with these priceless strengths, you change an entire generation for the better, and with that, you change an entire nation’s future. And that’s how we Move Mountains, Embrace Hope and Build Nations.

Prospective students turned up in their thousands to enrol in Limkokwing University Botswana when it opened its doors, thus demonstrating

the popularity and respect that the Limkokwing name has in the country.

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Documents

A Global Force in Educationmedia.limkokwing.net/pdf/publications/technology...Forbes Asia named him as one of the 48 Heroes of Philanthropy. In its citation, Forbes wrote that Tan