FALSAFAH PELAN STRATEGIK UNIVERSITI AWAM MALAYSIA MELALUI PENGALAMAN AHLI AKADEMIK EKSPATRIAT DALAM MENGORAK REPUTASI UNIVERSITI SEBAGAI HAB KECEMERLANGAN AKADEMIK DI PERSADA ANTARABANGSA

Abstract

The Malaysian Education Development Plan 2015-2025 (Higher Education) has been specifically formulated by outlining ten (10) leaps to achieve continuous excellence in the higher education system in Malaysia thus becoming a hub of academic excellence on an international level. In line with that, the objective of the study is to trace the experience of international human capital in helping to shape the involvement of the reputation of Malaysian public universities on an international level. However, the debate that leads to the recruitment of international human resources is said to have no long-term impact on the development of a university. The discussion in this paper explores the experience of international human resources in making positive contributions to public universities in line with efforts to strengthen its position and status as a prestigious educational institution, in line with the contemporary transition of higher education. The narrative approach utilises a selection of original dialogues and involves 20 expatriate academics who meet the criteria of residency with a work visa, having the status of a self-initiated expatriate, are not classified as inter-university exchange staff, nor are on sabbatical leave. The contribution of this study is able to shift the contextual focus of the internationalisation literature of higher education institutions which was previously said to focus on generating income of a university, to a valuable human resource experience in contributing to the involvement of the university’s reputation globally. The findings of the study also insert an advanced dimension by presenting a detailed understanding of human resource mobility as well as introducing a new dimension that offers a deeper understanding of the university’s reputation involvement on an international level. This study seeks to offer specific evidence of how expatriate academics evaluate their expatriation experience by selecting a public university as a career place. While the results of the study are expected to be useful information for public universities in implementing alternative strategic planning policies for the future, further determining the scenario of Malaysian higher education.