Singapore - As part of its globalisation push, the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), is expanding its campus in the Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent.
It is putting up a new building to house up to 1,500 more students, an increase of about 75 per cent from the current student population.
The new building, with flexible classrooms, high-tech innovations and state-of-the-art facilities, is estimated to cost US$5 million.
The innovations will allow for online lecture links with Singapore and the hosting of webinars to enable students to experience a "truly global classroom", MDIS said.
Construction is expected to start at the end of next year and completed at the end of 2016.
The existing US$20 million campus, with a land area of 3.8 hectares, was the first campus to be set up by a Singapore private educational institution in Uzbekistan.
MDIS Tashkent was also the first overseas campus set up by MDIS, back in 2008. It is a joint venture between MDIS Singapore and the Uzbekistan Banking Association, under a special resolution granted by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Since then, the student population there has snowballed from just 200 to over 2,300 today.
Dr R.Theyvendran, the secretary general of MDIS noted that ccording to the International Monetary Fund, the regional economic outlook for Central Asia remains robust with growth in the region expected to hit about 6 per cent in 2014 and 6.4 per cent in 2015.
"This strong growth reflects the expansion of oil and gas production and other extractive industries as well as firm growth in both domestic and external demand," he said.
"The favourable outlook presents a great opportunity for MDIS as the region continues to require professional talent and a higher educated workforce to support the structural transformation that is driving these dynamic emerging economies."
To meet the increasing demand for higher education in Central Asia, MDIS Tashkenthas in its pipeline a slew of new business and tourism degree courses. MDIS Tashkent currently offers a total of 16 bachelor's degrees and two master's programmes from four well-established and accredited universities from Britain and Australia.
