1. Abdul Razak Dzulkifli
Vice-Chancellor, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Deputy Member, IAU
Administrative Board
Parallel Working Group A
Current and Evolving Models of Cross-Border Education
(franchising, twinning, virtual campuses and distance education, etc.)
and Institutional Strategies for Cross-Border Education
(objectives, approaches and key actors)
Introductory Speaker
Discussion, recommendations and elements for action at Institutional Level
IAU International Conference
Alexandria, Egypt
15-16 November 2005
Bionotes
Abdul Razak Dzulkifli joined Universiti Sains Malaysia, (USM) as academic staff in
1980. He has served USM in various capacities including as the Head of the World
Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre on Drug Information beginning
1998. In December 2000, he became the Vice-Chancellor of USM after having
served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor since July 2000.
He is a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Expert Advisory Panel on
Drug Policies and Management (1995 – present), and was a member of the WHO
Scientific Advisory Committee on Tobacco Product Regulation between 2000 and
2002. Currently he is the Chairman of the Malaysian Examination Council; Member
of the National Higher Education Council of Malaysia; Board Member of the Open
University of Malaysia; Chairman of the Malaysian VC Council; Member of the
Committee on Higher Education Policy in Malaysia; and Deputy Board member of the
International Association of Universities (IAU).
Dzulkifli also acts as a Consultant to WHO/HQ (Geneva) and Western Pacific
Regional Office (WPRO). On behalf of WHO, he led and conducted more than 10
missions to a number of countries, in Asia, South Pacific and East Africa, before
taking up his current appointment.
He has been a columnist for The New Straits Time since 1995, and has contributed
no less than 400 articles on science, health and also current events. Some of the
articles are now compiled in a 3-volume set entitled “Voicing Concern”. In addition,
he authored more than 20 titles, 6 of which are singly. One of the titles (on AIDS)
won a Special Prize at the 1996 Malaysia Book Fair.
For his services and contributions, Dzulkifli has received many awards, including: the
1999 Olle Hanson International Award, for his work in the area of health care; the
2000 Global Leadership Scholar Award through The Robert Wood Foundation USA;
the 2002 Rotary Research Foundation Gold Medal for Medical Sciences; and the
2004 Inaugural South East Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) Award in
IAU International Conference, Alexandria 1

2. recognition of his outstanding contribution and dedication to tobacco control.
Abstract
Trans border or cross-border education (CBE) has been going on for many centuries.
This can be traced from the time humans travelled from place to place in search of
knowledge. Abdus Salam, in the introduction to his Nobel Lecture “Gauge Unification
of Fundamental Forces” on December 8, 1979, cited some scholars of the Medieval
Age who were “providers” of cross-border education to many parts of Europe.
Indeed, in this way civilisations were created, and the modern civilisation is no
different.
Notwithstanding this, today’s CBE has taken many new dimensions and diversity as
a result of advances in science and technology, as well as new demographic and
funding demands, increased competition and much more. Increasingly CBE too
serves as the driving force in the internationalisation of higher education. However,
unlike the past, CBE has also taken a trade slant, not just an academic and cultural
one, as education becomes regarded as a marketable commodity. This notion is
augmented by the processes of globalisation that are somewhat linked to elements of
commercialisation. In turn, private-for-profit ventures gradually emerge on the
education scene, and are further reinforced by the implementation of the General
Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) under the auspices of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO).
The impact of CBE is regarded as among the most significant in the Asia-Pacific
region. Arguably, as the region grows economically and transforms structurally, its
potential educational market develops as well. The high CBE demand in Asia-Pacific
is not only reflected by the different types of cross-border educational arrangements
observed around the region, but also in the educational status and philosophy of
each country. The lower the capacity of a nation to provide education domestically,
the greater will be the demand for CBE. This possibly exposes it to greater risk, and
issue that is currently a cause of concern. According one study, “[a]s mass higher
education develops across the world, and provision is increasingly commercial,
international and IT-enabled, fraud may only be expected to increase in scale,
sophistication and significance.”
At this juncture, it is apt to quote the 2005 IAU Statement on Higher Education
Across Borders recognizing that due to some limitations and conflicts, full potential of
CBE will not be realized, unless there are properly managed. In this regard, IAU
elaborated on at least two suggestions to avoid this from happening.
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