8 August 2008 – Students of Sunway University College are hosting an Undergraduate Business Student Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on 6th September 2008.

This is a first-of-its-kind conference that is co-organised by students and is open to all their undergraduate peers studying in universities in Malaysia.

The conference, which will run on the theme ‘Business with a Heart’, plans to attract around 400 students from local, private and public universities who will learn more about CSR as a sustainable business practice. This student initiative is jointly organised by Sunway University College and their business partners CPA Australia and KPMG in Malaysia, who will all be presenting their best practices at the conference.

“Through this conference, we hope to infuse the CSR mindset amongst undergraduate students by profiling organisations that do not only practice profit maximization, but also behave responsibly towards their community at large, “says Dr. Foo Yin Fah, Head of the Australian University Programme at Sunway University College.

Also presenting at the conference are other CSR industry advocates; Sunway Group, The Body Shop, HSBC, DiGi, WWF, Malaysia Nature Society and Environmental Protection Society of Malaysia. The full day event will close with a special presentation entitled The Act of Volunteerism by Tan Sri Razali Ismail, Chairman of Yayasan Salam Malaysia.

Through their long-standing partnership in advancing business education, Sunway University College, CPA Australia and KPMG in Malaysia have observed that CSR concepts are incorporated in theory to differing degrees in university business curricula. Through the conference, they now hope to inspire students to start a CSR movement of their own, by exposing them to actual best practices of well-recognised corporations and organisations in Malaysia.

All three organisations are strong advocates of CSR integration into their respective businesses.

Sunway University College runs on a non-profit basis and is completely funded by the Sunway Education Trust Fund, setup by the Sunway Group in line with their CSR objective of developing human capital through excellence in education. To date, the trust has also awarded up to RM40 million in scholarships since its inception in 1997. In the field of accounting and finance, CPA Australia’s CSR strategy leverages on their craft; from influencing the development of sustainable regulatory policies to assisting corporations in responding effectively to ever-growing CSR demands from shareholders, governments and society. As a leading audit, tax and advisory services firm, KPMG conducts itself as a responsible corporate citizen to clients and colleagues, and is also a positive force in the community through a myriad of activities such as the KPMG Community Day, reef conservation and its Education Trust Fund which assists needy students to pursue their studies in Accounting and F inance.

Dr. Foo adds, “We’re truly excited to see this initiative materialise and we hope to have a great turnout at the conference. We realise that we are at the point of promoting awareness, since CSR education and practice is still nascent in the minds of our young. However, we are confident that this is a great start in inspiring students to become true advocates for community well-being, who will then become the next generation of CSR leaders of our future corporate Malaysia”

For more information on the CSR Conference, please visit www.sunway.edu.my/csr.