HR training and software company SMR Technologies Bhd will grow the new business by leveraging on its existing network to attract students from the Middle East.

“We can tap into our existing network there to bring in students from the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council where our recent key customers are,” chairman and chief executive officer Datuk Dr R. Palan said after its AGM.

CUCMS director Dr Mohamad Salmi Mohd Sohod said a typical medical course would cost US$200,000 (RM638,500) in the Middle East but the college was offering it at 60% to 80% of that price (from RM383,100 to RM510,800).

Coupled with strong security and relatively low cost of living in Cyberjaya, Salmi said the course would appeal to foreign students. The CUCMS building is located on Jalan Teknokrat 3, near the Shell U-Village building, Ericsson building and TM IT complex.

“Besides that, international students usually pay 30% more than local students,” he added. He also said that the group would market itself in South-East Asian countries like Myanmar, Brunei and Indonesia in the future.

Palan said the institution’s niche was in medical sciences, which would help differentiate itself from other education groups. “The doctor-to-population ratio is still very low in Malaysia compared to developed nations and that presents a vast opportunity for growth,” he said, adding that the payback period for the investment was five years.

He also said it would look into introducing new programmes and hoped to collaborate with more international universities in the future. It had signed a memorandum of understanding with University of Ballarat, Australia, to provide a platform for both parties to collaborate on the design and development of some programmes.