Tan Sri Dato' Sri Paduka Dr Lim Kok Wing, has been recognised for his international contribution to business and enterprise by winning the International Lifetime Achievement Award at the IOEE and SFEDI Celebrating Enterprise event at the House of Lords on 23rd October 2014.

The annual awards bring together key figures to celebrate the very best in enterprise learning and skills. This is the first year that the International Lifetime Achievement Award has been included amongst the awards on the day.

Dr Lim Kok Wing is the Founder and President of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology which has campuses in Asia, Africa and the UK. The university is a pioneering institute that UNESCO has called a New Model University. Dr Lim Kok Win has received many accolades from around the world in acknowledgement of his contribution to innovation and education, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2005, and being honoured with the title of ‘Malaysia’s Father of Creativity and Innovation’ in 2012 from the Malaysian Government.

Early in his career Dr Lim Kok Wing saw enormous value in Malaysian talent and successful career in advertising to build a foundation to grow local talent. He established an agency focused on developing the creative thinking and capabilities of Malaysian students and made it possible for them to attain diplomas in art direction, interior design, marketing and public relations which they would otherwise have had to leave Malaysia to study. What made them particularly useful to industry was the mandatory study of computer software.

Within three years this home grown talent was enabling businesses to take advantage of the commercial opportunities of the internet and e-commerce which made a huge difference to the competitive capabilities of the Malaysian economy. Today many of those early graduates today hold key positions in industry and run businesses of their own. What began as a small institute with 300 local students in 1992 grew into a global university with campuses in 6 countries in 3 continents.

In 2007, Limkokwing University of Creative Technology was conferred a special award by the Ministry of Higher Education for its innovative approach and dedication to globalising Malaysian education.

Ruth Lowbridge, Executive Chair of SFEDI and IOEE, said:

"It is an honour to bestow Tan Sri Dato' Sri Paduka Dr Lim Kok Wing with this award. His visionary approach to education is a source of inspiration to enterprise educators everywhere. His life's work demonstrates how education can improve the economic outlook of a nation and have economic benefits across the world. We are extremely proud to award him with our highest accolade."