HELP University (Malay: Universiti HELP; formerly known as HELP Institute) is a private university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. HELP stands for Higher Education Learning Philosophy. It was founded on 1 April 1986, by its founding and current Chancellor, Datuk Paul Chan Tuck Hong, and his wife, Datin Chan-Low Kam Yoke.
HELP Institute was the first institution outside of the United Kingdom to offer the University of London's External Programme's Diploma in Economics. The institution also offered the Cambridge A-Levels.
HELP Institute was awarded the University College status in 2004 by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia[1] and was awarded full university status in 2011.[2]
It has partnerships with universities in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, and in Europe.
HELP University is a member of the HELP Education Group. This consists of HELP University, HELP Academy, HELP International School, Crescendo-HELP International School, and Tunku Putra-HELP International School.
HELP University has two campuses. One is in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur, and the other in Subang Bestari, Shah Alam, Selangor.
HELP University's Subang 2 campus opened in April 2016, and is the larger of the two campuses.[3] The campus won the IFLA Asia Pacific Awards 2019, Honorable Mention, and the Malaysia Landscape Architecture Awards MLAA 2018, Honour in the Landscape Design Award Professional Category. Both awards were won by Verona Landscape Architecture, which designed the Subang 2 landscape.[4]
The Subang 2 campus was designed by GDP Architects, who won the PAM Awards 2017 in the Education (Commendation) category for the project.[5]
HELP University has six academic faculties, a Graduate School, a Centre for Continuing Professional Development, and an Institute for Crime and Criminology.[6]
On 24 November 2022, HELP University opened Malaysia's first Centre for Neuropsychology.[7]
HELP Academy, a sister company of HELP University, provides programmes in collaboration with partner universities. It offers twinning programmes in partnership with the University of Derby, United Kingdom. HELP Academy also provides its own Certificate and Diploma programmes.
HELP University secured 46th place globally in the “Visionary Leadership” category of the 2025 World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI).[12] The World University Rankings for Innovation (The WURI) assesses higher education institutions' real contributions to industry and society, highlighting innovative education, research, and engagement to society.
HELP University and HELP Academy were rated Berdaya Saing (Competitive), the highest category, in the 2022 ratings by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education. Institutions were evaluated and classified based on their excellence and whether they met the evaluation criteria set by Malaysia's Higher Education Institutions ratings.[13]
HELP University was the first university in Southeast Asia to be awarded five stars in eight categories by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Star Rating System in April 2020. The categories include Teaching, Internationalisation, Employability, Academic Development, Facilities, Social Responsibility, Inclusiveness, and Programme Strength for its Master of Business Administration (MBA).[14]
HELP University was ranked No. 1 among 650 universities in Asia for the Outbound Student Exchange Program by QS Rankings: Asia 2021.[15]
The university was ranked between 401 and 450 in the QS Asian University Rankings 2021.[16]
In 2019, the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) granted HELP University the Premier Digital Tech University (PDTU) status, recognizing it as one of Malaysia's top tertiary institutions specializing in digital technology.
HELP University was rated six stars for Human Resource Management, Language Studies, Education, Banking, Psychology, Mathematics and Statistics, Counselling, and Law by Talentbank in the National Graduate Employability Index.[17]
